How Does Louisiana's Comparative Fault Doctrine Impact My Shreveport Auto Accident Claim?

In Shreveport auto accidents, "comparative fault" means that all parties who are at fault (in some way) will pay their percentage share of the damages. This applies to the injured victims, too. For example, assume a hypothetical accident where a big rig 18-wheeler truck is speeding towards an intersection to "make the light," but the light turns red just before the tractor-trailer truck gets to the intersection. The truck does not stop. Meanwhile, a passenger car has been waiting to turn left. Believing that the truck would stop, the driver of the automobile starts the left turn as the light turns red. The result is a horrific accident in the middle of the intersection.

Now, obviously, the driver of the tractor-trailer truck is at fault for running the red light and for speeding. However, the injured victim in the passenger car bears some responsibility for not waiting and yielding to oncoming traffic (even if that oncoming traffic should have stopped).
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Louisiana is a "comparative negligence" state, which, as noted, means that all the at-fault parties pay their percentage share of the total damages. The assignment of percentage fault is made by a jury or a judge if the matter goes to civil trial, and if the victim is assigned a percentage of fault, then the victim's money damages are reduced by that amount. See LA Civ. Code, Art. 2323(A).

So, in our example, the assignment might be 95% fault to the truck driver and 5% fault to the victim in the passenger car. In that case, if the damages are $500,000, then the victim's actual recovery will be $450,000.

For a real-world example, see the case of Pontchartrain Nat. Gas System v. Texas Brine Company, LLC., 361 So.3d 491 (LA. Court of Appeals, 1st Cir. 2023). That case involved who was responsible for a giant sinkhole that formed in Assumption Parish in an area known as the Napoleonville Salt Dome. Various companies were assigned the following percentages of fault: 40% to Occidental; 5% each to Occidental Petroleum Corporation and OXY USA, Inc.; 25% to Texas Brine; 10% to United Brine Services Company, LLC; and 15% to Legacy Vulcan.

Note that the assignment of percentage fault can be appealed if any party believes that the assignment was in error. This was successfully done in the Pontchartrain case. On appeal, the Louisiana Appeals Court reassigned the percentages as follows: 30% to Occidental; 0% each to Occidental Petroleum Corporation and OXY USA, Inc.; 45% to Texas Brine; 10% to United Brine Services Company, LLC; and 15% to Legacy Vulcan.

In any event, Louisiana's comparative fault rules will potentially impact your Shreveport auto accident claim in two major ways. First, since your actual "in-your-pocket" recovery will be reduced by any percentage fault assigned to you, the insurance carriers involved will likely work hard to find some reason that you were partly at fault for the accident. This is because insurance companies have a financial incentive to pay as little as they can for any accident covered by their insurance. So their agents and employees make the best case they can that the victim had some responsibility for the accident. But remember that the insurance company representatives are just making arguments. Only a Louisiana court can make legally binding decisions about assigning fault. The second major impact potentially happens if there is no settlement with the insurance carriers. As noted, if a judge or jury assigns some percentage fault to you, the victim, then your total money damage recovery will be reduced.

Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today

For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full compensation you are entitled to according to Louisiana law. To contact us, complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may significantly benefit by having an attorney with legal competence and experience assist you with your Louisiana personal injury case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading this blog post and visiting our website.

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