Criminal Law

• DUI/DWI
  Boating under the influence (BUI) is handled much like a DUI, with penalties including fines, incarceration, driver’s license suspension and the prospect of protracted litigation. It is illegal in Louisiana to knowingly permit another person who is drunk or under the influence of illicit drugs to operate a personal watercraft.
• Wrongful Death
  A claim filed on behalf of a deceased person is known as a wrongful death claim. In Louisiana, the surviving spouse and children are the first in line to file a wrongful death claim, followed by the decedent’s parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the wrongful death claim, compensation for the decedent’s medical and burial expenses, as well as compensation for the survivors, can be pursued.
• Traffic Violations
  According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), other factors leading to commercial vehicle accidents include mechanical failure, distracted driving, improper turning, improper loading of cargo, road conditions, driver impairment, recklessness, and speeding.
• Sex Crimes
  In Louisiana wrongful death claims, additional compensation may be awarded if the defendant was intoxicated and that had a role in the death or if child pornography was involved.
• Assault
• Hit and Run
  It’s hard to imagine how a driver could knowingly cause a crash and then just drive away – but it does happen. If it happened to you, your losses should be covered by the uninsured/underinsured motorist provision of your own motorcycle insurance policy, provided you have this coverage. If you do not, the hit-and-run perpetrator may eventually be found by police and made to owe up to their actions. Law enforcement may pursue criminal charges against the driver, but you’ll need to bring a civil lawsuit against the driver in order to recover compensation. A lawyer can help you sue the driver for negligence. A lawyer can also help if your UM/UIM claim is denied.

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Workers compensation, formerly often referred to as workman’s comp, is a type of state-mandated no-fault insurance program available to employees. A couple of key concepts are “no-fault” and “employees”.

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  Bart Bernard is a highly skilled premises liability attorney who has procured multi-million-dollar settlements and jury awards for his clients. If you have been seriously injured on a business, public or private property, you may be entitled to legal compensation.
• Property Damage
  Traffic fatalities and non-fatal injuries are on the rise in Louisiana and according to 2015 Louisiana traffic data, truck accidents make up a large proportion of those crashes. Throughout the year, Louisiana roads saw nearly 700 fatal crashes – a 5 percent increase from 2014 – resulting in 752 fatalities. These fatalities were up 1.6% from 2014. In addition, 78,800 people were injured – a more than 8 percent increase from the previous year – and there were 119,400 property damage-only crashes.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  You can count on the Personal Injury Bart Bernard Personal Injury Lawyers for superior legal advocacy in Louisiana. Whether you need effective representation in Lafayette, Kenner, New Orleans, Metairie or Baton Rouge, our veteran legal team is always ready to assist. To better serve our growing clientele, our personal injury firm now features 6 office locations, including two in the heart of Lafayette. Simply choose the law office most convenient to you and reach out for a free, confidential case evaluation.
• Medical Malpractice
  Botched surgeries, misdiagnoses and medication mistakes are just some examples of medical malpractice. When a healthcare provider – whether a physician, surgeon, gynecologist, midwife, chiropractor, anesthesiologist, ophthalmologist or other medical professional – fails to provide a certain standard of care that results in harm to the patient, victims and their family have grounds for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
• Auto Accidents
• Social Security Disability
  An injured worker is not required to have a workmans comp lawyer during the process but working with one can be very beneficial. An attorney is especially important if your claim involves disabilities that may involve other types of reimbursement, like Social Security Disability, or a potential lawsuit against another party, such as a product liability claim against a manufacturer of a defective product that caused the injury.
• Dog Bites
• Slip and Fall Injury
  Our legal team excels in handling challenging cases involving auto collisions, negligent employers and property owners and workplace accidents — doing whatever it takes to obtain justice for our clients.