After a Crash in Louisiana — Official Resources
This is general information, not legal advice.
Two Louisiana rules changed recently and most guides have not caught up. The deadline to file suit — Louisiana calls it prescription, not a statute of limitations — is now two years under La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1, where Louisiana was long the outlier with a one-year window. And under La. Civ. Code art. 2323, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a plaintiff found 51% or more at fault cannot recover — previously Louisiana allowed a reduced recovery at any fault percentage. On reporting: La. R.S. 32:398 requires the driver to give notice immediately to the local police department, or to the nearest sheriff’s office or state police station outside an incorporated city or town, when a crash causes injury, death, or property damage in excess of $500. Crash reports are statutorily $5 for two pages or fewer and up to $20 for longer. Free help: LSBA at 1-800-421-5722, LouisianaLawHelp.org, and the LSBA Disaster Hotline at 1-800-310-7029.
Louisiana is the one state whose civil law descends from the French and Spanish codes rather than English common law, and the vocabulary is different — you have a prescription period, not a statute of limitations. More urgently, two of the rules that decide crash claims here changed inside the last two years, and the second one took effect this January. If you are reading an article about Louisiana car accidents written before 2026, assume it is wrong on both. The first-steps checklist covers saving your dashcam clip before the camera loops.
Two rules that are newer than most advice about them
The deadline to sue is now two years. La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 sets a two-year prescription period for delictual actions, which covers most injury claims. Louisiana spent decades as the state with the shortest window in the country at one year, and a great deal of published guidance still says so. Track your prescription date early and do not rely on an article to tell you what it is.
Comparative fault changed on January 1, 2026. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2323, for causes of action arising on or after that date, a plaintiff found 51% or more at fault cannot recover at all. Louisiana was previously a pure comparative fault state, where someone mostly to blame could still recover a reduced amount. That is no longer true, which raises the stakes on how fault gets apportioned — and therefore on the evidence you keep.
Both of these are the kind of thing to confirm with a Louisiana attorney rather than an article, this one included.
Report the crash
Under R.S. 32:398(A), the driver of a vehicle in a crash resulting in injury, death, or property damage in excess of $500 must immediately give notice to the local police department if it happened inside an incorporated city or town, or otherwise to the nearest sheriff’s office or state police station. You must also give your name, address, and vehicle registration number to anyone injured and to the driver or attendant of any damaged property, and produce your license on request — to them and to any officer at the scene.
Louisiana law also puts a duty on the agency: state police or the sheriff’s office must investigate crashes required to be reported under this section when they occur outside city limits, and the local department must do so within them. If an officer seems reluctant on a crash that clears $500, that obligation is worth naming.
One provision few states need: if evacuation orders or a declared emergency prevent immediate notice, the report is made within 72 hours once conditions allow. Worth knowing during hurricane season.
Get the crash report
The statute itself sets the pricing. Per Act 543 of 2018, which amended R.S. 32:398(F), a report of two pages or fewer costs $5.00, and a longer report costs an amount not to exceed $20, inclusive of all service fees and other charges. State police may set a lesser charge for electronic copies, and local departments and sheriffs must then charge that same amount for electronic copies.
For crashes worked by the Louisiana State Police, use the LSP crash reports portal. Note its limit: only crashes on non-toll roads occurring on or after August 31, 2018 can be ordered through that service. Reported online pricing runs about $11.50 plus a $2.50 processing fee, with in-person pickup at a troop office higher — confirm the current figure when you order. You will need the report number the officer gave you.
If a parish sheriff or a city department worked your crash, request it from that agency instead.
Hit-and-run
Call it in immediately — the notice duty applies regardless of who caused the crash, and Louisiana obligates the responding agency to investigate a reportable crash, so push for an officer and a report number.
Save your clip and note the time and location while they’re exact. Here is why footage matters more in Louisiana now than it did two years ago: with the 51% bar in effect for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, an insurer that can push a majority of fault onto you defeats the claim entirely rather than discounting it — and with the other driver gone, there is nobody to contradict their version except your camera. Uninsured-motorist coverage on your own policy is the usual route to payment when nobody is identified, and its hit-and-run notice window is far shorter than the two-year prescription period.
Find a lawyer
The Louisiana State Bar Association operates a statewide Lawyer Referral and Information Service and can also point you to local parish bar referral programs, which is how much of Louisiana actually runs referral — the Lafayette Bar Association, for example, at (337) 237-4700. Call the LSBA at 1-800-421-LSBA (5722) or (504) 566-1600.
If your income is a little above the cutoff for free legal services, ask about the LSBA Modest Means Directory — attorneys listed there have affirmed they charge reduced rates to eligible clients, or charge less because they handle only part of a case rather than all of it. Many crash-injury lawyers also work on contingency, so ask about that before assuming you need money up front.
Free legal help
LouisianaLawHelp.org is the statewide free legal information site, with self-help tools and links to the legal aid provider serving your parish — Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, Acadiana Legal Service, and Legal Services of North Louisiana between them cover the state.
Two more. LA.FreeLegalAnswers.org lets income-qualified residents post a civil legal question that volunteer Louisiana lawyers answer at no cost. And the Law Library of Louisiana helps self-represented litigants find forms and research materials — 504-310-2400, or toll-free in Louisiana 800-820-3038.
And one that exists almost nowhere else: the LSBA Disaster Hotline at 1-800-310-7029, activated during declared disaster events, connects you with a volunteer attorney for disaster-related help including insurance and FEMA claims.
Insurance problems
The Louisiana Department of Insurance regulates insurers in the state and handles consumer complaints about claim handling. You can reach its current complaint channels through the national directory of state insurance departments.
Uninsured when it happened? The reporting duty under R.S. 32:398 does not depend on coverage, and Louisiana’s no-pay-no-play rule limits what an uninsured driver can recover even from a driver who was clearly at fault — which makes early legal advice more valuable, not less. Report the crash, then call the LSBA or LouisianaLawHelp about where you actually stand.
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Dashwatcher is a dashcam company, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for a licensed attorney. Reporting rules, deadlines, and programs differ by state and change over time; verify everything with the official source before you rely on it. Links go to government agencies, bar associations, and nonprofits. Dashwatcher receives no payment from any organization listed.
From the team at Dashwatcher.
Last verified: August 4, 2026