New Orleans Car Accident Lawyer
A crash on the Pontchartrain Expressway, a rear-end collision on Tulane Avenue, or a wreck on the Crescent City Connection can leave you with medical bills and a damaged vehicle while an adjuster is already asking for a recorded statement. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in New Orleans and across South Louisiana and Mississippi, and a New Orleans car accident lawyer from our firm can take over the insurance conversations while you focus on treatment.
Louisiana law has shifted in ways that matter to anyone hurt in a wreck. The time limit to sue is now longer for newer injuries, but the fault rules have become harsher: if a jury or insurer decides you were mostly to blame, you can walk away with nothing. Insurers know this, and they work to push a claimant’s share of fault upward from the first phone call.
Many car crashes also happen to people who were driving for work, whether a delivery route, a service call, or a job-site run. In those cases a workers’ compensation claim and a car accident claim can run side by side, and how they are handled together affects what you ultimately keep.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a New Orleans Car Accident Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm that represents injured people throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Jackson, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language, from the first call to the end of the case.
The people behind the firm include Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers; Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, Partners, both recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers; and attorneys Andrew Rueff, Keaton Belk, Erin Heimlicher, and Jared Martin. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which matters when an insurer will only offer a fair number if it believes the case is headed to a courtroom. Best Law Firms ranked the firm in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Our results include a $385,000 settlement for a project manager who suffered back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and a $190,000 settlement for a truck driver who injured his lower back in a wreck while on the job. Those cases show the overlap that many car accident clients live with: the crash happened on a work errand, and two benefit systems had to be coordinated. Handling both under one roof keeps a comp settlement from undercutting an injury claim, or the reverse. Our clients consistently describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stands up to the insurance company.
Crash Situations We Handle for Injured Drivers and Passengers
- Rear-End and Stop-and-Go Collisions: Congestion on I-10, the Interstate 610 corridor, and Claiborne Avenue produces whiplash, disc herniations, and cervical injuries that may not fully show up for days. Insurers often call these “soft tissue” injuries and minimize them, even when imaging shows a herniation.
- Intersection and Left-Turn Crashes: Busy corridors like Canal Street, St. Charles Avenue, and Carrollton Avenue see angle collisions where each driver blames the other. Traffic camera footage, nearby business video, and witness accounts can decide who was at fault, and that fault finding now carries more weight than ever.
- Commercial Truck and Delivery Vehicle Crashes: Port traffic, river-related freight, and constant delivery activity put heavy vehicles on local roads. These cases can involve the driver, the trucking company, a broker, or a shipper, and the evidence, such as driver logs and maintenance records, is held by the defense.
- Work-Related Vehicle Accidents: A driver hit while running a work errand may have both a workers’ compensation claim against the employer’s insurer and a liability claim against the at-fault driver. The two claims interact, and a settlement of one can affect the other.
- Rideshare and Taxi Passenger Injuries: Passengers in a rideshare or cab can pursue claims against more than one party, and the available coverage often depends on whether the driver was logged into the app or carrying a fare.
- Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: When the at-fault driver has no insurance or only minimal coverage, your own policy’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may become the main source of recovery.
- Pedestrian and Cyclist Strikes: Streets around the French Quarter, the Marigny, and Uptown carry heavy foot and bike traffic, and a driver’s failure to yield can cause fractures and head injuries that require long recoveries.
- Fatal Crashes: When a crash kills a family member, surviving relatives may bring wrongful death and survival claims, which carry their own filing periods under Louisiana law.
What to Do After a Wreck in Orleans Parish and Where Your Claim Goes
Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap between the crash and your first treatment gives an insurer room to argue that something else caused your pain. Tell the treating provider every body part that hurts, because records made in the first days become the backbone of the claim. Call the police so a report is created, and photograph the vehicles, the road, any signals or signs, and your visible injuries before anything is moved or repaired.
Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. You are generally not required to give a recorded statement, and an adjuster’s friendly questions about whether you were “okay” or whether you “saw the car coming” are often aimed at building a fault argument. That matters more under Louisiana’s current comparative fault rule. For causes of action arising on or after the start of 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a claimant under that line has the award reduced by their share. Earlier crashes remain under the old pure comparative fault system. Either way, a few careless words about speed, phone use, or lane position can cost real money.
Timing is the next concern. For crashes occurring on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana gives two years from the day of injury to file suit for most injury claims. Earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period, which is why the date of your crash matters. Wrongful death claims follow a separate rule: one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. If you were hurt while working, the workers’ compensation deadlines are shorter and separate. Report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and file a formal claim generally within one year of the accident.
Injury lawsuits arising in Orleans Parish are filed in the civil district court there, and cases that qualify for federal court are heard in the Eastern District of Louisiana, which sits in New Orleans. Appeals from Orleans Parish go to the Fourth Circuit. If your work accident was a crash and your comp benefits are denied, those disputes go before the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which has a district court in New Orleans, and then to the court of appeal. Gather your medical bills, pay records, and the crash report, and bring them to a consultation so we can map out which claims you have and in what order to pursue them.
How Fault, Coverage, and Medical Evidence Shape the Value of a Claim
Two things control most car accident outcomes: who was at fault and how much insurance is available. Fault is proven with the police report, photographs, vehicle damage patterns, event data from the vehicles, video, and witnesses. Because a claimant at 51 percent or more fault now recovers nothing, the defense strategy in many cases is no longer just to shrink the number but to cross the threshold. We build the fault case early and test every version of the other side’s story before they get to tell it.
Coverage is the second limit. A serious injury can easily exceed a minimal policy, which is why we look beyond the at-fault driver’s insurer to employers, vehicle owners, trucking companies, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. When the driver was on the job, the employer’s liability may open additional sources of recovery.
Medical proof ties the two together. Insurers routinely blame back, neck, and shoulder injuries on degenerative conditions or old injuries. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if the crash caused or worsened it, but it takes treating-physician opinions and imaging comparisons to show that. The same pattern shows up in our workers’ compensation work, where we regularly answer the “it was already there” argument for herniated discs, torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears. That experience carries directly into car accident cases involving the same injuries.
Questions About New Orleans Car Accident Claims
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the general period is two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Crashes before that date remain under the older one-year period. Because the date of the crash decides which rule applies, do not assume the longer period fits your case without checking.
What does Louisiana’s 51 percent rule mean for my claim?
For causes of action arising on or after the start of 2026, if you are found 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. If your fault is below that line, your award is reduced by your percentage. Earlier crashes remain under pure comparative fault, where recovery is reduced but not barred. Jurors in a trial are told about the bar.
Do I need a lawyer if the insurance company has already made an offer?
An early offer usually reflects what the insurer hopes to pay before your treatment is finished and before your full losses are known. Talking to us before accepting is free, and a release signed on a quick offer generally closes the claim for good.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are collected only if we recover for you.
Should I give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement?
You are generally not required to. Statements given before you understand your injuries or the full facts are often used to assign fault to you, which is especially risky under the 51 percent rule. Direct the adjuster to your attorney instead.
What if the other driver has no insurance or too little?
Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply, depending on the policy. We review your policies to see what is available and handle the claim against your own insurer, which can be as contested as one against a stranger’s.
I was driving for work when I was hit. Can I get comp and sue the other driver?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation covers reasonable medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, and a separate claim against the at-fault driver may recover additional losses. The two claims have to be coordinated, because the comp insurer may have repayment rights from a third-party recovery. Our firm handles both kinds of cases, so they are managed together.
What if I felt fine at the scene but my pain got worse days later?
That is common with disc injuries, concussions, and soft tissue damage. See a doctor promptly and describe the crash. Delayed symptoms do not defeat a claim, but a long treatment gap gives the insurer an argument, so prompt records matter.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often it will, and many people use it so treatment is not delayed. Health plans and other payers may later assert reimbursement rights against a settlement, and those liens are negotiated as part of resolving the case.
Can I still recover if the crash happened in a different Louisiana parish or in Mississippi?
Yes. Our firm represents injured people across South Louisiana and Mississippi. The deadlines and fault rules depend on where the crash happened. Mississippi generally allows three years for a negligence claim and follows pure comparative negligence, so the rules differ meaningfully from Louisiana’s.
What if a family member died in a crash?
Louisiana allows wrongful death and survival claims. The filing period is one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. Because the periods differ by claim type, speak with an attorney quickly to preserve every option.
Serving Car Accident Clients Throughout New Orleans and South Louisiana
We represent crash victims across Orleans Parish, from the French Quarter, the Marigny, and the Central Business District through Mid-City, Uptown, the Garden District, and Carrollton. We also serve clients in Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, Bywater, Treme, the Lower Ninth Ward, Lakeview, and Broadmoor. Beyond the city line, our team helps people hurt in neighboring Jefferson Parish communities such as Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, and Gretna, as well as in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes.
The firm’s work reaches across South Louisiana and the rest of the state, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. In Mississippi, we serve clients in Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether the crash happened on a city street, a parish highway, or an interstate corridor, we can evaluate it and, when a work trip was involved, coordinate it with a workers’ compensation claim.
Talk With a New Orleans Car Accident Attorney Today
The weeks after a crash are when evidence disappears, insurers lock in their version of events, and filing clocks begin to run. A New Orleans car accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC can review your crash, explain how Louisiana’s fault rules affect your claim, and tell you whether a workers’ compensation claim should run alongside it. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call us to talk through what happened and what comes next.
