Short answer: In the first 48 hours after a Louisiana crash: get medical attention even if you feel fine, make sure a police report is filed and get the item number, photograph everything before the scene is cleared, notify your own insurer, and do not give the at-fault driver’s insurer a recorded statement. Most claims are damaged in this window, not in a courtroom.
At the scene
- Call the police. Even for a minor collision. Without a report, the other driver’s account becomes the only version on record.
- Photograph before anything moves. Vehicle positions, all four corners of both vehicles, skid marks, debris, traffic controls, road conditions, and the other driver’s license plate, insurance card and license.
- Get independent witnesses. Name and mobile number is enough. Witnesses evaporate within minutes and are nearly impossible to find later.
- Do not discuss fault. Not with the other driver, not with bystanders. “I’m sorry” is a reflex in Louisiana and it gets quoted back as an admission.
- Get the item number. Ask the responding officer for the report or item number and which agency they are with.
Within the first few hours
Get evaluated, even if you feel fine. This matters more than anything else on this list. Adrenaline suppresses pain for hours. Whiplash, disc injuries, and concussion symptoms frequently do not surface for 24 to 72 hours. An emergency room or urgent care visit on the day of the crash creates the medical record that ties your injury to the collision. A week-long gap is the single most common reason an otherwise strong claim gets devalued.
Notify your own insurer. You have a contractual duty to cooperate with your own carrier, which is a different obligation from talking to the other driver’s insurer. Report the crash promptly. Keep it factual.
Within 48 hours
- Identify nearby cameras. Businesses, doorbells, and traffic cameras routinely overwrite footage in 7 to 30 days. Someone has to ask now, in writing.
- Photograph your injuries. Bruising often peaks on day two or three and then fades. Photograph it daily.
- Start a simple log. Pain levels, missed work, things you cannot do. Written contemporaneously, it is evidence. Reconstructed six months later, it is much weaker.
- Do not let the vehicle be repaired or salvaged yet. Damage patterns and event data recorder information can matter, and both vanish once the car is fixed or crushed.
- Do not post about it. Not the crash, not your recovery, not your weekend.
The recorded statement
The at-fault driver’s insurer will call quickly and ask to record you. You are not obligated to agree. Those interviews are structured — the questions are designed to produce quotable admissions about speed, attention, positioning, and how you are feeling before the full extent of any injury is known. “I’m doing okay” said on day two becomes an exhibit on month eight. Decline politely and say you will follow up.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file a claim in Louisiana?
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, generally two years under Civil Code article 3493.1. Injuries before that date usually fall under the older one-year period. Wrongful death runs separately, generally one year from the date of death.
Do I have to call the police for a minor accident?
It is strongly advisable. Louisiana requires reporting crashes involving injury, death, or apparent property damage above a statutory threshold, and injuries frequently appear after the fact in collisions that looked minor at the scene.
What if I did not feel hurt at the scene but do now?
This is extremely common and does not defeat your claim. Get seen as soon as symptoms appear and tell the provider it followed a collision, with the date. The sooner that connection is documented, the harder it is to dispute.
Should I use my own insurance or the other driver's?
Often both. Your collision coverage can repair your vehicle immediately while the liability claim is still being investigated, and your medical payments coverage can pay early bills. Your carrier then pursues reimbursement from the at-fault insurer.
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.. We represent people across St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes.
Free consultation, no upfront cost, and no fee unless we win. Call (985) 888-0640.
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Reviewed by David Kervin, attorney licensed in Louisiana · Last updated