If social media is any indication, Louisiana is infamously mocked, memed, and made fun of for our above average number of personal injury attorney ads, specifically billboards. These so-called “billboard” attorneys spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on advertising their legal services for victims of accidents. Why is Louisiana so uniquely saturated in this way? The simple answer is supply and demand, but there are nuances that may surprise you about why, in true Louisiana style, we are just a little bit different than the rest of the country.
Higher Rate of Impaired Drivers
According to alcohol.org, a non-profit dedicated as a resource for alcohol treatment and recovery, the South is the deadliest region in the country for drinking and driving with 7 of the top 12 worst offenders, including Louisiana. Impaired driving accidents are not only deadly, but they are a terrible expense on all drivers since insurance companies factor those statistics into their premiums. A higher rate of impaired drivers means a higher rate of car accidents, and a higher rate of car accidents means more advertising from personal injury attorneys to capture those lawsuits.
Poor Quality Roads & Infrastructure
Another problem unique to the Southern region, and specifically Louisiana, is the poor condition of our roadways. Asphalt may be one of the most cost effective materials to build roadways out of, but it doesn’t last very long with Louisiana’s extreme weather conditions, humidity, and heavy traffic caused by decades of bureaucratic avoidance of infrastructural updating. In a recent Motortrend article, Louisiana was named #12 for the worst roadways in the country, with 33% of major urban streets designated in “poor” condition. Poor roads cause more accidents, and again, more accidents translates to more lawsuits.
Flooding
Flooding understandably causes degradation of roadways because of expansion and contraction that occurs within the roadway materials. According to National Flood Services, Louisiana ranks as the #1 most prone state to flood in the U.S. A little over 50% of the state is located in a designated flood zone. Louisiana has also been ground zero for some of the worst storms in U.S. history, including Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans in 2005. Deterioration of our coastal lands continues to back our coastline up several inches per year in some places, making us more vulnerable to storms that also cause flash flooding.
A Perfect Storm
When you calculate all of these factors together, it makes a lot more sense that Louisiana ranks among one of the worst states to drive in. We have some of the highest car insurance in the country, and the job of a personal injury attorney is to protect policyholders from their insurance companies trying to raise rates or drop them completely. When you call the attorney on the billboard, you are likely never going to speak to that person. When you see that an attorney has a 99% success rate, that is one thing. It is another thing altogether that many of the larger firms don’t mention the fact that they may be placing your case in the hands of a junior associate at the firm who doesn’t have the experience or the numbers of the attorney on the billboard.
When you call the Law Office of Stephen Gaubert, you will be speaking with Stephen directly. Stephen is an active member of the Acadiana community, a proud supporter and past president of Festival International, and he has dedicated his legal career to helping victims of Louisiana’s dangerous driving receive the compensation they deserve for their injuries.
