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February 28, 2024

New Orleans Personal Injury Lawyer

If someone else’s negligence led to an accident that caused your injuries, you can hold the liable party accountable by filing a lawsuit. Contact a personal injury attorney in New Orleans to obtain the settlement you deserve.

New Orleans is known as the Big Easy, but it’s not always the easiest place to live when it comes to safety. Traumatic accidents happen in New Orleans every day because individuals act recklessly and fail to exercise due care. If you were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, such as a sleepy truck driver, you can seek justice by holding the at-fault party accountable.

You’ll likely experience financial distress from the medical expenses and losses you’ve suffered as a result of the accident. If you want to move forward with your life without financial burden, it’s essential to recover compensation for your losses. A New Orleans personal injury lawyer from Smiley Injury Law, LLC can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and use strategies to maximize your settlement in court.

New Orleans Accidents That Can Lead to Injuries

As in any congested urban area, injuries in New Orleans may occur because of car accidents, construction accidents, or slip-and-fall accidents. Product defect accidents can also lead to injuries in New Orleans, in addition to pedestrian and motorcycle accidents.

Accidents unique to New Orleans may include injuries on parade routes during Mardi Gras season; injuries involving excessive alcohol consumption in public areas, accidents on the causeway, and accidents involving boats or bodies of water.

If someone else’s negligence caused your accident, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. A New Orleans personal injury lawyer in an properly assess your case.

Types of Injuries Caused by New Orleans Accidents

Depending on the severity of the accident, victims can suffer injuries that range from moderate to life-altering. Bone fractures, traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, burns, and spinal damage can all occur from accidents in New Orleans. These injuries can derail your life and cause significant emotional distress if you don’t have the money to treat them properly.

Bone fractures may seem minor but can require extensive surgeries and months of physical therapy. Traumatic brain injuries may lead to changes in personality, memory loss, and loss of learning ability. Internal bleeding can damage organs if left untreated; burn injuries can cause severe scarring and disfigurement; and, spinal damage can result in loss of sensory function or paralysis.

When someone causes an accident that changes the course of your life, that person should have to pay for any financial burden that results from their negligence. They should also have to pay for the emotional consequences of their actions. Although money may not cure your suffering completely, it can aid in your healing by helping you find the best treatment possible in New Orleans.

Identifying Who’s at Fault in Your New Orleans Accident

You’ll likely need to have your accident thoroughly investigated if you want to identify all at-fault parties. Your New Orleans personal injury attorney can work with the police to gather evidence, which includes the police report, photographs, video footage, and witness testimonies to support your claim in court. 

This evidence can prove that the defendant in your case was negligent, but you’ll also need evidence proving that the defendant’s negligence directly caused your injuries. Your medical records will be key in supporting the final piece of your personal injury claim.

Understanding New Orleans Negligence Laws

Many personal injury victims may hesitate to take legal action because they were partially at fault for causing their accident. If this applies to you, don’t worry. Louisiana employs a pure comparative negligence law. In states with pure comparative negligence laws, victims can recover compensation from other liable parties in accidents, regardless of their percentage of fault.

The New Orleans court will calculate your percentage of fault and deduct this percentage from your overall claim value. For example, if you’re 60 percent at fault for your accident and your losses equal $80,000, you’ll ultimately receive $32,000. 

Calculating the Value of Your New Orleans Personal Injury Claim

Once you can name the defendant in your case and successfully prove negligence against them, you can begin calculating the value of your New Orleans personal injury claim by accounting for any financial or non-financial losses you’ve experienced as a result of the accident.

Your financial losses may include medical expenses from treatment for your injuries, property damage from the accident itself, or lost income from taking time out of work to recover from your injuries. Your non-financial losses can include ways that the accident has affected your overall lifestyle, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and scarring and disfigurement. 

New Orleans Personal Injury Lawyer FAQ

Pursuing a lawsuit can be intimidating when you aren’t familiar with how the New Orleans legal process works. At Smiley Injury Law, LLC, we use our experience to ease your concerns along the way, but we’ve also answered some of the most frequently asked questions below so you can gain general knowledge about your case.

If you have additional questions, schedule a free consultation with our team and receive more specific information related to your accident. 

Should I talk to my insurance company about my accident in New Orleans?

Your insurance company in New Orleans will be in contact with you about your accident. They may ask you to record a statement explaining what happened, but you aren’t required to give this statement right away. You can speak with a New Orleans personal injury attorney first and gather your thoughts. If your insurance company offers you a lowball settlement, you can take legal action instead.

Is there a time limit to file my personal injury lawsuit?

Yes, there’s a statute of limitations in Louisiana of one year for personal injury cases. You’ll have one year from when your accident occurred to file a lawsuit against the liable party or else the court may not hear your case. If the court refuses to hear your case, you won’t receive compensation for any losses you’ve suffered.

Is there a limit to how much money I can receive in my personal injury claim?

There’s no maximum compensation on the amount you can receive in personal injury claims. However, the state of Louisiana does put a cap on damages for medical malpractice lawsuits. Victims in medical malpractice accidents can receive a maximum of $500,000 in damages, not including future medical expenses. 

Consult a New Orleans Personal Injury Lawyer

Whether you’ve suffered life-altering injuries in your accident and need compensation to obtain the best medical treatment in New Orleans, or you’re hoping a settlement will heal your emotional injuries caused by the accident, our team at Smiley Injury Law, LLC can help. We’ll work tirelessly against the defendant, their legal team, and their insurance company to maximize your personal injury settlement.

You deserve justice and a sense of closure after what you’ve been through. If you’re ready to discuss your case in greater detail with a New Orleans personal injury lawyer from our team, call 504-894-9653 or fill out the contact form below to schedule a free consultation.

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