Each year, the Louisiana legislature meets to either pass new laws or amend current laws. The latest legislative session just wrapped a couple of weeks ago and one of the biggest developments for personal injury cases is that beginning on July 1st of this year, injured persons will have additional time to file a personal injury lawsuit. Current law through June 30 requires a person injured in a car accident or premises defect case file a lawsuit within one year of the accident. However, beginning on July 1, an injured person will now have two years to file a personal injury action.
There is reason to believe that the two-year prescriptive period does not apply to wrongful death (which is a case where the injured person’s family seeks to recover on behalf of an individual who passed away from the injuries sustained in the accident), survival action (which is a case where a decedent’s family seeks damages for the pain and suffering experienced by the decedent prior to death), or medical malpractice cases. Until there is clarification from the Courts, we still recommend that such cases be filed within the one-year prescriptive period.
It is important to contact us as soon as possible following an injury due to another’s negligence. This is so your attorney can evaluate your case and apply the appropriate prescriptive period. If your lawsuit is filed after the prescriptive period, you will lose the right to recover for your injuries.
