Injury · Louisiana
the short answer
You have two years from the day of the crash to file, and no amount of talking to an insurer extends it. Being partly to blame does not end your claim; it reduces what you collect by your share and nothing more. The money comes from the other driver's liability insurer, and no injury threshold stands in the way.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
who pays first
Louisiana is an at-fault state, so there is no injury threshold to clear before you can sue: the claim is against the driver who caused the crash and their liability insurer, and the medical bills, the lost earnings and the pain and suffering all come from there. Liability cover is compulsory for every driver here. (La. R.S. 32:861)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 38 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Louisiana. Compare every state →
your share of the fault
Your share of the blame costs you that share and never the claim itself. Forty percent at fault means you collect sixty percent of the damages, and a driver mostly to blame still recovers what is left. (La. Civ. Code art. 2323)
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 11 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Louisiana. Compare every state →
limit
2 years
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
Across the country. 25 of the 51 states written up answer this the same way as Louisiana. The shortest is 1 year, as in Tennessee; the longest is 6 years, as in Maine. Compare every state →
which court
Small claims division
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$5,000
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
exceptions: The division awards money and equitable relief but cannot issue an injunction, and class actions are barred. In the City Court of East St. Tammany the limit is instead whatever a justice of the peace court may hear.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
also
Louisiana doubled this in 2024. Delictual actions used to prescribe in one year — the shortest period in the country — and for injuries sustained on or after 1 July 2024 the period is two.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Louisiana. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
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