Those who wish to live life to the fullest settle in Louisiana with the intention of eating, but those who want to do even better than that settle here with the intention of cooking. The only way Jaime Hernandez’s life could have been better would be if he had lived longer. Hernandez was a chef at the St. Francisville Inn in West Feliciana Parish. When he was driving on LA 965 on January 5, 2025, a tree fell on his 2014 Jeep Wrangler, causing him to lose control of the car. His vehicle eventually drove off the road and crashed. Hernandez, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 50 years old. Accidents involving falling trees can be deadly, and Louisiana, where trees are both plentiful and enormous, is at high risk. If you got injured when a tree or a branch fell on your vehicle, contact a Houma car accident lawyer.
The average buyer of car insurance policies has only thought about legal responsibility for car accidents in terms of deciding which of the two drivers bears the greater share of fault for the accident and its resulting expenses, including vehicle repairs and the medical expenses of injured people. For example, it counts against you if you change lanes without using your turn signal, and it counts in your favor if you were wearing a seatbelt, because your injuries would probably be worse if you were not wearing one.
When a car falls on a tree, it is not the fault of the driver who drove or parked under the tree. Usually, the person responsible for the land where the tree was planted is responsible for the accident. After a hurricane or other strong storm, it is the responsibility of landowners to have damaged trees stabilized or removed and to make areas under unstable trees inaccessible to cars, or at least to post signs warning drivers of the dangers. A tree falling on a highway outside of hurricane season is truly a freak accident.
Louisiana offers several types of insurance that can cover some or all of your medical expenses arising from a car accident not caused by another driver. These types of insurance are called medical payments coverage (MedPay) and personal injury protection (PIP). Insurance companies in Louisiana may offer both types of insurance. Both of them will pay for expenses not covered by liability insurance, but MedPay only pays for medical bills, whereas PIP also covers other injury-related expenses.
A personal injury lawyer can help you get the money you need after an accident caused by a tree falling on your car. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana, to set up a consultation about your case.
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