Louisiana Negligence Laws

No matter what type of accident you’ve been injured in, when you’ve suffered serious injuries at the hands of another, you can bring them to justice by pursuing and winning a personal injury claim against them in civil court.

However, if you know that you are partially responsible for the cause of the accident, you may be leery about filing a claim, or you may believe that you won’t have a case due to your own actions. Fortunately, Louisiana follows comparative negligence laws when it comes to fault. Read on to learn more about what comparative negligence is and how it could influence your claim.

What Contributory Negligence Is and How It May Influence Your Claim

Contributory negligence refers to an injury victim contributing to the cause of the accident they were involved in. There are three different types of contributory negligence: pure contributory negligence, modified comparative negligence, and comparative negligence.

Pure contributory negligence means that if you are even remotely at fault, you will not be able to file a civil lawsuit. Modified comparative negligence means you can still file a claim, but only up to a percentage of culpability. Comparative negligence does not have such a threshold for the amount of fault you carry.

The state of Louisiana follows comparative negligence, so you’ll be able to file a claim, but your award will be reduced by the amount of fault assigned to you. Below, let’s take a look at how comparative negligence might influence the resolution of your claim.  

A Look at Comparative Negligence

Here’s an example of how your claim might be impacted when you are partially at fault for the cause of the accident you were involved in:

If you were crossing the street and were struck by a motor vehicle, but you weren’t using the crosswalk to make your way across the street, the judge might find that you are 10 percent liable for the injuries you sustained. If the jury returned an award of $275,000, this would then be reduced by 10 percent, and you would actually be awarded a sum of $247,500.

As can be seen, the amount of blame assigned to you can dramatically impact the outcome of your claim. Working with a highly trained attorney is the best way to ensure that an appropriate level of fault is assigned to you when you file a personal injury claim.

Reach Out to a Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer

Have additional questions about the personal injury process? For answers and for assistance in getting the most out of your civil lawsuit, just get in touch with a regarded Louisiana personal injury lawyer at the Law Office of Braud & Gallagher today.

We proudly offer injury victims across the state a complimentary case evaluation where we can further review the circumstances of your accident. You can claim yours by calling our office at 1-800-256-5674 or by completing the quick contact form we have provided at the bottom of this page.