Best Truck Accident Lawyers New Orleans, LA Of 2024 – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Even small-scale 18-wheeler or semitruck accidents can result in a string of severe injuries, requiring expensive medical treatments, prolonged rehabilitation and extended time away from work. Filing a lawsuit is often necessary to secure the compensation to adequately cover your bills, missed wages and pain and suffering.

The sections below cover valuable laws about truck accident lawsuits in New Orleans. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge needed to pursue justice effectively should you ever find yourself in a truck wreck.

Louisiana Statute of Limitations for Truck Accident Cases

If you want to sue the at-fault driver, trucking company and/or another party for damages, you have a limited time to do so. In Louisiana, truck accident victims generally have one year from the date of their truck wreck to file a lawsuit in court. If your accident occurred on or after July 1, 2024, the state has extended the statute of limitations to two years.

If the victim has passed away from injuries suffered in the collision, eligible family members can bring forward a wrongful death lawsuit within one year of the victim’s death.

If you try to file the lawsuit after this window of time expires, the defendant will likely file a motion to dismiss, and the court will likely grant the motion, resulting in you losing the opportunity to obtain compensation.

There are a few situations where the statute of limitations may change.

• Children. If the person injured in the trucking accident was a child, the statute of limitations does not begin until the child’s 18th birthday. At that point, they have till their 19th birthday to file a lawsuit.
• Mental incapacity. If the person injured was legally incompetent at the time of the accident, the statute of limitations is paused during the period of their incapacity and will begin when they regain competence.
• Multiparty defendant. In cases where more than one party is liable for the accident, as long as you file a lawsuit against one defendant within one year of the accident (or two if the accident happened after July 1, 2024), the statute of limitations may restart, allowing you to file a suit against other parties beyond that timeframe. For example, if you are involved in a truck accident where both the driver and the trucking company are at fault, and you file a lawsuit against the driver within one year, you may still be able to file against the trucking company later beyond the original one-year limit if their liability is established.
• Crime of violence. If the trucking accident was part of a criminal act, you have two years to file a lawsuit. For example, if the truck accident occurred because the truck driver was fleeing a crime scene and caused a collision, you have two years to file a lawsuit due to the criminal nature of the incident.
• Defective product. If the cause of the accident was a defective truck part, the statute of limitations won’t begin until the true cause of the accident is discovered. For example, if a truck’s brakes fail due to a manufacturing defect, which is not discovered until an investigation months or years after the accident, the statute of limitations starts from the date the defect was discovered, not the date of the accident.

Filing a lawsuit within the allowed time frame is imperative to preserve your right to seek compensation. If you have doubts about whether you can still file a lawsuit, we recommend consulting a truck accident attorney in New Orleans.

Louisiana Laws for Truck Drivers

Louisiana truck drivers must follow specific federal and state regulations to ensure safety and compliance. Here are the key rules.

• License and age. Truck drivers must have a valid CDL to operate a truck legally in Louisiana. An interstate driver must be at least 21 years old.
• Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations. To prevent fatigue-related accidents, the trucker must comply with the HOS regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Here are some of the regulations.
  • 14-hour on-duty limit. In a 24-hour period, the driver can be on duty for up to 14 hours.
  • 11-hour driving limit. Of the 14 on-duty hours, the driver can spend a maximum of 11 hours driving. The remaining three hours can be used for activities such as fueling, vehicle inspections and load securing.
  • 30-minute break. The driver must take a 30-minute break after 8 consecutive hours of driving.
  • 10 consecutive hours off. After a 14-hour shift, the driver must take 10 consecutive hours off duty.
  • Weekly limits. The driver can work up to 60 hours over seven consecutive days or 70 hours over eight consecutive days. After reaching these limits, the driver must take 34 consecutive hours off to reset the workweek.
• Criminal activity. If the driver engages in a major offense, such as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.04% or higher, refusing a blood alcohol test, driving under the influence of controlled substances, fleeing an accident scene or using a vehicle to commit a felony, they will lose their CDL for at least one year. A second conviction results in permanent revocation. If a major offense is committed while transporting hazardous materials, the CDL suspension is at least three years.
• Pretrip inspection. Truckers must visually inspect the vehicle before hitting the road, looking for any signs of wear and tear that could compromise safety.

Identifying Fault for Truck Accidents in Louisiana

Louisiana doesn’t require drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. It is an at-fault state, meaning if you are injured in an accident, you must demonstrate that the truck driver or another party was responsible for your injuries. Once you establish fault, their insurance company will compensate you.

Louisiana uses a comparative negligence law to allocate fault and determine the damages each party can recover in an accident. Under this system, each party involved in an accident can recover damages proportional to their degree of fault. This means that if you are found partially responsible for the truck accident, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example, if a truck accident results in $100,000 in damages, and the truck driver is found to be 80% at fault while you are found 20% at fault, you can recover $80,000 from the truck driver or their insurance.

Your chances of obtaining compensation after a truck accident largely depend on your ability to prove the liable party’s negligence. Your lawyer can investigate various sources of evidence to establish fault, including:

• police and accident reports, which often include preliminary fault assessments.
• testimonies from those who saw the accident.
• photographs of the accident scene, vehicle positions, road conditions and damage.
• truck black box data.
• records of the truck driver’s past behavior and qualifications.
• the trucking company’s maintenance logs.
• hours of service records that show how long the driver was on duty.