Louisiana

Trial in 35 Katrina Nursing Home Deaths

Jury selection began today in the trial of two owners of a Louisiana nursing home where 35 patients died during Hurricane Katrina, allegedly because they defied a mandatory order to evacuate before the storm surge hit on Aug. 29, 2005. After levees ruptured, a flood inundated St. Rita’s nursing home…

Aug 14, 2007 12:19 AM CDT

Home-Demolition Derby in New Orleans

Chanel Debose has spent $90,000 to fix up her New Orleans home since Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. But it is now reportedly on the list of homes to be demolished as the city rushes to meet a deadline for qualifying for federal aid to do so. At least she knows about…

Aug 9, 2007 8:19 PM CDT

Katrina Hospital Murder Case Closed, But Civil Cases Continue

The criminal case against two nurses and a doctor accused of murdering hospital patients while working under horrendous conditions during Hurricane Katrina is now at an end, following a grand jury’s refusal to indict Dr. Anna Pou last month, prosecutors told the judge in the case yesterday. But it appears…

Aug 7, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

Suit: Insurer Issued False Katrina Reports

A federal whistleblower lawsuit ordered unsealed today claims that State Farm Insurance Co. pressured engineers investigating homeowner claims to falsify reports about the cause of damage from Hurricane Katrina. Instead of saying that wind damage from the August 2005 storm, which is covered by homeowner policies, destroyed insured houses on…

Aug 6, 2007 11:14 PM CDT

Raid of Congressman’s Office Improper

A federal appeals court ruled today that the FBI must return privileged legislative documents seized in a raid of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson’s office last year. Jefferson was indicted after the raid on charges he solicited more than $500,000 in bribes. He has pleaded not guilty. The U.S. Court of…

Aug 3, 2007 4:31 PM CDT

Rebuilding Project

Hurricane Katrina washed out Louisiana’s justice system. Now it may be on the verge of moving into the 21st century.

Aug 1, 2007 9:50 AM CDT

No Murder Charges for Katrina Doctor

A grand jury in New Orleans has refused to indict a doctor accused of murdering four hospitalized patients by having them injected with a lethal drug cocktail in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, a prosecutor said after the announcement of the grand jury’s findings that investigators in her office…

Jul 24, 2007 6:56 PM CDT

Accused Doc Sues La. AG

A physician who stuck it out at a New Orleans hospital in disastrous conditions following Hurricane Katrina has filed a lawsuit against the state attorney general who accused her of killing four patients. The lawsuit by Dr. Anna Pou claims some patients could not be saved in the chaotic situation…

Jul 17, 2007 5:16 PM CDT

Cockfighting Soon Illegal in 50 States

Cockfighting will soon be illegal in all 50 states. A bill banning the sport in Louisiana, the only state where it is currently legal, was signed yesterday by the state governor and takes effect next summer. It is already illegal to gamble on cockfights in Louisiana under a law that…

Jul 13, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

New Housing Rules Hit Katrina Victims

Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, displaced residents from the lowest economic rungs of the region’s economic ladder are still struggling–often in communities far from home. But as many businesses desperately seek workers, and former residents fruitlessly seek…

Jul 13, 2007 2:17 AM CDT

Katrina Hospital Death Charges Dropped

Charges have been dropped against two nurses accused of having helped murder four patients, aged 61 to 90, allegedly given a lethal drug cocktail by a physician during the chaos created by Hurricane Katrina. The unusual case involved second-degree murder charges filed last summer against nurses Lori Budo and Cheri…

Jul 6, 2007 1:59 AM CDT

New Orleans Judge Tackles Defense Ills

A New Orleans judge is shining a light on the city’s troubled public defender system. Judge Arthur Hunter Jr. has held hearings into problems plaguing indigent defendants as the justice system struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina, the Los Angeles Times reports. He has called for more funds and notified…

Jun 27, 2007 4:12 PM CDT

Nurses Testify in Katrina Hospital Deaths

Several nurses are reportedly soon to testify before a grand jury, two of them under immunity grants, in an ongoing criminal investigation of the deaths of at least four hospitalized patients in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Health care workers at Memorial Medical Center, including at least one doctor, are…

Jun 20, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Riding Out the Storm

Even the Best Disaster Plans Can’t Help New Orleans Lawyers Account for Lost Clients, Disruption and Uncertainty

Feb 21, 2006 11:15 AM CST

Long Road to Recovery

Victims of Hurricane Katrina Face Legal Issues at Every Turn

Feb 21, 2006 10:46 AM CST