Motor Vehicle Accident Claim FAQs

A. Stay safe: If you are blocking traffic, move to the side of the road (out of traffic) when it is safe to do so and check for injuries.

B. Call the police: In most cases, you should call the police to have an official report made. Often times, other drivers admit to fault at the scene, but change their story when a claim is involved.

C. Gather information/documentation: You should always exchange insurance
information with the other driver, even if the police officer tells you it will be on the report. Take pictures of any/all vehicle damage and the accident scene (all vehicles involved). If possible, video the scene to document and memorialize the conditions at the time of the accident.

D. Should I go to the emergency room? Do I need an ambulance? Unless you have serious or possible internal injuries, you do NOT need an ambulance or an emergency room. Going to an emergency room will not do much to document your claim or treat your injuries. In most cases where someone has non-life-threatening, soft-tissue injuries, the emergency room will only record the visit and offer minimal triage assistance. Unfortunately, this can costs thousands of dollars, and there may not be enough insurance to recover for your damages.

However, if your injuries are severe or life-threatening (loss of consciousness, severe head/neck/back trauma or heavy bleeding), you should go straight to the nearest emergency room. Depending on the severity of your injuries, it may be safer to take an ambulance than to driver yourself.

E. The at-fault driver didn’t get a ticket, does this hurt my claim? Maybe. The fact that the at-fault driver did not get a ticket does not ruin your case, nor does it prove they are without fault. When one party gets a ticket, it may be easier to establish fault, but they are not the final word on fault/liability. In Louisiana, liability for accidents and injuries are decided using a civil standard of negligence, which is completely independent of whether or not a police officer decided to write a ticket.

Yes, whether you are at fault or not, many policies require you to notify them of all accidents or coverage could be affected. Doing so helps protect your policy rights. Also, your insurer will better be able to provide a legal defense for you if the other driver tries to wrongly blame you.

A. Louisiana has a very strict “No Pay, No Play” law which penalizes drivers for driving without valid liability insurance coverage. (La. R.S. 32:866). If you were driving without valid liability insurance at the time of the accident, you are legally barred from recovering the first $100,000 in damages, even if the other driver was completely at fault.

B. No insurance usually means no settlement: Except in the event of serious or catastrophic damages, if you didn’t have a valid liability policy in effect at the time of the accident, adjusters will use the no pay, no play law to deny or discount paying for damages/claims.

At the scene, you should have exchanged insurance information and policy numbers with the other driver. Often times, the officer investigating the accident will discourage you from exchanging information, because the information will be on the accident report. This is terrible advice and could delay your claim and your property repairs, because accident reports often take 10 or more days before they are ready.

You can call the other driver’s insurance company to open a claim, visit their website or use a mobile app to open a claim. Give them the basic facts (date, time, location and a brief description of how the accident happened. Do not guess about fault. Save the claim number and the name of the adjuster you spoke with.

No. Stick to the facts of the accident. Give simple details like the date, time, location and police report number. You may tell them if you are injured or not, but do not discuss the details of your injury. Nearly all calls to insurance companies are recorded, and this is NOT for your “customer satisfaction purposes” or “Quality Assurance Purposes”. Any information you give the insurer can and will be used against you if necessary.

When the other driver denies fault, your claim will likely be denied or disputed and an investigation will be initiated. The insurer may ask you for a recorded statement to get your side of the story, but rest assured, they are looking for any information that can shift the blame on you.

A.What if I am partially at fault? Louisiana uses a pure comparative fault system, partial fault doesn’t mean all or nothing. If you are 30% at fault and the other driver is 70% at fault, the value of your recovery will be reduced by 30%.

B. He said/ She said: What can I do to prove liability? If there are no independent witnesses, and the physical damage and evidence is inconclusive, you or your attorney must present proof that will tilt the scale in your favor.

1. Video evidence: What looks like cameras at many intersections are actually just sensors. They don’t record videos. However, private businesses, residences and even the state often have video surveillance that can assist with a determination of liability. Also, many cars have dash cam videos that can be helpful.

2. Black Box Data: With modern technology, many vehicles record data before and after a crash. Subpoenaing the other vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR) to prove their speed, braking and steering maneuvers right before impact.

Under Louisiana law, if you are not at fault in a car accident, you are entitled to a “comparable” rental vehicle at the at-fault driver’s expense while your car is being repaired. This does not mean any rental; it means a vehicle that is comparable to your vehicle that was damaged.

If you vehicle was a pickup truck, you are entitled to a comparable rental truck. The same applies for the drivers of luxury cars or specialized passenger vans. The at-fault’s insurance company will not volunteer this information, and may even tell you that you are not entitled to a comparable vehicle. We can help!

In Louisiana, the at-fault driver’s insurance is legally required to restore your vehicle to its pre-accident condition. Insurers can not require you to use non-OEM (aftermarket) parts in your repair, but they may use aftermarket parts if they are “Like, Kind and Quantity”. If an insurer does intend to use non-OEM/aftermarket parts, they and the body shop are required by state law to advise you in writing and must clearly identify which parts are aftermarket.

You do have the right to demand OEM parts, but if the insurer decides that cheaper, equivalent aftermarket parts will restore your vehicle to its pre-accident condition, you will most likely be required to pay the difference in the cost between the OEM and aftermarket parts.

Under Louisiana law, you are entitled to recover the “diminished value” of your vehicle if your car is not a total loss and you are not at fault. However, the burden of proving this loss is your responsibility.

Insurance companies don’t normally offer diminished value automatically, so it is your responsibility to document this loss. Establishing the Pre-accident value is usually very easy utilizing services like Carfax, Kelley Blue Book and NADA.

Documenting the diminished value may take a little more effort. You can use a professional vehicle appraiser, a dealership appraisal or comparable sales data to establish the difference in market value between your crashed/repaired vehicle and a similar vehicle that has never been crashed/repaired. Often times, dealerships will give you a trade-in appraisal. If so, you can also ask them for a “but for” appraisal (ask them what they would offer if the car didn’t have an accident history).

If the at-fault driver’s insurer determines that the cost to repair your car is equal to or greater than 75%, the insurance company must declare your car a total loss (LA. R.S. 32:702(14). In that case, you are entitled to the Fair Market Value of your vehicle. If you want to keep the car, even though it was totaled, you may have the option to purchase the vehicle back from the insurance company by paying the “salvage value” (usually significantly less than the total loss value). If you do want to keep the vehicle, you will need to apply for a salvage title from the Louisiana Department of Public Safety (Office of Motor Vehicles).

If your car is a total loss, the insurance company must pay the actual cash value or fair market value of your vehicle, plus tax and license fees. This amount can be easily determined utilizing valuation authorities like NADA or Kelley’s Blue Book. The insurer may offer less than the NADA/Kelley’s Blue Book value. Do not accept this. We can help.

Louisiana has some of the lowest minimum liability requirements in the country ($15k per person for bodily injury), which may not even cover an emergency room visit. Most people that carry minimum insurance are not financially solvent enough to pay the difference with a personal contribution “out of their pocket”.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is usually your best option to recover. UM coverage is required in the state of Louisiana, unless you specifically sign a written waiver that you do not want it. This waiver must be signed in a formal, state-approved waiver rejecting UM coverage when you bought your policy.

By law, Louisiana Insurance companies are strictly prohibited from raising your rates or dropping your coverage when you file a UM claim, provided that you were not at fault for the accident. (La. R.S. 22:1284).

If you are not at fault, and your insurance company raises your rates or drops coverage after you make a UM claim, they can face severe legal consequences. They can be held liable to pay you damages, refund your premiums and even cover your attorney fees.

Filing an injury claim isn’t about being “sue-happy”. It is a legal mechanism to ensure the responsible party’s insurance covers the damages. It’s perfectly fine to file a claim because it prevents you from bearing the financial burden of medical bills and keeps others accountable. Also, most claims are resolved without a lawsuit.

Why is it reasonable and responsible to pursue your claim?

1. Drivers in Louisiana are required to have insurance. In most cases, you aren’t trying to collect from an individual directly; you are trying to collect from their insurer who has been collecting premiums for years to cover these damages.

2. Medical bills and lost wages add up, and you shouldn’t have to bear the burden of that expense.

3. It deters unsafe behavior/drivers.

Although you do not need a lawyer to make a claim, we STRONGLY discourage people from handling claims without a lawyer, because insurance adjusters are trained to pay you as little as possible for your claim.

While minor “fender benders” with no injuries can often be handled directly with an insurance company, Louisiana’s unique laws, strict deadlines and insurance negotiation tactics make legal representation highly beneficial if you are injured. Statistically, injured people receive settlements that are 3.5 to 10 times higher on average than those claimants without a lawyer. Additionally, a personal injury lawyer that focuses strictly on personal injury law will be much better equipped to identify additional insurance policies and coverage that may apply to your claim.

In Louisiana, most cases are handled by personal injury attorneys on a contingency basis. This means it costs zero dollars ($0) out of pocket to hire a personal injury attorney, unless the attorney recovers money for you. If the attorney does not win your case with a settlement or verdict, you typically owe them nothing for their time and labor.

A. Pre-lawsuit settlement (33.3% to 35%): If your attorney settles your case directly with the insurance company through negotiations, without having to file a formal lawsuit in court, they typically receive one-third of the gross settlement.

B. After a Lawsuit is Filed (40%): If the insurance company refuses to pay a fair amount, your lawyer must formally file a lawsuit to preserve the claim and seek a verdict from the court. Because this requires significantly more paperwork, drafting legal documents and possible court appearances, the fee usually increases to 40% of the gross settlement/verdict.

Insurance companies often use the severity of the injury combined with the duration of the injury (how long it takes to heal) when evaluating how much your claim is worth. Do not be in a hurry; injuries that take longer to heal typically have a higher value than injuries that heal quickly. To ensure that you recover the full value of your damages, it is important that you document your injuries with a qualified healthcare provider.