Car Accident Lawyer in Lafayette

Representation Focused on the Full Impact of a Serious Crash

The financial impact of a car accident does not always become clear when the vehicle leaves the repair shop. Medical treatment can continue, time away from work can grow, and lasting injuries may affect a person's ability to earn a living for years.

John Michael Morrow Law Firm serves people injured in Lafayette and throughout Lafayette Parish from our Opelousas office. We build car accident claims around the evidence, available insurance coverage, and the current and future effects of the injury.

John Michael Morrow has represented injured clients since entering practice in 1999. Since 2003, our firm has resolved more than 17,000 cases, and our settlements and verdicts since 1999 exceed $100 million. Past results do not guarantee the outcome of any particular case.

Car Accident Claims We Handle for Lafayette Clients

How a collision occurred can affect liability, available insurance coverage, the evidence that matters, and which parties may be responsible.

Our Lafayette car accident representation includes crashes involving negligent driving, distracted or texting drivers, impaired drivers, rideshare vehicles, and other circumstances in which another person's conduct may have caused an injury.

Related claims may include drunk driving accidents and Uber or Lyft crashes. When a collision results in a death, different damages and legal issues may arise in a fatal car accident claim.

Insurance Coverage After a Lafayette Car Accident

Establishing fault is only one part of evaluating a car accident claim. Insurance coverage can determine which policies may respond to the collision and what sources of recovery should be investigated.

The available coverage may include the at-fault driver's liability policy and, depending on the circumstances and policy terms, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage available to the injured person.

Louisiana law generally provides for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in automobile liability policies unless the named insured validly rejects the coverage, selects lower limits, or chooses economic-only coverage as permitted by law.

Rideshare crashes can involve additional coverage questions based on the driver's activity and the policies applicable at the time of the collision.

We review available policies and insurance information as part of determining how a claim may proceed.

Evaluating the Lasting Effects of an Injury

Current medical bills and missed wages may represent only part of the losses caused by a serious collision.

Lasting physical limitations can affect future treatment, rehabilitation, employment, earning capacity, and the assistance a person may need in daily life.

When the injuries and circumstances justify it, case development may involve professionals who help document those longer-term effects:

• Life care planners: Professionals who evaluate anticipated medical care, equipment, assistance, and other future health-related needs.
• Vocational experts: Professionals who assess how an injury may affect a person's ability to work and future earning capacity.
• Economists: Professionals who evaluate financial losses and calculate their value over time.

Their analysis can help connect medical and vocational evidence to the economic impact of the injury.

Records to Preserve After a Lafayette Car Accident

Documents created after a crash can become important when liability, damages, or insurance coverage is disputed.

Useful records may include:

• Scene and vehicle records: Photographs, witness information, repair estimates, and documentation of vehicle damage.
• Crash reports: Reports prepared by the law enforcement agency that responded to the collision.
• Medical records: Treatment records, bills, prescriptions, rehabilitation documents, and related information.
• Employment records: Wage documentation and other records showing time missed from work or changes in earning capacity.
• Insurance materials: Policy information, correspondence, claim documents, and settlement communications.

Keep original records when possible and retain copies of materials provided to an insurer or another party.

How We Develop a Car Accident Claim

We begin by learning what happened, how the injuries have affected the client, and what insurance information is available.

Our work may include investigating the collision, gathering evidence, communicating with insurance companies, reviewing medical and wage records, and coordinating with appropriate professionals when future losses need closer analysis.

We also prepare cases with litigation in mind rather than assuming every claim will settle. Whether a case can be resolved through negotiations or requires a lawsuit depends on the evidence, disputed issues, available coverage, and positions taken by the parties.

No single timeline applies to every car accident claim.

Compensation in a Louisiana Car Accident Case

Depending on the evidence and applicable law, recoverable damages may include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, property damage, physical pain and suffering, and other accident-related losses.

Louisiana also permits exemplary damages in limited motor-vehicle cases. Under Civil Code Article 2315.4, they may be available when the statutory requirements are met and an injury was caused by a defendant whose intoxication while operating a motor vehicle was a cause in fact of the injury and whose conduct showed wanton or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others.

The damages available in a particular case depend on the facts, injuries, fault allocation, insurance coverage, and governing law.

Louisiana Deadlines for Car Accident Claims

For delictual claims arising on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1 generally provides a two-year liberative prescriptive period beginning when the injury or damage is sustained.

The legislation that created the two-year period applies prospectively to delictual actions arising after its July 1, 2024 effective date. Claims arising before that date generally remain subject to the prior framework, and other rules or exceptions can affect an individual deadline.

Because prescription can depend on the date and nature of the claim, waiting to investigate the applicable deadline can put legal rights at risk.

How Comparative Fault Can Affect Recovery

Current Louisiana Civil Code Article 2323, effective January 1, 2026, uses a modified comparative-fault system.

If the injured person's negligence is 51% or greater, the current statute generally bars recovery. If that person's negligence is below 51%, recoverable damages are reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to that person.

Claims involving events or causes of action arising before the current rule took effect may require separate analysis under the prior law and Louisiana's rules governing the application of newly enacted legislation.