New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer

New Orleans Car Accident Attorney

Don’t Let a Car Accident Derail Your Life: Know Your Rights

Car accidents happen, and they can be really tough for anyone involved. Accidents can be more common in New Orleans, Louisiana, with its busy roads and diverse mix of drivers. These accidents can lead to injuries, stress, and legal issues that you might not know how to handle. If you have been in a car wreck, a New Orleans car accident lawyer can help you understand your rights and pursue compensation for your injuries.

Understanding your rights and the steps to take after an accident is essential for obtaining fair compensation. With a lawyer’s legal guidance, you can hold the responsible parties accountable and secure the support needed for recovery.

Whether negotiating with insurance companies or representing you in court, having a knowledgeable attorney by your side makes a significant difference. Stay informed about your options and take action to protect your future.

For years, Hammond Law Firm, LLC has fought for the rights of those injured in serious accidents. We have more than 40 collective years of experience, and we bring you compassionate and personalized legal care. Our team understands the difficulties of these cases, and we want to help you recover.

Quick Summary

Below is an overview of the key points of this article.

• Distracted driving, drunk driving, speeding, reckless driving, and weather-related conditions contribute significantly to car accidents in New Orleans. Each factor poses distinct risks to drivers and requires awareness and caution to prevent accidents.
• Car accidents in New Orleans resulted in various injuries ranging from whiplash and bone fractures to traumatic brain injuries and internal organ damage. The severity of these injuries underscores the importance of seeking immediate medical attention and legal advice following an accident.
• After a car accident in Louisiana, victims should stay at the scene, check for injuries, call the police, gather information, avoid admitting fault, seek medical help promptly, and contact a New Orleans car accident lawyer. These steps are crucial to protect one’s rights and pursue compensation.
• In Louisiana, determining liability in car accident cases involves proving duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages. Understanding these legal principles helps establish who is responsible for the accident and facilitates the process of seeking compensation.
• Louisiana law sets a one-year statute of limitations for filing personal injury claims related to car accidents. Exceptions like the discovery rule and rules for minors extend this period under specific circumstances, ensuring victims have adequate time to pursue legal action.
• Victims of car accidents in New Orleans may recover damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. These compensations aim to address the accident’s financial and emotional impacts on victims and their families.

What Causes Car Accidents in New Orleans?

Fatal car accidents are increasing in New Orleans. Changes in how drivers behave could prevent many of these tragic events. Knowing the leading causes of car accidents in New Orleans can help keep drivers and passengers safe.

Determining the cause of car accidents also helps you hold the at-fault party liable. While the vast majority of car collisions are caused by negligent drivers or drivers engaging in misconduct, other parties could be fully or partially liable for an accident. An accident caused by a car part malfunction could be attributed to the vehicle’s owner, a mechanic who completed poor maintenance, or the manufacturer of the vehicle.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is a big problem in New Orleans. Many drivers use their phones while driving, which leads to accidents. People often text, call, or use apps instead of paying attention to the road. This behavior makes distracted driving one of the main causes of car crashes in the city.

Drunk Driving

Drunk driving is a major problem in New Orleans and around the world. Too often, a fun night out ends in a terrible accident because someone chose to drive after drinking. Despite many awareness campaigns and strict laws, drunk driving still happens. This dangerous choice puts many lives at risk every day.

Speeding

Speeding is a significant cause of car accidents in New Orleans. Many drivers exceed speed limits, thinking it will save them time, but it often leads to crashes. When people drive too fast, they have less time to react to sudden changes on the road. This risky behavior turns everyday driving into a dangerous situation.

Reckless Driving

Reckless driving is a big problem in New Orleans. Drivers often make risky moves, don’t use turn signals, tailgate, or ignore traffic signs. These actions are more than just annoying. They are very dangerous. This kind of driving puts everyone on the road at risk.

Weather-Related Accidents

New Orleans, called “The Big Easy,” has unique weather that can make driving dangerous. Heavy rain and flooding are common, creating slippery roads. Fog can reduce visibility, making it hard to see other cars. Hurricanes bring strong winds and heavy rain, increasing the risk of accidents.

Common Car Accident Injuries in New Orleans

Car accidents range in seriousness from minor fender benders to major collisions, but even seemingly small car accidents can have lasting consequences. Many factors are involved when it comes to the injuries sustained in a given car accident, including the speed of travel, the angle of impact, and the type of vehicle involved. Some of the most common auto accident injuries include:

• Whiplash or neck injuries
• Bone fractures
• Cuts, scrapes, and bruises
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Internal organ damage
• Concussions or head injuries
• Loss of limb
• Torn ligaments
• Blunt force trauma
• Fatalities ( wrongful death )

In addition to the physical injuries sustained in an auto accident, many individuals suffer some degree of emotional trauma as well, such as PTSD. This can significantly affect your ability to return to your normal activities and may even lead to the development of a fear of driving.

The severity of your injuries in a car accident directly affects the amount of compensation you can recover in an insurance or personal injury claim. Minor cuts and scrapes may not require significant medical treatment or much time off work, so the damages you need to recover are much lower.

If you suffered a catastrophic injury, you may be unable to return to work for weeks or months and have to receive significant medical treatment, including surgeries and long-term physical therapy. All of these are substantial financial losses, and the injuries result in numerous emotional and psychological losses. This means the compensation in a car accident claim must be much higher to cover these damages.

What to Do Following a Car Accident in Louisiana?

Being in an accident is hard enough, but dealing with insurance companies afterward can be just as tough. These big companies often try to avoid paying claims. Taking the proper steps to protect your right to compensation and gather important insurance information is important. If you’ve been in a car accident in New Orleans, Louisiana, follow these vital steps to increase your chances of successfully pursuing your claim:

1. Do Not Leave the Accident Scene. In Louisiana, leaving an accident scene without stopping, giving your identity, and offering help is illegal. A minor accident can cause serious injuries, so stay at the scene until police or paramedics arrive.
2. Check for Injuries. After the accident, check yourself and others for injuries right away. If someone is hurt, don’t move them. Call 911 for an ambulance immediately. Even if you don’t need urgent care, seeing a doctor soon after the accident is important.
3. Call the Police. Always call the police after a car accident. It’s the law to report any accident that causes injury, death, or more than $500 in property damage. Police will gather details, investigate the crash, decide who caused it, and write a formal report. This report can support your insurance claim and any legal claims for responsibility.
4. Gather as Much Information as Possible. If you can, get the contact details of other drivers, passengers, and witnesses. Write down the license plate numbers and insurance info of any drivers involved. Also, take photos of the accident scene and your injuries. This evidence can support your claim later on.
5. Do Not Admit Fault. Exchange information with others involved and be truthful, but be cautious. Even a simple apology would be used against you later. You might initially feel responsible for the accident, only to find out later that the other driver was equally or more at fault. It’s best not to admit fault or blame anyone immediately after the accident.
6. Seek Medical Help. Some car accident injuries may appear days or weeks later. Getting medical help immediately is important, even if you feel okay or think your injuries are minor. Medical records are crucial for your accident claim, so seeing a doctor soon after the accident is important.
7. Contact a Lawyer. If you’ve been hurt in an accident, contact a lawyer. Insurance companies may not offer the total amount for your injuries until a lawyer gets involved. Your attorney will work to get you every dollar you’re entitled to.

Who Can Be Held Liable for My Car Accident Injuries?

Louisiana operates on an at-fault system. This means that under tort law, you are protected from damages caused by someone else’s negligence. The driver found at fault for the accident is responsible for covering the losses of other drivers. Drivers, whether multiple or only one, are the most frequent at-fault parties in car collisions.

Insurance companies and law enforcement investigate crashes to determine who caused them. They examine specific factors to establish fault in car accidents. Four factors have to be proven to establish fault:

Duty

Duty, in a legal sense, means that the person at fault was responsible for acting safely and responsibly to prevent harm to others on the road. This duty includes following traffic laws and driving cautiously. Proof that the at-fault party failed this duty is crucial in car accident cases.

Breach of Duty

Breach of duty means that the driver who caused the accident failed to meet their responsibility to drive safely and follow the rules. This could include speeding, running a red light, or texting while driving. Proving this breach of duty is important in showing how the other driver’s actions led to the accident.

Proximate Cause

Proximate cause means that the plaintiff’s injuries and damages were directly caused by the actions or behavior of the at-fault driver. It’s about showing how the driver’s actions led to the harm experienced by the injured person. This connection is important in proving who is responsible for the accident and its consequences.

Damages

Damages refer to injuries caused by the at-fault driver’s actions. It’s about proving that these injuries happened because of what the driver did wrong. This evidence shows how the driver’s behavior led to harm and what compensation may be needed for the injuries.

Who Other Than a Driver May Be Liable?

Driver mistakes cause many car crashes in New Orleans, but they’re not the only cause. Other parties, such as road crews, trucking companies, auto parts makers, and bus companies, can also be responsible in specific situations. The manufacturer of a car part may be strictly liable for an unreasonably dangerous vehicle. A road crew responsible for road upkeep could hold liability if they left debris that caused the accident.

Depending on the party liable, the requirements needed to hold them responsible for the accident can also change. Strict liability may come into play, or vicarious liability, if the accident was caused by an employed truck driver.

That’s why it’s crucial to consult a lawyer to determine liability and hold the responsible driver accountable for damages.

What is Louisiana’s Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Injury Claims?

There is a time limit, known as a statute of limitations, for filing your lawsuit. Under Louisiana law ( Civil Code Section 3492   ), if you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, you have up to one year to start filing a personal injury claim.

Once this one-year period is over, you usually cannot file a lawsuit. Because of this deadline, it is crucial that you act quickly. If you do not, you will be unable to recover the damages you suffered, and there will be no further legal path to seek recovery. If you are still negotiating a settlement when the statute of limitations runs out, you lose your bargaining power. Working with an attorney helps you close negotiations or file before the deadline.

There are a few rare exceptions to this rule in Louisiana. These exceptions include:

The Discovery Rule

The discovery rule means that the statute of limitations might start later in cases involving defective products. This gives you up to a year from when you discovered your injury or discovered the defect causing your injury to take legal action. It’s a way to ensure you have enough time to file a claim after learning about the problem.

The Injured Minors Rule

The injured minors rule states that if a person under 18 is injured, the time limit to file a lawsuit doesn’t begin until they reach 18. This ensures minors have enough time to take legal action once they become adults. It’s designed to protect their rights and give them a fair chance to seek compensation for their injuries.

The Shared Liability Rule

Some car accidents may involve more than one party responsible, which can extend the one-year time limit for filing a lawsuit. This often happens in multi-car accidents, like pileups, where multiple drivers share the blame.

As the person filing the lawsuit (the plaintiff), you must sue at least one responsible party within the first year. After doing that, you’ll have extra time to file against other parties at fault.

Should I File an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident in Louisiana?

Under Louisiana law, the lowest amount of insurance you must have is $15,000 for injury to one person, $30,000 for injury to multiple people in one accident, and $25,000 for damage to someone else’s vehicle or property. It’s crucial to file your car accident claim quickly and contact emergency services if the accident results in injuries or death, such as in a motorcycle accident. You may require:

• Record the date and time of the accident and describe what happened.
• Collect names, addresses, and phone numbers of all drivers involved.
• Note down the driver’s license and plate numbers of the involved drivers.

Most of this information is in the police report. It’s important to see a doctor even for minor injuries. Otherwise, the other person’s insurance might downplay your injuries and argue you aren’t hurt enough to get fair compensation.

Am I Still Eligible for Compensation If I Was Partially at Fault?

In Louisiana, car accident cases follow comparative negligence rules   . If you’re partly at fault for the accident, you can still get compensation, but it will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you.

For example, if you win a $100,000 claim but are found 20% at fault, your compensation would be $80,000. Insurance adjusters use similar reasoning to decide settlement offers. Determining fault isn’t exact—it’s a judgment call.

Negotiating with insurers or presenting your case in court relies on evidence collected from the accident and witness statements. This evidence is crucial in proving your case and determining how much compensation you might receive.

What Are the Damages I May Recover After a New Orleans Car Accident?

The damages you may recover after a New Orleans car accident depend on the nature and severity of your injuries and the specific facts of your case. However, some of the most common types of damages that car accident victims can recover include:

• Medical Expenses. After a car accident in New Orleans, you may recover money for medical bills. These bills cover everything from hospital stays to prescriptions and therapy. It’s important to keep records of all your medical costs.
• Lost Wages. You can also claim for lost wages. This covers the money you couldn’t earn because you were injured. It’s important to keep track of the days you missed work due to your injuries.
• Property Damage. You may recover damages for property damage. This covers the costs to repair or replace your vehicle and any other personal belongings damaged in the accident. It aims to compensate you for the financial losses related to repairing or replacing your property.
• Pain and Suffering. You can seek compensation for pain and suffering. This covers both the physical pain from your injuries and the emotional distress you’ve endured. It aims to help you recover from the overall impact of the accident on your life.
• Loss of Consortium. You may be entitled to damages for loss of consortium. This compensation is for the loss of companionship and support from your spouse or loved ones due to your injuries. It aims to help alleviate the emotional and relational impact of the accident on your relationships.

These damages are economic and non-economic damages, both types of compensatory damages. Compensatory damages compensate you for a loss you sustained. Economic compensatory damages are tangible losses or losses with a set financial value. This includes medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage.

Noneconomic compensatory damages are intangible losses and are subjective. This includes pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and other losses like loss of quality of life. Although they do not have a set financial value, they are legally recognized losses and can be given a financial value. The value of noneconomic damages is generally reliant on the value of your economic losses.

In some cases, you may also be able to recover punitive damages. Unlike economic and noneconomic losses, these do not compensate for a loss. Punitive damages are awarded to punish the at-fault party for their reckless or intentional misconduct. However, punitive damages are rarely awarded in car accident cases.

If you have been injured in a car accident, it is important to contact a New Orleans car accident lawyer to discuss your legal options. A lawyer can help you determine what types of damages you may be eligible to recover and can represent you in negotiations with insurance companies or in court. They will also guide you through the legal process, including making medical evaluations and avoiding common mistakes that could harm your case. Gathering necessary evidence is crucial in building a solid case, and a lawyer can assist in this entire process.

Why Do I Need a New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer?

You need a New Orleans car accident lawyer because they can help you:

• File a claim with your insurance company or the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Insurance companies are often reluctant to pay out claims and may try to deny your claim or offer you a low settlement. A lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and fight for the compensation you deserve.
• Investigate the accident and gather evidence. A lawyer can investigate the accident to determine how it happened and who was at fault. They can also collect evidence, such as witness statements, police reports, and medical records, to support your claim.
• File a lawsuit if necessary. If the insurance company is unwilling to pay you a fair settlement, your lawyer can file a lawsuit. A lawyer will represent you in court and fight for your rights.

Working with a car accident lawyer gives you the greatest chance at maximizing the damages you recover. Injured individuals who manage their insurance claims alone typically recover nowhere near the true value of their claim.

An experienced car accident attorney has years of experience calculating damages, investigating fault in cases, and negotiating with insurers. This experience benefits you significantly, and you can trust your claim is in good hands as you rest.

Our New Orleans Car Accident Lawyers Are Ready to Fight For You

A New Orleans car accident attorney from Hammond Law Firm, LLC can guide you from start to finish while helping you maximize your compensation. Our New Orleans legal team has the experience and the knowledge to effectively represent you or your loved ones in an auto accident case.

The personal injury lawyers at Hammond Law Firm, LLC will coordinate with your physician and other healthcare providers to determine and review all of the medical aspects of your car accident case. Our detailed knowledge of Louisiana automotive regulations, liability, and insurance law will help you get fully compensated for your personal injury case.

Our legal team can provide decisive guidance and knowledge on what steps to take immediately following the incident. From protecting one’s rights and gathering evidence for insurance cases to understanding financial responsibility for damages and filing an injury claim, our New Orleans car accident lawyer experience is crucial for timely legal representation when navigating accident legislation.

Having a skilled car accident law firm by your side will ensure the process is handled professionally and with finesse. Experience and knowledge are of great importance when choosing a car accident attorney, and we have an over 25-year history of successfully winning car accident cases for wrongfully injured Louisianians.

Contact us now to schedule your free accident case review and learn more about your legal rights.