Short answer: For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana no longer uses pure comparative fault. Under Civil Code article 2323 as amended by Act 15 of 2025, a person found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing. Below 51%, damages are reduced in proportion to fault. Juries must be instructed on this consequence.
What actually changed
Louisiana had one of the most plaintiff-friendly fault systems in the country. Under pure comparative fault, a plaintiff who was 90% responsible for their own injuries still recovered 10% of their damages. That is no longer the law.
Act 15 of the 2025 Regular Session rewrote article 2323 effective January 1, 2026:
- 51% or more at fault: no recovery at all.
- Below 51%: damages reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s share.
- Intentional tortfeasors: where the other party acted intentionally, the claim is not reduced by the plaintiff’s negligence.
- Jury instruction: where comparative fault goes to a jury, the jury must be told what crossing 51% means.
Why the jury instruction matters more than it sounds
Under the old rule, a jury allocating fault was performing an arithmetic exercise. Now it is deciding whether the plaintiff recovers anything. Article 2323(D) requires that jurors be instructed on that effect, so they will know exactly what a 51% finding does. Fault allocation has become the central battleground in cases that would previously have turned on damages.
What this means in practice
Expect insurers to invest far more in building a fault case against you, because pushing a claimant from 49% to 51% no longer trims a settlement — it eliminates one. The categories most exposed are the ones where fault is genuinely contestable: left-turn collisions, lane-change and merge crashes, intersection disputes without independent witnesses, run-off-road and single-vehicle events, and pedestrian and cyclist claims.
The practical consequence is that evidence gathered in the first two weeks now carries more weight than it ever has. Scene photographs, camera footage on short retention cycles, independent witness contact information and vehicle data are what keep a fault percentage on the right side of the threshold.
Three other changes that landed at the same time
Direct action against insurers, effective August 1, 2024
Act 275 of 2024 removed the general right to name the at-fault driver’s liability insurer as a defendant. La. R.S. 22:1269 survives only for defined circumstances: insolvency or bankruptcy of the insured, inability to serve the insured, the insured’s death, claims against a family member, uninsured motorist claims, or where the insurer denies coverage or reserves its rights.
Seat belt evidence, repealed effective January 1, 2021
La. R.S. 32:295.1(E) barred evidence of seat belt non-use in civil cases. It was repealed. The shield is gone.
No Pay, No Play, effective August 1, 2025
La. R.S. 32:866 thresholds rose from $15,000 to $100,000 for bodily injury, and from $25,000 to $100,000 for property damage. An uninsured driver injured by someone else’s fault can now be barred from a great deal more.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 51% rule apply to a crash that happened in 2025?
No. It applies to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. A 2025 crash remains under pure comparative fault.
Who decides my fault percentage?
The trier of fact — a jury, or the judge in a bench trial. Before that, insurers assign an informal percentage during negotiation, and that number is very often overstated in a first assessment.
If I am 50% at fault, what do I recover?
Half your damages. The bar is at 51%, so 50% still permits a proportionally reduced recovery. That one-point difference is now worth an entire case, which is exactly why fault allocation is fought so hard.
Does this apply to wrongful death claims?
Article 2323 applies to claims for injury, death or loss under any theory of liability, so comparative fault principles reach wrongful death and survival actions as well.
City-specific guides
- Covington Car Accident Claims and Louisiana's New 51% Fault Rule
- Mandeville and Causeway Crash Claims: Which Agency Investigates, and Why It Matters
- Slidell Truck Accidents: The I-10, I-12 and I-59 Interchange, and the Evidence That Disappears
- Abita Springs Crashes: Why Two-Lane Roads Produce Disproportionately Serious Injuries
- Madisonville, LA-22 and the Tchefuncte Bridge: Where Local Crashes Happen
- Folsom Crashes: Rural Roads, EMS Response Times, and What It Means for Your Claim
- Hammond Crash Claims: The I-12 and I-55 Freight Crossroads, and Filing in the 21st JDC
- Ponchatoula Accidents: I-55, US-51 and the Crashes Between Them
Talk to a Louisiana injury attorney
Kervin Law LLC is a plaintiff-only personal injury firm in Folsom, Louisiana, led by David D. Kervin, Jr.. Free consultation, no upfront cost, no fee unless we win. Call (985) 888-0640.
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Reviewed by David Kervin, attorney licensed in Louisiana · Last updated