The clock starts on the date of injury. The controlling statute is La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024). Filing one day late dismisses the case with prejudice.
Louisiana's civil-procedure code sets one of the strictest deadlines in tort litigation: the personal-injury statute of limitations. Miss it, and the doctrine of laches plus the statute combine to extinguish your claim permanently.
Louisiana applies the same 1-year limitations period to personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful-death claims (La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024)). Property-damage claims run separately, with a 1-year deadline.
The statute itself, La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024), is the controlling authority. Interpretive decisions come from LA Sup. Ct., which has repeatedly enforced the deadline against late-filed plaintiffs.
The deadline runs from the date the injury "accrued" , usually the date of the accident itself. Under Louisiana case law, a cause of action accrues at the moment the plaintiff suffers a legally compensable harm, even if the full extent of the injury is not yet known.
Louisiana's discovery rule is most useful in toxic-tort, products-liability, and certain medical-malpractice cases where the harm manifests years after exposure. Outside of those categories, courts generally hold plaintiffs to the date-of-injury rule.
The consequence of filing one day late is the same as filing one year late , total bar. Louisiana courts have repeatedly rejected "near miss" equitable arguments. If the deadline is two years and you file on day 731, the case is dead.
Louisiana, like nearly every U.S. state, tolls the statute of limitations for plaintiffs who are minors at the time of injury. The clock does not start until the minor turns 18 (or, in some states, the age of majority specified by statute), at which point the standard limitations period begins to run.
Louisiana courts have recognized tolling for plaintiffs whose mental condition prevents them from understanding or pursuing their legal rights. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Temporary impairment after the accident, such as pain medication or short hospitalizations, does not qualify in most Louisiana cases.
If the at-fault party leaves Louisiana after the injury, the SOL is typically tolled for the period of absence. Modern long-arm statutes and the increasing availability of service via the Louisiana insurance commissioner have narrowed this rule.
If the defendant actively concealed the cause of action, Louisiana courts can extend the SOL until the concealment is discovered or could have been discovered with reasonable diligence. Passive non-disclosure does not usually qualify.
Government-defendant claims in Louisiana carry a two-deadline trap: a short administrative notice period (often six months) AND the general civil SOL. Both must be met. Personal-injury attorneys treat the notice deadline as the operative one.
Louisiana's prescription period for personal-injury delictual actions was historically one year, the shortest in the nation. Effective July 1, 2024, La. Civ. Code art. 3492 was amended to extend the period to two years. The change applies to causes of action arising on or after the effective date.
Beating the SOL is necessary but not sufficient. A Louisiana jury will also be asked to apportion fault , and the result determines how much of your damages you actually recover.
Louisiana applies pure comparative negligence. Louisiana uses pure comparative negligence: recovery reduced by percentage of fault, even up to 99%. Authority: La. Civ. Code art. 2323.
| Claim type | Deadline | Statute | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury (negligence) | 1 year | La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024) | Date of injury |
| Medical malpractice | 1 year | La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024) | Discovery or treatment end |
| Wrongful death | 1 year | La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024) | Date of death |
| Property damage | 1 year | La. Civ. Code art. 3492 (amended 2024 to 2 years effective July 2024) | Date of damage |
Louisiana is a pure at-fault (tort) state for car-accident claims. That means injured parties can sue the at-fault driver directly. The minimum liability coverage required under La. Rev. Stat. § 22:1295 is 15/30/25.
Louisiana does not mandate UM coverage but insurers must offer it (La. Rev. Stat. § 22:1295). Most policies include it at a minimum of 15/30.
Louisiana does not cap non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases. Punitive damages are limited per statute (narrowly limited). Authority: La. Rev. Stat. § 40:1231.2.
Louisiana tolls the running of the SOL while the defendant is absent from the state. The defense bears the burden of proving the dates of absence, and tolling typically does not apply to defendants who can be served via long-arm statute or through their Louisiana insurer.
Insurance negotiations do not toll the statute. Louisiana courts have repeatedly held that an adjuster's willingness to talk settlement is not a waiver of the SOL defense. Plaintiffs' lawyers routinely file protective complaints in the final 30 days even if talks are ongoing.
No. A workers' compensation claim is a separate administrative remedy with its own deadlines. If a third party (not your employer) caused the injury, you must still file the civil personal-injury suit within the standard Louisiana SOL.
Tolling pauses the clock. Louisiana recognizes tolling for minority, mental incapacity, defendant absence, and (in narrow cases) fraudulent concealment of the cause of action by the defendant.
Choice-of-law principles generally apply the SOL of the state where the injury occurred (the lex loci delicti rule), but Louisiana courts also look at the borrowing statute and the parties' connections. Cross-state cases benefit from early counsel.
Yes, in limited circumstances. Louisiana permits tolling agreements between the parties that extend the deadline, but they must be in writing, signed by an authorized representative of each side, and entered before the original deadline expires.
No. Only proper filing of a civil complaint in a Louisiana court stops the SOL. Demand letters, pre-suit mediation, and adjuster negotiations have no legal effect on the statutory deadline.
In most states the personal-injury SOL applies uniformly to negligence-based claims regardless of accident type. Louisiana does have separate deadlines for medical-malpractice, wrongful-death, and certain intentional-tort claims, addressed on dedicated pages.
Last verified against primary sources on 2026-05-16.