Statute of limitations in Louisiana

In Louisiana, a person hurt by someone else's fault usually has one year to file a personal injury lawsuit, under La. Civ. Code art. 3492. Louisiana calls this deadline prescription, and it works the way a statute of limitations does in other states. Once the period runs out, a court can dismiss the case no matter how strong the underlying facts might be.

The state recently changed this timeline. For injuries that occur on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana extended the delictual prescriptive period to two years under art. 3493.1. The one-year rule remains the general baseline, so the date of the injury matters a great deal when you count the deadline.

This guide gives general legal information about civil filing deadlines in Louisiana, not legal advice for your situation. Because a single missed day can end a claim, confirming the exact period with a licensed Louisiana attorney is a sensible step before you rely on any general figure.

The clock on a Louisiana injury claim generally starts on the day the harm happens. If a driver runs a red light and injures you, the period usually begins on the date of the crash. Counting forward from that day gives you the last date to file suit, and filing even one day late can be fatal to the claim.

Some injuries are not obvious right away. Louisiana courts recognize that a person cannot always discover harm the moment it occurs, and in limited circumstances the running of prescription can be delayed until the injured person knew or reasonably should have known of the damage and its cause. This principle is narrow. It does not apply simply because a claimant was unaware of the legal deadline.

Because accrual can turn on specific facts, two claims that look alike can carry very different starting dates. When the start date is uncertain, the safer working assumption is the earliest plausible one. Reviewing the record early keeps a claim from being lost to a start date that was counted wrong.

Louisiana law recognizes situations that can pause or suspend prescription, each with its own conditions. When the injured person is a minor, the running of prescription may be suspended in certain circumstances, so a child's claim is not always lost because a parent did not act in time. Similar protection can apply to a person under a legal disability or interdiction who cannot manage their own affairs.

A defendant's absence from the state can also affect the calculation, since prescription may be suspended while the person who caused the harm cannot be served or located in Louisiana. These rules are technical, and whether they apply depends closely on the facts.

Claims against government bodies deserve special caution. Suits against the state, a parish, a city, or a public agency can involve procedures and deadlines that differ from ordinary injury claims, and some steps must happen well before a lawsuit is filed. This page does not list those figures. For any claim that touches a public entity, check the current Louisiana code and the official filing rules rather than assume the standard period applies.

This page currently covers one claim type: personal injury. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3492, the general prescriptive period for a personal injury action in Louisiana is one year. Personal injury involves harm to your body caused by another party's fault, such as car and truck collisions, motorcycle wrecks, slip and fall incidents, and other accidents where someone else's negligence leads to injury.

The recent amendment matters here. For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, art. 3493.1 sets a two-year period for these delictual claims. If your injury predates that change, the one-year figure is the one to examine. If it falls on or after that date, the longer period may apply, so the date of the injury drives which rule governs.

Other civil claims are not shown on this page, and their deadlines are not the same. Contract disputes, professional malpractice, defamation, and property claims each carry their own prescriptive periods, and some differ sharply from the injury rule. Do not borrow the one-year figure for those matters. Confirm the correct period for any non-injury claim in the official Louisiana code.

Waiting until the deadline is close puts a claim at needless hazard, so a few informational steps early can help. Start by writing down the date the injury happened, since that date usually anchors the entire calculation. Keep the documents that tell the story: medical records, bills, photographs, repair estimates, insurance letters, and the names of anyone who saw what happened. Evidence fades, and memories fade faster.

Confirm which prescriptive period fits your facts before you count forward. The choice between the one-year rule under art. 3492 and the two-year rule under art. 3493.1 turns on the date of injury, and getting it wrong can cost the entire claim. If a government body might be involved, treat the timeline as shorter and more involved until you verify it.

A licensed Louisiana attorney can review your specific circumstances, confirm the applicable deadline, and explain any exception that might apply. This guide is general legal information, not legal advice, and it cannot account for the details of your matter. Acting sooner rather than later leaves room to gather what a claim needs and to file on time.