Bradley Murchison Kelly & Shea LLC

COMPREHENSIVE
Mr. Belsome practices in the firm's New Orleans office in the casualty and insurance litigation group.  His areas of practice include casualty litigation, railroad law, professional liability, medical licensing proceedings, health care liability law and medical products liability.

Mr. Belsome handles matters involving transportation law specifically within the Rail Industry. Mr. Belsome has represented a Class I Carrier in actions brought in the State and Federal courts of Louisiana as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit including claims prosecuted pursuant to the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. (1908), actions involving grade crossing accidents, invitee and trespasser injuries, right-of-way and track usage disputes, occupational injury and exposure claims and pedestrian -- train accidents.

Mr. Belsome’s practice also involves all aspects of medical malpractice litigation including medical review panel proceedings, litigation, appeals and administrative adjudication proceedings brought before the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, Louisiana State Board of Nursing and the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.  He represents healthcare facilities, including Political Subdivision -- Hospital Service Districts, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, physical therapists and emergency medical technicians in a wide variety of cases including those arising out of and involving psychiatric care, patient transport, patient supervision, emergency medicine, blood borne pathogens, Prenatal, Labor and Delivery complications, EMTALA, medical products liability, chronic narcotic pain management and claims of Eight Amendment Deliberate Indifference.  

Mr. Belsome has also handled administrative regulation, enforcement, permitting and compliance matters before the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality enforcement and permitting divisions, including solid waste transportation and disposal, Title V air permit reporting and compliance, waste water quality compliance, the NPDES/LPDES permitting program, Underground Storage Tank (UST) program and the LDEQ Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP).

REPRESENTATIVE CASES
2010
Yolande C. Dugas, etc., et al v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, et al., Docket No. 44798, 29th Judicial District Court, Parish of St. Charles Louisiana (Judge Lemmon) Defense verdict; no liability.  This case was brought on behalf of numerous St. Charles homeowners against our client, Illinois Central Railroad Company and the Parish of St. Charles.  The case arose out of the torrential rainfall that inundated St. Charles Parish as well as a number of other southeast Louisiana parishes over the course of the late evening hours of May 8, 1995.  Among the areas affected by the storm were three St. Charles Parish residential areas situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River between River Road and IC's Baton Rouge-to-Harahan right of way and track.  The fifty-seven plaintiffs, who all resided in those residential areas, alleged that their homes and personal property sustained damage due to water inundation caused as a result of the IC track structure acting as a dam to the natural flow of water from the Mississippi River towards Lake Pontchartrain and loose discarded railroad crossties clogging Parish maintained drainage canals.  The case was tried over the course of nine days beginning in February and finally to completion in April 2010.  Following the trial Judge Lemmon entered a judgment finding that plaintiffs' damages were not caused by any negligent or substandard conduct on IC's part. 

Warner Shane Cox v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, Docket No. 2007-0407, 21^st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa, Louisiana. Defense verdict; no liability. Following the 5-day trial, the jury returned a verdict denying plaintiff any recovery and finding no negligence on the part of our client, Illinois Central Railroad Company.  The case, an action brought pursuant to the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), involved a claim by a former IC employee who alleged to have suffered career ending wrist injuries as a consequence of a purported defect in a company-owned truck provided to him and a co-worker for use in performing their track maintenance duties.  In addition to claiming that the truck was unreasonably dangerous due to the presence of unauthorized, homemade welding hose hangers fashioned out of welding rods, the plaintiff also argued that IC was negligent for failing to reasonably inspect the vehicle, discover the condition, and remediate it.  In closing argument plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for a 7-figure damage award.  After deliberating for just under three hours, the six-person civil jury rejected plaintiff’s liability theories altogether; deciding that the accident for which plaintiff sued, was not caused by any negligent or substandard conduct on IC’s part.

2009
Sandra Butler v. Illinois Central Railroad Company et al, Docket No. 536,236, 19th Judicial District Court, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.  Following the 5-day trial, the 12-person jury returned a verdict denying plaintiff any recovery and absolving our clients, Illinois Central Railroad Company and its conductor, James Carter, from all liability.  The action involved the death of a laboratory analyst inside a Baton Rouge chemical plant.  The analyst, who was retrieving commodity samples from a Freon storage tank located adjacent to an in-plant line of tracks, was fatally injured when his head and upper extremities were completely severed from his torso by the movement of two empty tank cars.  The train crew members, who were in the plant positioning several empty tank cars for subsequent loading on the track adjacent to the Freon storage tank sample location, discovered the decedent’s body beneath one of the empty cars as they worked their train out of the plant.  The action was filed by the analyst’s widow, individually and on behalf of their three children.  The plaintiff, represented by a 5-member trial team, never made a settlement demand and asked the jury for a 7-figure damage award during closing argument.

2008
Dana Jambon et vir. V. Robert Chugden, M.D. et al. Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans Case No. 2002-03023 Div "H" (Judge Bagneris) Defense verdict; no liability. Case involved a 32 year old female patient who presented to the West Jefferson Medical Center Emergency Department with noted vascular problems of the right lower extremity. Patient ultimately underwent a high below the knee amputation of the affected extremity the day following her presentation to and discharge from the WJMC ED. Representation of the two Emergency Medicine physicians who saw the patient in the WJMC ER. Allegations of failure to correctly and timely diagnose acute ischemia resulting in the amputation.

2007
Nona Gonzales et vir v. Dr. Ernest C. Hansen III. 34th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Bernard Case No. 80-446 Div "B" (Judge Fernandez). Defense verdict; no liability. Case involved a 60 year old female patient who was brought to the Chalmette Medical Center Emergency Department with complaints of a sudden onset of chest pain and vomiting. The patient was  evaluated and later discharged. Patient presented later that day to the Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital Emergency Department where she was diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction. Representation of the Emergency Medicine physician who saw the patient in the CMC ED. Allegations of failure to correctly and timely diagnose myocardial infarction resulting in damage to the heart and ultimately the patient's death.

HONORS
Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial
Academy, 2006
American Achievement Academy, All American Scholar
Cicardo Scholarship
Michael Stein Memorial Scholarship
American Inns of Court, Pupil Member
River Parishes Refinery Explosion Memorial Scholarship

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
Leadership Jefferson, Class of 2008
New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel
Young Leadership Council
New Orleans Bar Association, Young Lawyers

PUBLISHED DECISIONS
In Re:  Charles J. Jenkins, 006-0566 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/15/06), 945 So.2d 814, 2006