Legal Question in Personal Injury in Louisiana

Re: accident recovery for uninsured driver not at fault

Unfortunately, the Louisiana legislature saw fit to pass a law in 1997 which states that there shall be no recovery for the 1st $10,000 of bodily injury or the 1st $10,000 of property damage suffered by the owner or operator of an uninsured vehicle.

There are 4 exceptions, but since the other party stayed at the scene, you are left with 3. If you can prove the accident was intentional, or prove the other driver was in the furtherance of a felony offense at the time of the accident, then you could recover. Had the other driver been found to be intoxicated, then you may have been able to recover your damages, but since no law enforcement was contacted, proof of intoxication is darn near impossible.

So, if your damages do not exceed $10,000, you appear to be out of luck. However, if any passenger in your car sustained any damages (except the owner of the car you were driving), those can be recovered from the liable parties insurance carrier.

By-the-way, if you failed to report the accident to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and the damage to any one person is over $500, the non-reporting driver(s) could be fined.