Personal Injury Lawyers in Louisiana

In Louisiana, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally one year. This means a lawsuit must be filed within one year of the date of the accident. The statute of limitations applies to injuries suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence, as well as injuries that are due to an intentional tort, such as an assault or other violent crime that causes a person’s injuries. 

If you fail to file your lawsuit on time, the defendant will almost certainly take note of this and request that the case be dismissed. In most cases, their request will be granted, unless an exception to the statute of limitations applies. 

Minors

If the victim injured is under the age of 18, the clock doesn’t start running until the injured person turns 18. So, if a 12-year-old was involved in an accident and is injured, they can file a lawsuit anytime between the date of the accident and their 19th birthday and they will still be within the deadline. 

Discovery Rule – General

Regardless of the type of accident, you were involved in or what type of injury you suffered, the discovery rule is an exception to the statute of limitations. If you were in an accident and don’t know about an injury, and shouldn’t have reasonably known about the injury, the statute of limitations doesn’t begin to run until the injury and its cause are established. 

Defective Product

If you suffered an injury as a result of a defective product, the statute of limitations could be different than one year. If you were in a car accident that was caused by a poorly constructed part on the vehicle, the clock doesn’t start running until the date which the true cause of the injury should’ve reasonably been discoverable. For example, if you are in a car accident and it takes 18 months for experts to determine the cause of the car accident, the statute of limitations clock shouldn’t start running until the date where the cause was discovered or at least discoverable. 

The statute of limitations is one of the most important parts of a lawsuit. You should always consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Maine so you can be sure you don’t miss any important deadlines.

Personal injury claims in Louisiana are governed by pure comparative fault. This means that you can recover compensation even if you are partially at fault for the accident or injury you suffered. The compensation that you are awarded will be reduced by the percentage that the court determines you are at fault. For example, if the court determines the accident was 25 percent your fault, your compensation will be reduced by 25 percent, and you will take home 75 percent of the compensation that was awarded to you. This only applies when a case gets to trial. 

If your attorney is attempting to negotiate a settlement on your behalf, there will not have been a determination made about whose fault the accident was and what percentage you were at fault, if any. However, an experienced personal injury attorney will look at the case and try to determine if they believe their client is at fault, and if so, how much. This will factor into their negotiations and help you and you attorney determine whether a settlement offer is a good one or not. If it’s a low settlement offer, but you will likely be found to be significantly at fault for the accident, you might end up walking away with more compensation from that settlement than if you won a bigger award at trial but couldn’t recover all of it due to your responsibility in the accident.

In Louisiana, you can recover the following types of compensation in a personal injury case:

Special Damages
Special damages are losses that are quantifiable and can be assigned a monetary value. This generally includes property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the accident. 

General Damages
General damages refer to losses that are more difficult to put a value on. This can include emotional or mental trauma, loss of enjoyment of activities, loss of quality of life, and compensation for physical disfigurement. General damages are often just referred to as pain and suffering.

For special and general damages, there is no limit to the amount of compensation that can be recovered.

No. While most personal injury claims are probably based on negligence, not all of them are. Some of the most common personal injury claims based on negligence include car accidents and slip and falls. However, some personal injury claims are based on an intentional act, such as an assault or another violent crime that a person commits intentionally. Other cases, like dog bite cases, are based on strict liability. This means the owner of the dog is liable for injuries suffered when their dog bites someone even if they weren’t negligent.

Morgan & Morgan is here for you, no matter what type of injury you suffered or what the circumstances are. Whether your injury was because of another person’s recklessness or an intentional act they committed, we can help. We have been assisting people with their personal injury cases for decades. When you hire Morgan & Morgan, you never pay anything upfront because we take all of our cases on a contingency fee basis. Additionally, we are well-known and respected in legal communities all throughout the United States. When a defendant sees that you’ve hired Morgan & Morgan, they will know how serious you are. Contact Morgan & Morgan for a free and confidential case evaluation today so we can get you connected with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Louisiana.