New Orleans Personal Injury Attorneys

Despite the violence, tragedy, and hardship that fill our daily headlines, no one expects the worst to happen to them. Accidents happen unexpectedly, tearing through lives, upending carefully laid plans, and leaving victims and their families saddled with unexpected pain, physical hardship, and financial burdens. 

In some cases, these accidents are nobody’s fault. But you don’t have to suffer alone when tragedy strikes, especially when it’s someone else’s negligence. Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and economic losses under Louisiana law. 

Here’s what you need to know about personal injury law in Louisiana and what the experienced attorneys at Lamothe Law Firm can do to help you recover from this unforeseen life event. 

Personal injury (or “tort law”) protects you and your property from injury or harm when it stems from someone else’s action or inaction. In other words, they must help make it right if they were at fault.

In Louisiana, some of the most common personal injury cases stem from: 

• Car, motorcycle, and motor vehicle accidents.
• Catastrophic injuries.
• Industrial accidents.
• Maritime and offshore accidents.
• Mass tort and class actions.
• Oil field accidents.
• Product liability.
• River boat injuries.
• Traumatic brain injuries.
• Wrongful death. 

If someone made a mistake that resulted in your injury, you shouldn’t have to bear the burden alone. Our state’s personal injury laws hold individuals and corporations accountable for their behavior and require them to compensate you for any losses you suffered on their account.

That being said, you need to be aware of some important limitations on personal injury laws before you file a claim.

In a simple, cut-and-dry case, only one person is responsible for causing an accident, making only one person liable for damages. However, life is often more complex. 

Many personal injury cases involve multiple at-fault parties. Sometimes, even an injured party may be partially to blame. In these cases, damages are assigned according to each party’s percentage of fault in causing the accident. This “comparative liability” standard means that you must include an at-fault party for the lawsuit to recover their proportionate share of the damages.

But what happens if the injured party is partly at fault? Does being partially to blame mean you can’t recoup damages at all.

Under these rules, an injured party can recover compensation for their injuries no matter how significant their share of the fault was.

Let’s go back to our fictional scenario and pretend the judge ruled Person A (who ran the red light) was 80% responsible and Person B (the texter) was 20% liable. Under pure comparative negligence rules, Person A can still collect 20% of the damages from Person B, even though Person A was 80% liable for what happened.

Even if are partially liable for your injury, don’t wait to act if you are in an accident. An experienced personal injury attorney can help secure a fair resolution for your case if you’re still within the statute of limitations.

The Clock Is Ticking on Your Personal Injury Claim

If you want to file a lawsuit, you must do so within a specific timeframe, known as a “statute of limitations.” It acts as a window of relevancy and protects would-be defendants from being sued for claims that are no longer pertinent.

In Louisiana, the statute of limitations for many personal injury claims varies depending on the type of claim, but is typically one year from the date of injury.