Wrongful Death in New Orleans, LA

It depends on who worked the scene. NOPD works crashes on city streets and Louisiana State Police often works the interstate stretches, so the first thing to do is look at the paperwork the officer handed you and find the agency name and the item number on it. Reports generally aren't ready the same day.

Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. It's the parish trial court for delictual actions — that's the civil-law wording Louisiana uses for what other states call personal injury — and a suit over a crash inside the city limits generally goes there. Smaller claims may go to one of the city courts instead. An attorney decides where to file, not us.

Not to the deadline, no. It can matter to the claim, because a crash up on that stretch or on the High Rise usually means no shoulder to pull onto, a long wait for a tow, and witnesses who keep driving — so the report and whatever photos you managed to take are often all the proof there is. Get the report. Keep the photos.

In Louisiana, the deadline is generally 2 years from the date of the accident. 'Prescriptive period' 2 years as of 2024-07-01 (was 1 year — a major recent change). Uses civil-law terminology. Deadlines are strict — the sooner you act, the more options you have.