Louisiana injury rights, deadlines, and help

You are dealing with a lot right now. This page can 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?

Are you in an emergency right now?

• Check yourself and others for injuries, breathing, and bleeding.
• Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is not safe.
• Get somewhere safe if you can do it safely.
• Get medical care even if you feel fine. Some injuries hide for days.
• This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers Louisiana injury deadlines and what to do right now. In Louisiana, your exact injury date matters more than in almost any other state, because two key rules changed recently. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

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

Warning: don't wait! Louisiana's 2-year prescription clock is a trap, because the workers comp claim deadline is only 1 year, so people wait, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and documents get lost. Collect and save what you can, then talk to an advocate immediately. And important: medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the standard rule covers a hospital or doctor case. Minors and some other people may get extra time. Laws change, so treat these as starting points, not legal advice for your exact case.

Protect your case

1. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
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, names of witnesses, receipts, and every letter or text about the incident.

Talk to an advocate. Not sure which deadline applies to you?

Never do these

• Never sign a release or accept a first settlement offer without talking to an advocate first. Once you sign, you may not be able to undo it.
• Never give a recorded statement to an insurance company, even your own. Talk to an advocate first.
• Never guess your injury date. Get it exactly right, because it decides which prescription and fault rules apply to your claim.
• Never post about the incident or your recovery on social media. Insurers use these posts against you.

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, so file it early.

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 Every percentage point the insurer pins on you cuts your recovery, so gather fault evidence 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

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)) Cases like this are won with the right evidence, gathered the right way, so get help before you go to court alone.

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.
• Connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves.
• A nearby hospital, lab, or doctor can document your condition, which supports your claim.

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

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to figure this out alone. Start the form or open the chat.

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: 2026-08-17

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.