The federal government is not liable for damage suffered by property owners when a system of levees failed during Hurricane Katrina, a U.S. District Court in Louisiana has ruled in reversing judgment.

Tagged with: discretionary function exception Federal Tort Claims Act Hurricane Katrina negligence

A state law claim asserting that an insurer negligently represented a homeowner’s flood insurance coverage options and failed to offer a “preferred risk” policy is preempted by federal law, the 5th Circuit has ruled in reversing a U.S. District Court.

Tagged with: flood insurance Hurricane Katrina Liberty Mutual

A Louisiana judge has given a preliminary approval to a $25 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit by plaintiffs against a New Orleans hospital that was submerged in flood waters after the levees broke following Hurricane Katrina.

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Tenet Healthcare Corp., the third- largest publicly traded hospital chain, agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over patient deaths at a New Orleans medical center in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Tagged with: hospital Hurricane Katrina New Orleans wrongful death

An oil field rigger severely injured in a post-Hurricane Katrina salvage job has agreed to settle his court claims for $15 million.

Tagged with: Hurricane Katrina Louisiana oil rig

The landmark Katrina insurance case, Corban vs. USAA, has been settled on undisclosed terms.

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Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital in New Orleans and its corporate parent have settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of a 73-year-old woman who died after Hurricane Katrina left the hospital without electricity. Terms of the settlement with Althea LaCoste's family were sealed. The suit was expected to test the limits of hospitals' liability for disaster planning. But the settlement leaves the larger legal issues unresolved with many similar cases awaiting future juries.

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Once the power blinked out, Althea LaCoste's lungs were on their own. She struggled to breathe without the help of a respirator, and even a team of nurses hand-bagging air into her ailing lungs couldn't save her, according to court documents. LaCoste, 73, died before she could be evacuated from Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina. LaCoste's death 4½ years ago is at the center of a lawsuit being heard in Louisiana that could have far-reaching implications for hospitals across the country.

Tagged with: Hurricane Katrina

As the year comes to a close, here’s a look back at 10 of the most ground-breaking decisions issued by federal and state courts in 2009.

Tagged with: contingency fees drunk driving Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Hurricane Katrina medical monitoring preemption product liability retaliation same-sex marriage Sarbanes-Oxley Title VII tobacco litigation workplace privacy

The federal government is liable for damage suffered by five property owners when a system of levees failed during Hurricane Katrina, a U.S. District Court in Louisiana has ruled in rendering a $720,000 verdict.

Tagged with: Federal Tort Claims Act Flood Control Act Hurricane Katrina