Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyers

Backed by Decades of Experience

When someone suffers a critical injury due to the carelessness of another, it’s life-changing. Medical bills pile up. Jobs, even whole careers, get derailed. Life becomes an exercise in pain management. The losses created by a single accident can last a lifetime and total millions of dollars—more than most households could hope to earn. The only thing that could make things right is if the people responsible for causing an injury pay back all those losses. That’s what Clayton, Frugé & Ward does.

Our Louisiana personal injury firm has proudly helped thousands of people piece their lives back together after a life-changing accident. With decades of combined litigation experience, we’re familiar with what you’re facing. We also know how to fight back against insurers, trucking companies, and other entities who cause thousands of injuries every year. With more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements, we’re the team to have in your corner.

Learn your recovery options and what you stand to gain by contacting us online calling us for a free case evaluation: (225) 209-9943.

Case Results

Results Matter. Ours have made history.

Personal injuries change everything—an incident that lasts mere seconds often causes a person to physically and financially struggle for the rest of their life. When these injuries are caused by a negligent employer or property owner, it's even more unjust when the victims of negligence often go without much-needed medical care or financial support or get buried in hospital debt.

Clayton, Frugé & Ward is the voice of accountability for the hurting, grieving, and silenced voices of Louisiana.

Over the last few decades, our team has stood up to the largest insurers, employers, and corporations in the region on behalf of regular people and their families. Our results are only possible because we're not afraid of the hard work, long hours, and tenacious advocacy necessary to recover what plaintiffs need.

- $171 Million Plant Explosion
- $117 Million Ambulance Accident
- $75 Million Confidential Settlement
- $65 Million Lead Paint Exposure
- $60 Million Plant Explosion
- $56 Million Truck Accident
- $50 Million Breach of Contract
- $49.5 Million Spinal Cord Injury
- $46 Million Wrongful Death
- $45.5 Million House Fire
- $43.3 Million Brain Injury
- $40 Million Confidential Settlement

View All

Giving You the Answers That You Deserve

Common Personal Injury Questions

What Is a Personal Injury Claim?

When someone is injured by the negligence of another person or company, they can recover all related financial losses through a personal injury claim, or “tort.” Damages related to a personal injury lawsuit often come from a decreased capacity to make a living, chronic and/or severe pain that lowers quality of life, and the medical debt generated by current and future care. By recovering those losses, plaintiffs can heal from or manage their injuries with the best possible resources at their disposal.

Personal injury claims affirm our social responsibility to exercise care when it comes to other people. When an employer, property owner, or other party behaves carelessly and harms others, personal injury claims force them to make restitution for their actions while incentivizing them to change their behavior. In other words, torts are the law's way of keeping employers and businesses accountable to the public. They ensure that large employers and owners suffer the repercussions of careless behavior.

How Are Personal Injury Cases Filed?

The first step to filing a case is contacting an attorney for a case evaluation. After investigating your injuries and the events that caused them, your attorney will begin to build a strong case that proves the defendant's role in causing you harm.

Usually, your attorney will attempt to negotiate a settlement with the defendant before going to trial. However, if the defendant refuses to make things right, your lawyer will need to take the case to trial. Great personal injury attorneys must be ready to go to trial and win your case—even when a case faces a long, uphill battle. At Clayton, Frugé & Ward, we fight aggressively for our clients no matter how well-funded or well-prepared the defense appears to be.

How Long Do You Have to Sue for Personal Injury?

In Louisiana, the time limit, or “prescriptive period,” for filing a personal injury lawsuit is typically one year from the date of the accident. This means that if you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you have one year from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit against the responsible party.

This one-year prescriptive period applies to most personal injury cases, including those involving car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and medical malpractice. If a lawsuit is not filed within this time frame, the court may refuse to hear the case, and the injured party may lose the right to seek compensation for their injuries.

Exceptions to the One-Year Prescriptive Period

There are rare exceptions to the one-year prescriptive period in Louisiana. For example, in cases involving minor children, the prescriptive period may not begin until the child reaches adulthood. Similarly, in cases where the injury was not discovered right away, the prescriptive period may not start until the date of discovery of the injury. If the injured person is mentally incapacitated, the timeline might be extended. However, winning an extension on the one-year period requires the help of an experienced personal injury attorney.

Importance of Seeking Legal Counsel for a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Given the strict time limits for filing a personal injury lawsuit, it is important to consult Clayton, Frugé & Ward as soon as possible after an accident. One of our attorneys can help preserve critical evidence, guide you through the legal process, and ensure that your lawsuit is filed within the prescriptive period.

Continue Reading Read Less