Personal Injury
Law without justice is a wound without a cure.William Scott Downey
Fighting for the seriously injured throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Prepared for trial. Built for settlement.
Personal Injury · Louisiana & Mississippi
The other side has a team. So should you.
When you have been seriously hurt because of someone else’s negligence, the person across the table is not on your side. The insurance company has adjusters, lawyers, and decades of experience minimizing what they pay. The corporation that made the defective product has a legal team whose job is to protect the company, not to compensate you. The employer whose negligence put you in harm’s way has resources you do not. Aertker Legal levels that playing field.
Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. began his career representing insurance companies and corporate defendants — which means he knows exactly how the other side thinks, what they look for, and where they are vulnerable. He turned that knowledge around. For over two decades, he has put it to work exclusively for the people those same defendants try to underpay and outlast.
The result is a plaintiff’s attorney who prepares every case as if it is going to trial — because the insurance companies know it might, and that knowledge is what produces fair settlements. When a case does go to trial, Stephen has the courtroom experience, the credentials, and the tenacity to see it through.
Aertker Legal handles personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis. There is no attorney’s fee unless and until a recovery is made on your behalf. Case costs and expenses are advanced by the firm; the client may be responsible for them if no recovery is obtained.
Serious injuries. Statewide reach.
Aertker Legal represents seriously injured individuals and the families of those wrongfully killed throughout St. Tammany Parish (Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville, Slidell, Pearl River), Tangipahoa Parish (Amite, Hammond, Ponchatoula, Kentwood), and Washington Parish (Bogalusa, Franklinton) — and across southeast Louisiana and south Mississippi.
Curt’s clients have suffered some of the most serious injuries the law recognizes — traumatic brain injuries, limb amputations, paraplegia and quadriplegia, severe burns, spinal injuries including herniated discs at the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar levels, and catastrophic fractures. These are life-altering events, and the representation they require reflects that.
Medical-negligence claims are handled through the firm’s dedicated Medical Malpractice practice.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
“The automobile is the most dangerous weapon in society — cars kill more than wars do.”— Ray Bradbury
Louisiana roads carry real danger — and Louisiana’s insurance landscape makes serious accidents even more complicated than they are elsewhere. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, multiple liable parties, commercial-carrier regulations, and the interplay between Louisiana tort law and federal trucking regulations all affect what a case is worth and how it must be pursued.
Louisiana’s comparative-fault principles under La. C.C. art. 2323 reduce a plaintiff’s recovery by his or her percentage of fault, but do not bar recovery entirely unless fault is allocated at 100%. Insurance companies exploit comparative fault aggressively during adjustment; the firm builds cases that minimize comparative-fault exposure and maximize recovery.
- Passenger vehicles and pickup trucks
- Motorcycles
- 18-wheelers and commercial carriers subject to FMCSA regulations
- Buses, streetcars, and mass-transit vehicles
- Boats, personal watercraft, and recreational vessels
- Off-road vehicles, ATVs, and UTVs
Stephen recently obtained a substantial recovery for a client who suffered a traumatic eye injury in a car accident in St. Tammany Parish.
Products Liability
“The surest foundation of a manufacturing concern is quality. After that, and a long way after, comes cost.”— Andrew Carnegie
When a defective product causes serious injury, the manufacturer, distributor, and seller may all bear responsibility under the Louisiana Products Liability Act (La. R.S. 9:2800.51 et seq.). The LPLA is the exclusive remedy against a manufacturer for damage caused by its product, and it provides four theories of liability: construction or composition defects, design defects, inadequate warnings, and breach of express warranty.
- Automobiles, trucks, and recreational vehicles
- Tractors and agricultural equipment
- Industrial equipment and heavy machinery
- Medical devices and implants
- Pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs
- Building products, including drywall and asbestos-containing materials
- Ladders, scaffolding, and fall-protection equipment
- Food products and beverages
Curt negotiated a favorable settlement for a St. Tammany Parish client who suffered a traumatic finger amputation in a products-liability action against an international tractor manufacturer.
Premises Liability
“Safety doesn’t happen by accident.”— Anonymous
Louisiana property owners and occupiers have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for those who enter. Under La. R.S. 9:2800.6, merchants — including grocery stores, retailers, restaurants, and casinos — face a specific and demanding burden regarding conditions on their floors and walkways. Proving a premises claim requires command of both the general negligence framework and the statutory requirements that apply to each category of owner.
- Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents
- Negligent security and third-party criminal acts
- Grocery, department, and retail stores
- Hotels, motels, and resorts
- Restaurants, bars, lounges, and venues
- Parking lots, sidewalks, and garages
- Casinos
- Parks, stadiums, golf courses, and recreational areas
- Apartments, condominiums, and private residences
Admiralty & Maritime Law
“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.”— Franklin D. Roosevelt
Louisiana’s Gulf Coast economy makes maritime injury a significant and distinct category of personal-injury law — one that demands specialized knowledge. Maritime law operates under a separate federal framework, with statutes, remedies, and procedural rules that differ substantially from Louisiana tort law. Stephen holds a Certificate in Maritime Law from Tulane University School of Law and has represented clients in admiralty matters throughout his career, including:
- Jones Act seaman claims for negligence and unseaworthiness
- LHWCA claims, including § 905(b) negligence actions
- Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) wrongful-death claims
- Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) claims
- General maritime negligence and maintenance-and-cure claims
- Offshore platforms, semi-submersible and jack-up rigs
- Tugs, towboats, crew boats, tankers, cargo, fishing, and cruise vessels
Curt recovered in excess of $1,000,000 for a Slidell client whose leg was traumatically amputated in a fabrication-yard accident caused by a crane operator’s negligence on a barge, prosecuted as a § 905(b) action under the LHWCA.
Civil Assault, Battery & Civil Rights
“The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”— Oliver Wendell Holmes
When someone is seriously injured by another person’s intentional act — or a law-enforcement officer’s use of excessive force — both civil and criminal remedies may be available. Civil claims for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress can be brought alongside or independent of criminal prosecution, and do not depend on a conviction.
Civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 provide a federal remedy for individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated by government actors, including law enforcement. These claims carry their own procedural requirements, qualified-immunity defenses, and damages frameworks that demand experienced civil-rights litigation counsel.
- Bouncers, security personnel, and third-party assailants
- Excessive force by officers and sheriff’s deputies
- Workplace violence
- Assaults at sporting and entertainment venues
Curt secured a substantial settlement for a Texas client who suffered a permanent traumatic brain injury after being assaulted by a bouncer at a well-known Bourbon Street establishment, and obtained a settlement in a § 1983 action for a client subjected to excessive force by sheriff’s deputies and municipal police officers.
Toxic Torts & Environmental Exposure
“We’re all living in a chemical soup.”— Lance A. Wallace
Louisiana’s industrial corridor, petrochemical plants, refineries, and offshore operations create real exposure to toxic substances for workers and residents alike. Toxic-tort litigation — for a single plaintiff or a class of affected individuals — involves complex causation science, multiple responsible parties, and regulatory frameworks that require careful navigation.
Claims may arise from single-incident releases — pipeline ruptures, plant explosions, refinery fires, train derailments, and vessel spills — or from long-term occupational or residential exposure. Both individual claims and mass-tort or class-action proceedings are within the firm’s scope.
- Petroleum hydrocarbons and refinery byproducts
- Industrial chemicals and solvents
- Asbestos and other building materials
- Lead paint
- Toxic mold
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Heavy metals
Hurt by someone else’s negligence?
Free consultation · No fee unless we recover · Louisiana & Mississippi
Start Your Consultation →