We have represented injured people for nearly 25 years. It comes as a surprise to many of our clients that Louisiana has a one-year statute of limitations to file suit on most claims – the shortest of any state in the country.
Injuries can have a great impact on your life, making it more difficult to get around and enjoy your hobbies. Appointments with doctors, picking up and taking prescriptions to help with your recovery, even physical therapy are often required to get you back to the condition you were in prior to being injured. Simply put, recovering and healing from an injury takes time.
It may take you longer to get treatment and to heal than what you actually have, under Louisiana law to file and settle your claim with insurance companies. The personal injury statute of limitation, or amount of time you have to file and settle your claim without legal intervention, is merely one year in the state of Louisiana. Many injuries are not resolved by the time this deadline comes around. If your claim is not resolved by the end of the one year time limit, you could walk away with no settlement and nothing you can do about it.
No matter the injury, we can assist you with getting a fair settlement, even if it takes longer than a year. We are able to extend the end date, or prescription, of your claim through legal intervention. Insurance companies will try to get you to settle your claim quickly and for the lowest amount they can negotiate. Filing suit to extend the timeline also lets insurance companies know your claim is serious and you will not accept a “lowball” offer or quick cash out. By filing a suit prior to the one-year mark, your claim can extend as long as is necessary for your treatment and any investigation to be completed. In some instances, this means your claim will have to go to court and be tried. In other instances, filing a suit is just a method of extending the time in which your claim can be negotiated.
Written By: Katherine Gouner
