Truck Accident Lawyer in Lafayette

Truck Accident Claims Focused on Your Long-Term Recovery

The most expensive consequences of a serious truck crash may not be clear in the first weeks after the collision. Future treatment, reduced earning capacity, and long-term support needs can become just as important as the bills already in front of you.

At John Michael Morrow Law Firm, we represent people and families injured in commercial truck and 18-wheeler crashes in Lafayette and throughout Lafayette Parish. We investigate the people, companies, records, and safety requirements connected to the collision while documenting how serious injuries may affect a client's health, work, and financial needs over time.

John Michael Morrow has represented injured clients since entering practice in 1999. Our firm has resolved more than 17,000 cases since 2003 and recovered more than $100 million in settlements and verdicts since 1999. Past results do not guarantee the outcome of a particular claim, but they reflect the experience we bring to serious injury cases.

Tracing Liability Through Trucking Records

A commercial truck crash may involve more than the driver behind the wheel. Depending on the facts, responsibility may involve the motor carrier, a cargo-loading company, a maintenance provider, or the manufacturer of a defective truck component.

Our investigation focuses on the evidence that can help explain how the collision occurred and which parties may bear responsibility. Relevant materials may include driver records, electronic vehicle or logging data, maintenance and inspection documents, cargo records, photographs, witness statements, and company records.

When federal motor-carrier regulations apply, we also evaluate relevant Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requirements. Those issues may include hours-of-service compliance, driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, and electronic logging requirements. Not every truck or driver is subject to every federal requirement, so the regulatory analysis depends on the vehicle, carrier, operation, and circumstances of the crash.

Compensation for Current & Future Truck Accident Losses

A truck accident claim may include both financial losses that can be documented directly and non-financial harm caused by the injury.

Economic damages may include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, long-term care expenses, and property damage. Non-economic damages may include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life when supported by the facts and applicable law.

Louisiana also permits exemplary damages in limited circumstances. For example, Civil Code Article 2315.4 allows exemplary damages when the statutory requirements are satisfied for injuries caused by an intoxicated driver acting with wanton or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others.

Serious injuries can create needs that continue long after the claim begins. When appropriate, we work with life care planners, vocational experts, economists, and other professionals to evaluate anticipated medical care, changes in employment capacity, and future economic losses.

How We Prepare a Lafayette Truck Accident Claim

We begin by discussing the collision, the injuries, the vehicles involved, and the available information about the driver and trucking company.

From there, our work may include investigating the crash, identifying potentially responsible parties, preserving available electronic and company records, reviewing medical evidence, and documenting both current and anticipated losses. If the claim cannot be resolved through negotiation, we prepare for litigation based on the evidence and applicable law.

Our firm handles personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis, so clients do not pay attorney fees upfront.

Louisiana Deadlines for Truck Accident Claims

Under current Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1, most delictual actions arising on or after July 1, 2024, are subject to a two-year liberative prescriptive period. In general, that period begins when the injury or damage is sustained.

Act 423, which 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 governed by the prior law, and other rules may affect particular claims.

Because prescription can depend on the accident date, parties involved, type of claim, and other circumstances, a general deadline should not substitute for review of the individual case.

How Comparative Fault Can Affect a Louisiana Truck Claim

Louisiana's comparative fault law changed effective January 1, 2026.

Under the current version of Civil Code Article 2323, a person whose negligence is 51% or greater generally cannot recover damages. When the person's fault is below 51%, recoverable damages are reduced in proportion to that percentage of fault.

Claims arising under earlier law may involve a different comparative-fault framework. For that reason, the date of the collision can matter when evaluating how fault may affect recovery.

Where a Lafayette Truck Accident Lawsuit May Be Filed

The Fifteenth Judicial District Court has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in Lafayette, Acadia, and Vermilion Parishes.

That does not mean every Lafayette truck accident lawsuit must be filed there. The proper court can depend on venue, the parties, the location of the crash, the claims asserted, and whether another state or federal court has jurisdiction.

We evaluate those procedural questions as part of determining how and where a claim should proceed.

Truck Crash Causes That Shape the Investigation

The cause of a truck crash determines which records, vehicles, witnesses, and parties deserve closer review.

Potential issues may include distracted driving, fatigue, speeding, impaired driving, improper cargo loading or securement, inadequate vehicle maintenance, driver qualification concerns, or multiple contributing factors.

Hours-of-service and logging records may be relevant to fatigue. Inspection and repair records may help identify maintenance issues. Cargo documentation may become important when loading or securement contributed to instability, shifting cargo, or loss of control.

The investigation should follow the evidence rather than assume a cause simply because a commercial truck was involved.