Your Truck Accident Questions.
Our Straight Answers.

Louisiana’s prescriptive period for personal injury claims is one year from the date of the accident. For wrongful death claims, it is one year from the date of death. This is one of the shortest deadlines in the United States — missing it permanently eliminates your right to any compensation, regardless of how severe your injuries are or how clear the trucking company’s fault may be. Contact a Baton Rouge truck accident attorney immediately after any crash involving a commercial vehicle.

Louisiana follows a “pure comparative fault” system. This means that even if you were partially responsible for the accident, you can still recover compensation — your award is simply reduced in proportion to your share of fault. For example, if you were found 20% at fault and the jury awarded $1 million, you would receive $800,000. Trucking companies frequently argue that victims contributed to their own accidents — our attorneys aggressively challenge these defenses and work to assign full fault where it truly belongs: with the carrier and driver.

You can — and typically should — sue both. The truck driver can be held personally liable for negligence. The motor carrier faces liability under respondeat superior (employer liability for employee acts), negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent maintenance, and FMCSA compliance failures. In most cases, the carrier and its insurance policy are the primary source of substantial compensation, because individual drivers rarely have meaningful personal assets.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the federal agency that regulates commercial trucking in the United States. Its regulations — covering hours of service, vehicle maintenance standards, driver qualification requirements, drug testing, cargo securement, and more — set the legal floor for safe trucking operations. When a carrier or driver violates these regulations, that violation is strong evidence of negligence. Our attorneys are deeply experienced in identifying, documenting, and leveraging FMCSA violations to build powerful truck accident cases.

The value depends on multiple factors specific to your case: the severity and permanence of your injuries, your total medical costs (past and projected future), your lost wages and future earning capacity, your pain and suffering, the degree of the trucking company’s negligence, and the total available insurance coverage. Cases involving catastrophic injuries, permanent disability, or wrongful death routinely produce seven-figure recoveries. We provide honest individual case assessments — not inflated promises — during our free consultations.

Louisiana law allows truck accident victims to recover: (1) Economic damages — medical bills, future medical care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, vehicle damage, home modifications, long-term care costs. (2) Non-economic damages — physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, PTSD, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability, and disfigurement. (3) Loss of consortium — impact on your spouse’s life and relationship. (4) Punitive damages — in cases of particularly reckless or intentional misconduct by the carrier.

Our contingency fee percentage is disclosed clearly before you sign any agreement. We also advance all litigation costs — expert fees, court costs, investigation expenses — and deduct those from the final recovery. We walk you through the complete math before you settle so there are no surprises. We are committed to transparency about fees, and we never take a case where we don’t believe the net recovery to the client will be meaningful and fair.

Immediately: We issue legal preservation letters to the carrier demanding retention of all electronic data, maintenance records, driver files, and dispatch information. Within days: We arrange accident reconstruction investigation and dispatch investigators if needed. Over the following weeks and months: We gather all evidence, work with your medical team to document your injuries, retain necessary expert witnesses, and build the case for maximum compensation. When ready: We present a demand to the carrier’s insurer and negotiate aggressively. If needed: We file suit and take the case to trial. Throughout: We keep you informed and involved at every major decision point.

Most truck accident cases settle before trial, so many clients never appear in a courtroom. However, you may be required to sit for a deposition — a formal question-and-answer session with the defense attorneys — as part of the discovery process. We prepare you thoroughly for any deposition and are present throughout. If your case goes to trial, you will appear and testify, and we prepare you carefully for that as well.

No — almost never. First offers from commercial carriers’ insurers are virtually always significantly below the true value of the claim. They are designed to resolve the case quickly and cheaply, before you fully understand your injuries’ long-term impact or your legal rights. Once you sign a release, you cannot go back for more money — even if your injuries worsen or your medical costs escalate. Always consult with a Baton Rouge truck accident attorney before accepting any settlement offer.

You pay nothing to hire us and nothing while your case is in progress. Our fee is a percentage of your final recovery — agreed upon in writing before we begin. We advance all litigation costs (expert witnesses, investigators, court fees) and recoup those from the settlement or verdict. If we don’t win, you owe us nothing — not for our time, not for expenses, not for anything. Our financial interests are completely aligned with yours.

Don’t panic — but do contact us immediately. If you’ve already given a recorded statement, we can assess the damage and work to contextualize or counter that statement as part of your case strategy. If you’ve been offered a settlement and haven’t signed anything yet, stop immediately and call us. Once you sign a release, your rights are gone permanently. The sooner you bring us in, the more options we have to protect your position.