Louisiana injury rights, deadlines, and help

If you were hurt in Louisiana, you probably have one big question: how long do I have to act, and what should I do first? This page answers that in plain words, with links to the official laws so you can check every number yourself. One thing to know up front: in Louisiana, the exact date you were injured matters more than in almost any other state, because two important rules changed recently.

The deadlines that matter in Louisiana

• Personal injury lawsuit: 2 years, if you were hurt on or after July 1, 2024. Louisiana calls this deadline "liberative prescription" instead of a statute of limitations, but it works the same way: file in time or lose the right. La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1. Official text
• Hurt before July 1, 2024? Your deadline was 1 year. Older injuries fall under the previous rule, which gave only 1 year. If your injury is from before that date, check with licensed help immediately.
• Work injury, tell your employer: 30 days. La. Rev. Stat. 23:1301. Official text
• Work injury, formal claim: 1 year. File your formal claim within 1 year after the accident, or 1 year after the last payment if benefits were paid (3 years for the last payment of certain benefits). Injuries that develop slowly get 1 year from when they develop, with a 3-year outer cap from the accident. La. Rev. Stat. 23:1209. Official text
• Claim against the government: same clock, no notice letter. Louisiana does not require a pre-suit notice for claims against the state or a city. The same prescription period applies as for private defendants, though special service and venue rules exist. La. Rev. Stat. 13:5108. Official text

Medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Minors and some other people may get extra time. Laws change, so treat these as starting points, not legal advice for your exact case.

What to do first

1. Get medical care now. Your health comes first, and the medical record it creates also protects your claim.
2. Write down your exact injury date. In Louisiana it decides which prescription rule applies to you, and it can also decide which fault rule applies (see the road section below).
3. Report the injury in writing. Work injury: tell your employer in writing today, even though the law allows 30 days. Crash: call the police and get the report number. Fall or dog bite: tell the property owner or dog owner and keep proof you did.
4. Save everything. Photos of the scene and your injuries, names of witnesses, receipts, and every letter or text about the incident.
5. Do not sign anything from an insurance company yet. A release signed early can end your claim forever, even for injuries no one has found yet.

Not sure which deadline applies to you? Tell us what happened at /start/. It is free, and we will help you sort it out.

Common situations in Louisiana

Hurt at work

Louisiana workers' compensation (the no-fault system that pays for work injuries) runs on a 30-day report window and a 1-year formal claim clock. That claim clock is on the short side, and it is the one that catches people who assume the general 2-year rule covers everything. It does not. The comp claim is its own deadline.

Hurt on the road

Car, motorcycle, bike, and pedestrian injuries follow the prescription rules above. For fault, the date matters again. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana uses a modified rule: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and if you are 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Claims from before that date use the older rule, where even a mostly-at-fault person could recover a reduced amount. La. Civ. Code art. 2323. Official text Either way, every percentage point the insurer pins on you cuts your recovery, so fault evidence matters from day one.

Hurt on someone's property, or by a dog

Slip and fall cases follow the same prescription clocks. For dog injuries, Louisiana holds the owner liable when the owner could have prevented the injury and the victim did not provoke the dog. La. Civ. Code art. 2321. Official text That sounds simple, but proving what the owner knew and could have prevented takes real evidence: the dog's history, the fence, complaints from neighbors. The story below shows what happens without it.

A Louisiana story worth knowing

On September 13, 2019, Vernon Tatum Jr., a man in his seventies, was walking on a New Orleans sidewalk when a German Shepherd came out of an unlocked gate and bit his lower left leg. He sued the owners himself, with no lawyer, and kept representing himself for years. Under the law that applied to his case, he needed to show the owners knew or should have known their dog was dangerous. A lawyer would have used discovery (the formal evidence-gathering process) to dig up the dog's history, vet records, and neighbor complaints. On his own, Mr. Tatum offered only an internet article about German Shepherds and pointed to the fence being fixed after the attack, which the rules of evidence do not allow. The trial court ruled against him, and in August 2024 the appeals court affirmed. Almost five years after the attack, he walked away with nothing. Tatum v. Peoples, La. App. 4th Cir. (2024)

The lesson is not that he was wrong about his injury. Cases are won with the right evidence, gathered the right way, and a person going it alone usually cannot get that evidence or keep it admissible. That is exactly why having an advocate helps.

What we can help with

We are not a law firm and we do not charge injured people anything. We are your advocate. Here is what that looks like:

• Explain your rights and the Louisiana deadlines above in plain language, including which rules apply to your injury date.
• Help you figure out which situation you are in: work injury, road injury, government property, dog bite, or something else.
• Help you find the right kind of licensed help: medical care, therapy, pain management, state benefits, and a qualified injury lawyer when one is needed.
• Help you prepare questions to ask, so no one rushes you into a decision you cannot undo.

Our help is always free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Tell us what happened

If you or someone you love was hurt in Louisiana, you do not have to figure this out alone. Share your story at /start/ and we will point you in the right direction. No pressure, no cost.

Sources

• La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 (2-year liberative prescription): https://www.legis.la.gov/LEGIS/Law.aspx?d=1386443
• La. Rev. Stat. 23:1301 (work injury notice): https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83478
• La. Rev. Stat. 23:1209 (workers' compensation claim deadline): https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83443
• La. Rev. Stat. 13:5108 (governmental claims): https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77936
• La. Civ. Code art. 2323 (comparative fault): https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109384
• La. Civ. Code art. 2321 (animal owner liability): https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/law.aspx?d=109387
• Tatum v. Peoples, La. App. 4th Cir. (2024): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10612633/vernon-j-tatum-jr-v-william-peoples-and-catina-peoples-and-xyz/

Last reviewed: 2026-08-16

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can change or vary with the facts. A licensed attorney can confirm the rule for your situation.