Is Louisiana to Blame for Fatal Accident?

The Louisiana State Police still isn’t sure what caused an accident on the fairly new flyover ramp from Causeway Boulevard onto Interstate 10. The family of the victim of the fatal accident says that there are safety concerns with the design of the ramp. They believe their loved one would have survived the crash if there had been better safety measures in place.
The victim and her partner were trying to sell a scooter and were taking the vehicle to an interested buyer. While the woman rode her scooter, her partner was following behind her in another vehicle. As the woman was negotiating the flyover ramp she somehow lost control and hit the side wall of the ramp.
When she did, she was thrown off of the scooter and over the wall of the ramp. She landed on the highway below — a drop of about 50 feet. Even though she was alive when her partner and a passing doctor managed to get to her, it was too late. According to her partner, the victim flew at least two to three feet into the air as she went over the wall. It is the family’s contention that if the wall had been built higher or if there was some sort of safety fence above the existing wall, she might be alive.
Under Louisiana law, the family of a fatal accident victim may file a wrongful death claim against any party or parties whose actions may have caused or contributed to the death of that person. Sometimes, that person is a company or governmental agency. In this case, even though the state Department of Transportation says the wall was built in accordance with industry standards and would not have been opened for use unless it had been deemed safe, a Louisiana court may end up being the ultimate judge of that.