New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer
Why Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
Are Justice and Closure Your Goals?
What Are 11 Key Steps to Take Immediately After a Car Accident?
- Photograph the IDs of all parties involved in the accident, including drivers, passengers, and other witnesses.
- Photograph registration and insurance information.
- Take pictures of the overall accident scene if you are able to. Think overview of the intersection, overview of all sides of all cars involved, and also close-ups of damages of all vehicles involved.
- Call the police and do not leave the scene of the accident unless it is due to a medical emergency.
- Make a report to the police of what happened;
- Do not apologize after the accident;
- Do not state how you physically feel as sometimes injures and associated symptoms take time to develop. Of course, if you are seriously injured, take an ambulance to the hospital.
- Get medical treatment.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company.
- Do not sign authorizations for medical treatment.
- Call Lavis Law Firm – Personal Injury & Accident Attorney New Orleans Car Accident Lawyers for a FREE CASE REVIEW. We work on a NO RECOVERY-NO FEE Basis. You do not owe us any fee if we do not recover money for you.
How To Get Your New Orleans Accident Report?
Here’s how to get a copy of your accident report: Get it in person at the New Orleans Police Department, request a copy by mail from the police department, or buy a copy online through buycrash.com.
Louisiana law requires the NOPD investigating officer to file his crash report with the New Orleans Police Department within forty-eight hours after completing his investigation. The N.O.P.D Form 26 is typically given to the parties involved in the accident by the investigating officer. Reports may be available 14-21 Working Days after the accident. The N.O.P.D Form 26 that the New Orleans Police officer gave you at the scene of the accident is NOT the accident report. However, it contains key information for getting a copy of the report, such as:
- Item Number,
- Date of Occurrence and
- Location of Occurrence.
Car Accidents in New Orleans can be complicated. Finding and reading the accident report can be just as complex. You can explore our accident report guide below and contact a New Orleans Car Accident Attorney at Lavis Law Firm – Personal Injury & Accident Attorney. Call 504-834-4000 or Toll-Free 1-866-558-9151 for a Free Consultation.
How To Pick Up My Accident Report in Person
How To Order My Accident Report Online
Tips On How To Read Your New Orleans Accident Report (See FREE Sample Accident Report Below).
Page 1 of the Report
Page 1 contains Crash Specific Date, Roadway Location Information, Contributing Factors and Conditions, and the Name of the Investigating Police Department and Emergency Services Information.
At the top of page 1, there are Data Entry Boxes for Work Zone, Hit and Run, Public Property Damage, Photos Made, RR Train Involved, Fatality, Pedestrian, and Injury. At the bottom of the page, there are Data Entry Boxes for Ambulance and Rescue Unit. If these are marked with an “X”, that means “Yes”, otherwise they are not marked.
All of the other boxes are marked “Y” for Yes or “N” for No.
Contributing Factors and Conditions “Primary Factor” and “Secondary Factor” Section includes Violations, Movement Prior to Crash, Vision Obscurement, Condition of Driver, Vehicle Conditions, Road Surface, Roadway Condition, Lighting, Weather, Traffic Control Kind of Location, Condition of Pedestrian, and Pedestrian Action.
Vehicle Configuration is also a part of Page 1 and provides a key for the investigating officer uses to describe each vehicle involved, such as Passenger Car, Bus, Truck, Tractor Semi-Trailer, Light Truck, Motorcycle, Bus, Van, School Bus, SUV, etc. The appropriate corresponding letter from each key is used to describe the vehicle on the Vehicle/Pedestrian page(s). Lavis Law Firm – Personal Injury & Accident Attorney has experience in handling accidents involving all of these vehicle types.
Emergency Services Section is used to describe the ambulance services used, for example, New Orleans EMS or Acadian Ambulance, and provides sections for Time Called, Arrived at Scene, Departed Scene, and Arrived Hospital. Many patients are taken to University Medical Center New Orleans, a Level I trauma center. Level I Trauma Center is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation.
The investigating officer signs and the Supervising officer initials at the bottom of page 1.
Page 2 of the Report
Page 2 contains information about one Vehicle/Pedestrian’s involved in the accident and includes identifying information about the pedestrian or vehicle, driver and/or owner of that vehicle as well as VIN Number, Name, Address, License Number, Date of Birth, Insurance Information and severity of the Injury sustained (No Injury, Possible/Complaint, Non-Incapacitating/Moderate, Incapacitating/Severe or Fatality). If the investigating officer omitted your injury on the accident report, contact us immediately as we have helped numerous clients resolve this issue.
Truck/Bus Crash Data section is completed for all vehicles involved in the crash that are being used for Commerce/Business and have a gross vehicle weight rating/ gross combined weight rating in excess of 10,000 pounds OR is displaying or should be displaying a Hazardous Materials Placard OR is a vehicle with seating for nine or more occupants including the driver. Lavis Law Firm – Personal Injury & Accident Attorney has considerable experience with both Truck and Bus Accidents.
Page 3 of the Report
Page 3 has a Contributing Factors and Conditions Section. A Contributing Factors and Conditions Section is also completed for each Vehicle and Pedestrian involved including, Vision Obscurements, Condition of Driver/Pedestrian, and Sequence of Events/Harmful Events, Violation, Driver Distraction, Reason For Movement, Movement Prior To Crash, Traffic Control, Pedestrian Action, Vehicle Condition, Vehicle Lighting, Traffic Control Conditions, Alcohol/Drug Involvement, Direction Before Crash, Final Location, Distance Travelled, Posted Speed, Estimated Speed, Skidmark Data and Damage to Vehicle and Citations Issued.
The section dealing with contributing factors is important for each vehicle involved. An insurance company will use this information when deciding fault and how much your case is worth. Make sure you agree with the officer’s description of your accident. If you do not, contact us. We may be able to overcome this obstacle.
Additional Pages
Auto Accident Statute of Limitations in Louisiana (known as Liberative Prescription)
Art. 3492 provides: Delictual actions are subject to a liberative prescription of one year. This prescription commences to run from the day injury or damage is sustained. It does not run against minors or interdicts in actions involving permanent disability and brought pursuant to the Louisiana Products Liability Act or state law governing product liability actions in effect at the time of the injury or damage.
However, keep in mind La. R.S. 9:5629 provides: Actions for the recovery of damages sustained in motor vehicle accidents brought pursuant to Uninsured Motorist provisions in motor vehicle insurance policies are prescribed by two years reckoning from the date of the accident in which the damage was sustained.
How To File a Police Report
- Immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the local police department if the accident occurs within an incorporated city or town or, if the accident occurs outside of an incorporated city or town, to the nearest sheriff’s office or state police station.
- Give his name, address, and the registration number of the vehicle he was driving and, upon request and if available, exhibit his license or permit to drive to any person injured in such accident or to the driver or occupant of or person attending any vehicle or other property damaged in the accident.
- Give such information and, upon request, exhibit such license or permit to any police officer at the scene of the accident or who is investigating the accident.
Should I File an Insurance Claim?
- Date and time of the accident along with a description of what happened;
- Names, addresses and phone numbers of all involved drivers;
- Driver’s license and plate numbers of involved drivers.
CAR ACCIDENT STATISTICS
NEW ORLEANS CAR ACCIDENT STATISTICS
From January 1, 2020 through the July 31, 2020, there have been 10,332 total car accidents. On a monthly basis they are:
- January 1,841
- February 2,171
- March 1,394
- April 844
- May 1,196
- June 1,418
- July 1,468
HOW LAVIS LAW FIRM CAN HELP
- Past and future lost wages so you can pay your day to day bills;
- Emergency room, hospital and other medical bills that may have been placed in collections as well as future medical bills;
- Funeral expenses
- Records and bills from the hospital, treating doctors and other medical providers;
- Statements given at the accident scene by those involved in the accident, the witnesses and the reporting police officer as well as body cam video and any other statements;
- Photographs of the accident scene, damage to vehicles and of injuries sustained;
- Medicaid, Medicare, child support and other liens;
- Car accidents;
- Motorcycle accidents;
- Bus accidents;
- Automobile property damage;
- Bicycles accidents;
- Rear end collisions;
- Drunk drivers;
- Uninsured motorists;
DON’T WASTE TIME, CONTACT A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Louisiana Insurance Requirements:
- Liability Insurance. Under Louisiana law, drivers are required to carry minimum liability insurance coverage. This coverage pays for property damages or personal injury for which you may be legally responsible, up to your policy’s dollar limits. In Louisiana, each vehicle is required to have at least 15/30/25 liability limits. Those limits provide payments of $15,000 for bodily injury to one person, $30,000 for bodily injury to more than one person in a single accident, and $25,000 coverage for damage to someone else’s vehicle or other property; There are penalties for noncompliance.
- Uninsured motorist. About 13% (1 in eight) of Louisiana drivers are uninsured. Accordingly, Louisiana has a mandatory uninsured/underinsured motorist law (UM/UIM). UM/UIM coverage can be waived with a properly executed waiver, but this move is typically a bad choice and is not recommended by car accident lawyers. UM/UIM pays benefits to you if your car is hit by a driver who has no insurance or too little insurance to pay for the full amount of your injuries. If you have Uninsured/ Underinsured Motorist coverage, any bodily injury you or an occupant of your vehicle suffers due to an accident caused by another driver is covered under this policy. Hit-and-run drivers may be classified as uninsured motorists, but it helps if there is a disinterested witness to the accident.
- Comprehensive and Collison (may be required by your lender). Comprehensive insurance usually covers falling objects, flood, fire, explosion, vandalism, and theft. Collision insurance covers damage to your car that results from an accident regardless of who is at fault and is usually required by banks and lenders if you still owe money on the car.
Louisiana Motor Vehicle Accident Statistics:
Drivers and their passengers are injured every day on Louisiana roads and highways. You may be a safe driver, but you cannot always control for the negligent acts of other drivers.