For four years, THORNHILL is one of ten trial lawyers appointed by the Court to try the case against BP operations in the Gulf of Mexico, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of injured and damaged Plaintiffs, together with the US and five State governments, resulting in settlements exceeding $60 Billion Dollars.
If you have been affected by Hurricanes Laura or Sally and need help with your insurance claim(s), we have the experience you need so call our firm today 800-989-2707.

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After Hurricane Ike, residents of Galveston and Bolivar Islands discovered they did not have the insurance their agent had told them they purchased. To recover, a claim must be brought against the agent.

Defense – Coverage Not Obtainable

Sometimes, the defendant in an action against an insurance agent or broker for failure to procure insurance coverage will attempt to avoid liability by showing that the client’s failure to obtain the desired coverage was not caused by any wrongdoing on the defendant’s part because the desired coverage was not obtainable from any source. Where such a claim is made, the defendant generally will bear the burden of proving it as an affirmative defense. Stevens v Wafer. The burden of proof is said to be placed on the defendant because an insurance agent or broker is in a better position than the client or the intended beneficiary to determine the availability of insurance coverage.
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Thornhill Law Firm has successfully litigated claims by injured workers who engage in the offshore oil and gas industry. Movable rigs, semi-submersible rigs, drilling barges, and other floating facilities which are classified as vessels entitle claimants to relief under the Seaman’s Statutes. General maritime law and Jones Act Seaman’s Statutes created by Congress and the Federal Courts often apply to such claims. The United States Constitution gives special protection to maritime claims under the Savings to Suitors Clause of the Constitution. Maintenance and cure payments are assured injured workers under these statutes and cases. A team of lawyers has been assembled to address recent catastrophic offshore explosions, such as that we have heard reported in the news about the Trans Ocean Limited Semi-submersible Rig. The proven trial skills of Tom W. Thornhill have served well claimants who must through the courts obtain relief from responsible persons.

https://www.thornhilllawfirm.com/

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On April 13-16, 2010, Tom W. Thornhill participated with the other lead members of the slab committee for the multi-district litigation and class action suits against Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (“TWIA”) to depose TWIA experts on causation issues. The defense of TWIA is that the damages to the homes on Galveston and Bolivar Islands are not covered. TWIA statistically calculated damages in the amount of 11.2% of the losses without looking at the homes based on faulty science which when explored in deposition showed fingerprints of mismanagement that will expose TWIA to punitive damages for bad faith conduct. The law in Texas allows recovery under the provisions of Section 541 & 542 in the Insurance Code and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. TWIA insurance policy holders are encouraged to take notice of the statutory time period in which to file suit. Texas allows only two years within which to file suit. Thornhill Law Firm has formed a joint venture in Texas to handle these suits named, Thornhill, Shrader & Burdette, PLLC, and can be reached at 1-800-989-2707.

https://www.thornhilllawfirm.com/

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After Hurricane Katrina thousands of people along the Gulf Coast filed claims on their insurance policies. The insurance companies responded by paying some claims in full, some claims partially, and not paying some claims. Policy holders with valid claims were forced to resort to litigation to get fairly reimbursed for their loss of property or damage to their property. Thornhill Law Firm filed many of these claims and were able to help their clients recoup some of their losses, but we were forced to turn away those that called us after the period of prescription or peremption had run. Prescription, which exists in both common and civil law, is the idea that if a claim has not been made within a certain time period, then there no longer exists a remedy at law. Peremption, a civil law concept, actually stops the claimant from bringing the claim. Effectively, peremption extinguishes a claim. Prescription and peremption are commonly referred to as statutes of limitations or statutes of repose.
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With the new beginning of 2009, family law in Louisiana is changing in two respects. First, a new addition to the Louisiana Civil Code protects the right of children in divorced families to see both parents, helping to fill a gap which did not require parents granted a schedule of visitation or custody to see their children. To illustrate this point, a fictional scenario follows. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are divorced with a child, Amanda. Mrs. Smith has custody, but Mr. Smith has been granted a schedule of visitation.
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In 2007, 597 people were killed on Louisiana roadways and another 21,075 people were injured. Injury sustained in a motor vehicle accident can be expensive and time consuming to treat, not to mention requiring time off from work, resulting in lost wages and any future ramifications.
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In a world where prescription drugs are touted not only in the doctor’s office, but on TV and in magazine campaigns as well, consumers must be vigilant about their care. Technology is advancing at a rate that has increased the number of drugs presented to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at an unprecedented rate. The consumer must remember that these drugs are highly screened and need a prescription from a doctor for a reason, and use them as guided by their physician or pharmacist. However, even when taken as directed, prescriptions can carry risks, such as unknown side effects or drug interactions.
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A reality of living on the Gulf Coast is the yearly threat of hurricane season. While many bypass us, the threat of a direct hit requires property owners to plan for the future, whose plans typically involves insurance policies. Insurance companies hold an important role in society, they are the ones we turn to when disaster strikes, as they represent themselves in large-scale advertising campaigns. Their job is to assess the chance of any given peril occurring, and determining a value a policyholder should pay for the right to receive a benefit should the covered event occur. Some perils carry such high rates of risk, private insurers are unwilling to write policies regarding that event. With some exceptions, flood and certain water-related events are typically not covered under an all perils insurance policy, or flood is excluded under an all risks policy.
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Class actions lawsuits are an invaluable procedure to the legal community. Essentially, a class action allows numerous people with common complaints that will be defended similarly to file one lawsuit together, rather than forcing each individual to seek their own attorney and file suit individually. By using this process, advantages are realized by all parties involved- plaintiffs, defendants, and the court system.
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1. THE DIGITAL AGE
• Admissibility of digital evidence:

The 2003 Louisiana Legislature passed Act 1135 amending the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Evidence Article 1001 (3) to provide that digital evidence from palm pilots, the blackberry, e-mail, and related evidence is to be treated as original for evidentiary purposes.

This and similar provisions of the Code of Evidence (e.g. Art. 1003.1) fail to recognize the potential for abuse of digital evidence. The problem with e-mail and any digital evidence is that it may be deleted, altered or preserved incorrectly. There is a presumption of admissibility of electronic duplications in Article 1003.1 by providing “a duplicate may be deemed inadmissable or excluded solely because it is in electronic format”, as will be seen from the following, this is a problem.
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