Out-of-the-Box Lawyering

Finding evacuee doctors

If you're trying to find a new contact for a Louisiana evacuee doctor, try searching the website for the hospital where the doctor is on staff. Here, for example, is the Touro Infirmary link for Touro doctors: http://208.15.228.177/Physicians/FindaPhysician/tabid/72/Default.aspx

In addition, you can try the Louisiana Hospital Association site that the Louisiana State Medical Society links to : http://www.lhaonline.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=259.

If that doesn't work, you can try telephoning the Hospital Association at 225-928-0026 or the Medical Society at 800-375-9508 and 225-763-8500.

Suggestions for documenting Katrina losses

I received the following suggestions for documenting Katrina-related losses. The suggestions came from a professional photographer/videographer and were also posted on www.nola.com:

“Basically, you need to have very clear photos and video. You need to show the up close damage details, and the wide view to put it all in context. You can't take too many photos. You can't take too much video. Insurance reps I've spoken to are telling me that video will greatly enhance any photos you take. Be super cautious about angles, lighting, etc. If an agent can say, "I don't see what you're describing in that photo," you could be screwed. Watch for your angles, backgrounds, lighting, focus, etc. Think really good about each shot. You want to relate the big picture AND the small details about the whole property to someone who has no idea. Imagine your audience has never seen western style buildings and you need to relate the damage to them with only the photos and video.

“When taking video, BE QUIET! Any spoken comments that are recorded can be used by the insurance agents against you. For example, if you say, ‘Oh thank goodness, that damage doesn't look like it affected the building's structure’, the insurance agent can say, ‘Hear that? It didn't affect the building's internal structure, so we're not checking that nor paying for it later.’

“And do NOT move ANYTHING AT ALL before you take your photos/video. If you have to get to something to document something else, record very well the scene BEFORE, then as you move stuff to show what you moved and how. Then the situation below that can be documented. Do not take any chances with thinking that anyone with a brain should ‘just know’ or ‘use common sense’ to understand anything in these situations.

“Do NOT let anyone ‘edit"’the video footage! If you can, make a copy by digitizing it to your computer, copying it to VHS, whatever. Do NOT give the original to ANYONE! If you agent wants it, copy it to a VHS tape, keep the original tape in YOUR possession! Take super good care of it! If you do go into litigation, it can be trusted to a reputable lawyer (isn't that a contradiction in terms, ‘reputable’ and ‘lawyer’?). [Comment by the photograoher, not by me!] Be sure you always know where it is and can get to it/check on it's condition at any time.

“Write everything down! Keep a notebook with you as you go through your property. Write the shots you took, date and time and what they are of. Write your personal thoughts and musings separately from this ‘documentation’ notebook. Again, don't share your personal thoughts with the insurance company, keep it business, keep it to the facts and nothing but the facts. They CAN use your off the cuff remarks to lower your claim. Just like being quiet when shooting the video.

“Also, have a witness, if not three, WITH YOU at the time you record you photos/video. If the agents want to dispute what you claim, you'll have legal witnesses to back you up. One trick is to put the video cam on a tripod and have everyone present to stand in front, start recording and have everyone take a turn with their name, age, relation to the property owner.

“Take a sheet of paper and walk through your home/business and write down every piece of furniture, it's damage (even if it's ok, put it's ok), estimated price you paid for it or current street price or both. Room by room, note the room, the furniture, placement, etc. Be detailed!

“That should give you all the ammunition you need in the ‘rare’ case an agent makes decisions you want to dispute.

“As a home and business owner, I feel that no one will take care of my property but ME. No one is cleaning up anything but ME. Get to your property ASAP and start documenting. The longer you wait to clean up, the worse it'll be. FEMA is full of it telling us it's still to early. The things FEMA claims are making it unsafe are things FEMA will NOT be cleaning up themselves. It'll be us, the natives of our town who'll end up having to do that ourselves.”

The author of the above is Ben Balser, Wolf Digital Media, LLC, www.wolfdigitalmedia.net.

Katrina - How to find lawyers who had to leave their offices

Katrina has forced many Louisiana lawyers from their offices. If you're a lawyer or a client looking for them, there are two sites that may have their new information. But the lawyers must have registered their new addresses and telephone numbers.

The Louisiana State Bar Association has one of the sites. www.lsba.org/home1/ The site also has Katrina-related information for attorneys as well as non-attorneys.

Attorneys can also give their new addresses and phone numbers to the State Bar Disciplinary Committee at http://www.ladb.org. The committee's site is searchable by the public.

Additionally, clients who are looking for their attorneys may post their own locations and, when their attorneys give a new address, the attorneys will be informed of the clients who have been looking for them.

Katrina-related legal info - A Katrina manual for attorneys and other information

The Louisiana State Bar Association site (www.lsba.org) has a variety of information for attorneys. Part of that information, which is open to the public, includes a training manual for attorneys:

"Emergency Disaster Training Manual for Louisiana Lawyers. http://www.lsba.org/home1/trainingmanual.asp
"Use this manual to help persons affected by Hurricane Katrina
"This manual has important information about how lawyers can assist persons affected by Hurricane Katrina."

Although it is for Louisiana attorneys, the manual may also be helpful for non-Louisiana lawyers since some of the information applies to issues that are not related to Louisiana law.

The site also has links to Florida, Texas and ABA sites that have Katrina-related information for non-Louisiana attorneys.

In addition, the site also includes information on how attorneys can get involved doing pro bono Katrina work.

Katrina - Entergy gives stats of which zip codes have or will have power

I'm an evacuee from New Orleans. There are lots of people, who, like me, have had to leave New Orleans. One of the things that is stopping us from returning is the lack of power in our homes and offices. Therefore, it may be helpful for people to know whether power is available, and if it isn't, when it will be available.

Well, now you can check by zip code or by area (such as the CBD or the French Quarter) Entergy's stats of percentages of customers who have power and the "Estimated Restoration Completion Date Summary" for those with no power.

This may help you or others decide when to go in.

http://www.entergy.com/corp/EmergencyCtr/restoration.asp