Will A Prior Louisiana Auto Accident Affect My Current Auto Accident Claim?

It is unlikely that a prior Louisiana auto accident will impact your claim or personal injury lawsuit related to a current Louisiana car accident. It is very important to distinguish evidence of a prior accident from evidence of a prior injury. However, evidence of a prior injury might affect your case if the current injuries are the same as or similar to the injuries suffered in the prior accident. Under such a scenario, you still may have a Louisiana personal injury claim, but the claim may be for aggravation of a pre-existing injury. If you have been injured in a Louisiana auto accident and have questions about a past accident or a previous injury, seek a consultation with an experienced Shreveport auto accident attorney like the ones at the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. To schedule a consultation, use our Contact Page.
 
Assuming no commonality of injuries between both accidents, the reason that a prior Louisiana auto accident will likely have little or no impact on your current claim or personal injury lawsuit is that there are several Louisiana evidentiary rules that limit the use of prior acts and/or prior events at trial. 

Generally, rules of evidence determine what kind of evidence can be used at any civil or criminal trial. As an example, there is a rule of evidence that limits evidence to things that are relevant to a given case. If the case involves a Louisiana auto accident, for obvious reasons, it would almost always NOT be relevant to introduce evidence about the divorce proceedings of the victim or the driver accused of causing the accident. Matters related to a divorce are generally not relevant to the proof necessary in a car accident case. Likewise, evidence related to prior accidents is generally excluded because relevance is often lacking. A prior accident involving sliding on slippery, wet roads is not likely to be relevant to a current accident involving an allegation of running a red light unless there is an argument about aggravation of pre-existing injuries. Evidence of other car accidents is generally inadmissible because there is a substantial risk of grave prejudice because the jury might hold a person legally liable, not for the current accident, but for the past accident. 

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.