Legal Question in Personal Injury in Louisiana

Re: Car Wreck

Dear Question #454353881:

I am licensed in Louisiana, Texas and D.C. You are correct that your claim is governed by a one (1) year prescriptive period. That is a lawsuit must be on file in the correct Parish to avoid violating your prescriptive period (called a statute of limitations in other states). However, your question, to be answered correctly, one would need to know: (1) the total amount of your medical; (2) the nature and severity of your injuries (have you had an MRI which would be able to diagnose any soft tissue damage); (3) have you lost, or will you lose, earnings from the injury; (4) what are the policy limits of the offending vehicle; and (5) was he/she in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident.

If it is a situation where the limits are low and there is not much serious injury, you can try and get a settlement of three (3) times the total medical and loss of income.

Good Luck!

Re: Car Wreck

I am only licensed in Louisiana and live in Louisiana. I agree with most of what Mr. Gordon says, but you should speak with an attorney to have those questions asked to you directly so that all areas are covered. Every accident and resulting damages are different. I hope you have uninsured motorist coverage as well as medical payments coverage on your vehicle. Medical payments coverage will pay your medicals up to the limits of your medical coverage, and they do not get reimbursed. It is quite legal for you to collect from your own insurance for medicals, and then use the medical bills to collect against the party at fault. Unless your policy is different than most, this is one place you get to double dip. Also, if the other guy does not have enough insurance to cover your medicals, lost wages, pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, you can make a claim against your uninsured motorist portion of your policy. One other thing is if your injuries affected your family life. Your husband and kids may have their own claims, so you have to look at all issues. You need to pull your insurance policy and then call an attorney for advice. It should not cost you anything to do that. If the guy's policy is a very large one, you may have to file suit. If it is only a $10,000 policy, you should have already gotten that amount.