Louisiana permits a narrow claim for the emotional harm of seeing a close relative seriously injured. The relative need not die, and the observer need not be physically hurt. But learning that someone was injured, or suffering profound grief afterward, does not by itself establish a bystander claim. Civil Code article 2315.6 connects recovery…
A Louisiana accident can raise several timing questions at once. The injury date may govern one rule, the lawsuit’s filing date another, and the insurance policy’s history a third. Filing in 2026 does not automatically place the entire claim under every law then in force. The starting point is Civil Code article 6: absent…
Louisiana emotional-distress law depends on whose injury you claim. Learn the rules for your own injury, claims without physical harm, and bystanders.
A hospital’s charge and the amount recoverable in an injury case can be different. For claims governed by Louisiana’s 2026 medical-expense rule, a contracted provider’s bill paid by health insurance or Medicare generally produces a claim for the amount paid plus the patient’s applicable cost sharing. The former addition of 40 percent of the…
Louisiana’s comparative-fault calculation has two separate steps: determine the injured person’s percentage of negligence, then apply the legal consequence of that finding. For claims governed by the amendment effective January 1, 2026, the consequence changes sharply at 51 percent. A 50 percent finding permits a proportionately reduced recovery; a 51 percent finding generally bars…
A hospital bill may arrive while the other driver’s insurer is still investigating the crash. Opening an injury claim does not, by itself, arrange payment to the hospital or stop collection. The immediate question is which coverage or payment arrangement applies to that bill. Three amounts can differ: what the provider charged, what you…
Last reviewed: September 26, 2026 Sources checked: September 28, 2026 A claim can begin with a call to an insurer, but that call does not file a lawsuit or protect a filing deadline. Those are separate steps. If you were injured in Louisiana, the practical first task is to preserve the facts while you…
Last reviewed: September 26, 2026 Louisiana now uses two different comparative fault rules, and the date of the injury usually determines which one applies. For an injury before January 1, 2026, a claimant’s damages generally are reduced by the claimant’s percentage of fault. For an injury on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant…
People ask for the average personal injury settlement because they want a number they can use. Louisiana does not publish a reliable statewide average that predicts what a particular claim will settle for. Even if a useful average existed, it would mix minor injuries, permanent disabilities, disputed accidents, clear-fault cases, small insurance policies, and…
A lawyer’s address is a poor shortcut for deciding whether that lawyer is right for an injury case. A Baton Rouge or New Orleans office does not guarantee resources, attention, or courtroom ability. A lawyer in a smaller community is not automatically at a disadvantage. The useful question is whether the firm can investigate…
Choosing a personal injury lawyer is less about finding the loudest advertisement and more about learning who will actually handle the work. You should leave the first conversation knowing what evidence matters, what could weaken the claim, who will keep you informed, and what happens if the insurer refuses a fair resolution. The right…
You do not have to hire a lawyer to ask an insurer for payment. Whether handling a claim yourself makes sense depends on what is disputed, how much remains unknown about the injury, and what you would be agreeing to in a settlement. A small claim with clear responsibility, understood medical needs, and no…
In Louisiana, a loss of consortium claim seeks damages for harm to a qualifying family relationship after someone is injured, including changes to companionship, household services, and intimacy under Louisiana Civil Code art. 2315(B). The law ties who can recover to the same beneficiary categories used for wrongful death actions in Louisiana Civil Code…
Medical bills may arrive while the insurers are still deciding who caused an accident. Paying for treatment now and recovering those costs through an injury claim are separate questions. Available health insurance, auto medical payments coverage, or workers’ compensation may help with current bills, depending on the policy and circumstances. Keep the bills, insurance…