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New Orleans Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal Injury Laws in Louisiana

When you are injured due to the careless, reckless, or negligent conduct of another person or party, you have the right to hold that person or party accountable. Louisiana’s personal injury laws allow you to seek financial compensation for “damages,” or economic and non-economic losses resulting from an accident or injury caused by another.

Taking legal action after a serious injury can be daunting, but with Mike Slocumb Law Firm by your side, you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery while we handle the legal details of your case. Our New Orleans personal injury lawyers have extensive experience and a long, proven record of success. We handle complexcar accident claims, large truck and commercial vehicle cases, slip and fall lawsuits, and more. No matter how challenging your circumstances may be, you can rely on Mike Slocumb Law Firm to provide the caring, personalized, and tireless support you need.

Schedule a complimentary consultation and case evaluation with a member of our team today; call (504) 226-6777 or contact us online to get started.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Louisiana?

Every state has its own deadline, or statute of limitations, for filing personal injury lawsuits, and Louisiana is no different. In fact, Louisiana has one of the strictest general personal injury statute of limitations in the nation.

In Louisiana, you only have one year from the date of injury or death to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. There are very few exceptions to this rule. One exception occurs when an injury is not and cannot be discovered right away, such as a complication arising from medical malpractice. When this occurs, the individual has one year from the date of discovery, which is the date on which the injury was discovered or reasonably could have been discovered, to file a personal injury lawsuit.

In most cases, if you miss the one-year filing deadline, you cannot sue the liable party for damages. Instead, if you bring a claim to court after the statute of limitations has expired, the defendant will almost certainly file a request to have the case dismissed, and the court will nearly always agree.

Even if you believe the deadline may have passed, we encourage you to reach out to our team at Mike Slocumb Law Firm if you were injured due to the negligent or wrongful conduct of another. Though exceptions are rare, one may apply in your case. It is always best to discuss your legal rights and options with a knowledgeable attorney.

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What Do You Have to Prove in a Louisiana Personal Injury Case?

While the law broadly grants the right to file a personal injury claim to anyone who is injured due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct, there are several things you must prove to successfully recover compensation for your damages.

When bringing a case based on negligence, you must typically prove each of the following elements:

Duty of Care: “Duty of care” refers to the legal responsibility of the defendant to prevent foreseeable harm, either through act or omission or both.
Breach: A breach of the duty of care occurs when the defendant fails to abide by their legal responsibility to prevent foreseeable harm, typically through negligent or wrongful conduct.
Injury: You cannot file a personal injury claim unless you were injured; to have a case, you will need to prove you were injured and suffered measurable, compensable damages.
Causation: To prove causation, you will need to prove how the defendant’s breach of the duty of care was the direct or indirect (“proximate”) cause of your injuries and damages.

Because Louisiana follows a rule of pure comparative negligence, you do not need to prove that the defendant was entirely or even mostly at fault for the incident that caused your injuries. However, if you are found to be partly at fault, you cannot recover the full amount you are seeking in damages. Instead, your recovery will be reduced by the same percentage of fault you are determined to have, either by the insurance adjuster or the court (or both).

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What Types of Damages Can You Recover in a Louisiana Personal Injury Case?

There are two types of recoverable “damages” in Louisiana:

Compensatory Damages: Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic losses the plaintiff has sustained due to their injuries or the loss of a loved one.
Punitive Damages: Punitive damages may be awarded to punish defendants that are found to have acted with gross negligence, wanton or willful misconduct, or intent to cause injury.

Furthermore, there are two types of compensatory damages: economic and non-economic.

Economic damages include losses with a set dollar value, such as:

Medical expenses
Projected future care costs
Lost income and wages
Lost employment benefits
Costs associated with hiring in-home caretakers
Home modifications
Funeral or burial expenses
Loss of financial support provided by a loved one

Non-economic damages, meanwhile, are losses that do not have an inherent dollar value attached to them. Examples include:

Pain and suffering
Lost earning capacity
Diminished quality of life
Mental anguish
Disfigurement
Inconvenience
Loss of a loved one’s love, guidance, and protection

At Mike Slocumb Law Firm, we help our clients work to recover every penny they are owed. Our New Orleans personal injury attorneys leave no possible source of compensation unexplored when it comes to maximizing your recovery. Our goal is to help you recover a settlement or verdict that covers all of your past, current, and future losses so that you can begin to heal and move forward with your life.

There are no upfront or out-of-pocket costs for you when you hire our firm. Instead, we only collect attorney fees and/or litigation-related expenses when we win your case. Our firm can assist you in English and Spanish (hablamos español), and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Submit a free online case evaluation form or call (504) 226-6777 today to get started.

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