Lawyer Profile
Paul H. Dué
Attorney Bio
Paul H. Due' began his legal career after finishing first in his law school class at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1966. After a few years practicing law in defense firms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Paul began a personal injury practice in Baton Rouge.
Paul H. Dué's personal injury practice initially focused on international admiralty and maritime claims involving foreign seaman injured or killed on vessels and on aviation accidents around the world. In 1986, Paul H. Due' founded the Louisiana injury law firm now known as Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews, which focuses on trial and appeals of complex personal injury and wrongful death litigation, including 18 wheeler accidents, highway defects and road hazards, defective products, medical malpractice, and automobile accidents.
The Louisiana Association for Justice recently recognized Paul's dedication to representing victims of accidents and to the preservation of victim's rights when it awarded him with the 2009 LAJ Stalwart Award. Paul H. Dué, a past-president of LAJ, had previously been honored with the LAJ President's Award. Paul is a Life Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and has been selected for inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers since its inception. Paul was also selected as the Best Lawyers, Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2009.
Practice Areas
- Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (Automobile Collision, Aviation Litigation, Brain Injury, Catastrophic Injury, Maritime, Medical Malpractice, Premises Liability, Product Liability, Wrongful Death)
- Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs (Automobile Collision, Aviation Litigation, Brain Injury, Catastrophic Injury, Maritime, Medical Malpractice, Premises Liability, Product Liability, Wrongful Death)
- Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (Appellate, Automobile, Aviation, Insurance, Mass Tort, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, Toxic Tort)
- Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs (Appellate, Automobile, Aviation, Insurance, Mass Tort, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, Toxic Tort)
Lawyer of the Year
- Personal Injury Litigation (2009, Baton Rouge)
Case History
- Sharkey v. Sterling Drug — In one of the first Reye''s Syndrome cases to go to trial against an aspirin manufacturer, Paul H. Due'' represented the grandparents of a child who ingested adult strength aspirin and contracted Reye''s Syndrome. Paul successfully claimed in a products liability action against the aspirin manufacturer that under Louisiana law, the aspirin manufacturer had a duty to warn of the association between the use of aspirin in pediatric patients and the subsequent contraction of Reye''s Syndrome; that the manufacturer''s failure to warn of the association was a legal cause of the child''s ingestion of the aspirin; and that the child''s ingestion of aspirin caused her Reye''s Syndrome.
- McDill v. Utica Mutual Insurance Company — In McDill v. Utica Mutual Insurance Company, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the failure of a underinsured/uninsured motorist liability insurer to tender some reasonable amount of general damages to an insured as a sign of its good faith and willingness to comply with underinsured motorist provisions was arbitrary and capricious and was properly made a basis for an award of penalties and attorney fees against the insurer. This ground-breaking decision led to the creation of the McDill Tender under Louisiana law.
- Aucoin v. State, DOTD — In Aucoin v. State, DOTD, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development was found liable for the defective condition of an old highway that caused an automobile accident. The Louisiana Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts that the old roadway where the accident happened was unreasonably dangerous. While the roadway was in good condition, the shoulders were substandard. Therefore, when a driver inadvertently traveled off the shoulder, the vehicle became trapped in a non-recoverable slope and did not have a clear recovery zone. Under these dangerous conditions, the Court held that DOTD could not escape liability by claiming that it had no duty to bring old highways up to current standards. The case had such an impact on road defect cases in Louisiana, that the Louisiana Legislature statutorily overruled the holding of Aucoin.
- Youn v. Maritime Overseas — Established the modern principle for appellate review of damages.