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Date: 08-25-2025
Case Style:
Case Number: 25-cv-00922
Judge: Jerry Edwards, Jr.
Court: United States District Court for the * District of * ( * County)
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Shreveport, Louisiana personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on an auto negligence theory.
auto negligence laws
. This bill, which went into effect on August 1, 2025, replaces the state's "pure comparative negligence" system with a "modified comparative fault" standard.
New modified comparative fault law (effective August 1, 2025)
Modified comparative fault: Under the new law, a plaintiff who is 51% or more at fault for an accident is barred from recovering damages.
Reduced recovery: A plaintiff who is less than 51% at fault can still recover damages, but their total recovery will be reduced in proportion to their degree of fault.
Intent of the law: Supporters claim the law will lower insurance rates. Critics argue that it takes away victims' rights and makes it more difficult to be fully compensated for injuries.
Former pure comparative fault law (before August 1, 2025)
Before the law changed, Louisiana followed a pure comparative fault system. Under this system, an injured party could recover damages even if they were mostly responsible for the accident. Their recovery would simply be reduced by their percentage of fault. For example, a driver found to be 99% at fault could still recover 1% of their total damages.
Proving negligence
To win an auto negligence case in Louisiana, the plaintiff must prove four elements:
Duty: The defendant owed a duty of reasonable care to the plaintiff.
Breach: The defendant breached that duty by acting or failing to act in a reasonable manner.
Causation: The breach of duty was the cause of the plaintiff's injuries.
Damages: The plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the injury.
Statute of limitations
In Louisiana, a personal injury lawsuit for negligence must be filed within one year from the date of the incident. This is a critical deadline, and failure to file within this timeframe generally results in the loss of legal rights to pursue the claim.
Special types of negligence
Negligence per se: A defendant may be found negligent "per se" if they violate a law that is intended to protect people like the plaintiff and that violation is the cause of the accident. In these cases, the plaintiff does not need to prove that the defendant breached a duty of care.
Vehicular negligent injury: This applies in criminal cases when a driver inflicts serious bodily injury on another person as a result of their negligent operation of a vehicle. First-degree vehicular negligent injury has specific criteria, such as the driver having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more.
Outcome: Remanded for lack of jurisdiction.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: