Yes. Louisiana law requires a driver to immediately give notice of a crash that kills or injures someone, or that causes more than $500 in property damage. Notice goes to the local police department if the crash happened inside an incorporated city or town, and to the nearest sheriff’s office or state police station if it happened outside one.
Under Louisiana law, you must stop at the accident scene and render assistance to anyone who needs it. You also should leave your name if you hit a car but the driver can’t be found. Our Lafayette, LA car accident lawyer reviews the important details about this law.
When Do You Have to Report a Car Accident to the Police?
Call the police from the scene any time someone is killed or hurt, or the damage is more than $500. The statute requires that notice immediately.
Louisiana Revised Statutes § 32:398 says that a driver involved in a crash must immediately give notice of the crash to the police if it causes:
- Death, or
- Bodily injury, or
- More than $500 in damage
Most accidents will cause at least this much in property damage, even if no one is hurt. We recommend reporting the accident to the police to be safe.
What if the parish is under an evacuation or a state of emergency?
The clock changes. If the crash happens in an area under an order of evacuation by a competent authority, or under a declared state of emergency, the driver has seventy-two hours after the crash to give the notice rather than having to give it immediately.
Where Do You Have to Report a Car Accident?
You should call the local police department if the crash happened inside an incorporated city or town. If it happened outside of an incorporated city or town, notice goes to the nearest sheriff’s office or state police station. You should immediately call the police to report the accident. Typically, this will mean using your cell phone and calling them once you ensure everyone in your vehicle is safe. If you don’t have the phone on you, ask to use someone else’s phone.
An officer will probably come to the scene to create an accident report. These Louisiana car accident reports are helpful when it comes time to file an insurance claim. The report contains critical information, including the date of the accident and its location, as well as the identities of those involved.
What happens if you don’t report a car accident?
The bigger practical risk is to your claim. Without a police report there is no neutral account of what happened, so the other driver’s insurer fills that gap with their driver’s version, and yours arrives later and looks like an afterthought.
If you did not call from the scene, report it as soon as you realize, and do not assume the other driver’s report covers you. Whether failing to give the notice the statute requires carries a penalty of its own depends on the circumstances, so ask rather than guess.
Is there a 24-hour deadline to report a car accident in Louisiana?
No, and the question usually comes from another state’s rule. As set out above, the Louisiana statute calls for notice immediately when the crash caused death, injury, or more than $500 in damage. There is no grace period to run down.
If you have already waited, report it now rather than deciding it is too late. A late report is weaker than one made from the scene, and it is still far better than none.
Do you need a police report to file an insurance claim?
Usually no, but you want one. Insurers will open a claim on your word alone. What they will not do is treat your version as settled when the other driver tells them something different.
The report is the only neutral account of the crash that exists. Without it the adjuster is choosing between two stories, and the one told first tends to set the frame. With it, there is a diagram, a location, a time, and often a citation.
If no officer came to the scene, you may still be able to file a report afterward. Ask the agency that covers where the crash happened, which is the local police inside a city or town and the sheriff or state police outside one.
Do you have to report the accident to your own insurance company?
Yes, and this is a separate obligation from calling the police. Your policy requires you to give your insurer prompt notice of a crash, and that duty is contractual rather than statutory.
Report it even if you were not at fault, and even if you do not plan to make a claim. Late notice is one of the defences an insurer can raise against its own policyholder, and people lose uninsured motorist coverage that way after finding out months later that the other driver had no insurance.
One distinction worth holding on to. Telling your insurer what happened is required. Giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer is not, and you are entitled to talk to a lawyer before you do it.
Why Does Louisiana Collect this Information?
Louisiana wants a full reporting of all accidents to track the number of collisions that happen in the state. The state is constantly trying to improve public safety. Statistical data of this sort has many uses, which is why Louisiana has collected accident statistics for decades.
What Else Should You Do After an Accident?
To help your case for compensation, you need to fully document the crash. Calling the police is a good first step. The officer’s report will contain critical information to help with any insurance claim.
You should share the following with all drivers involved in the accident:
- Your name
- Your address
- The vehicle’s registration number
If the other driver asks, you must exhibit your driver’s license or permit. We strongly recommend getting all this information from the other drivers involved, as well. You should also ask for insurance information from the driver, which can help with a claim.
Then, you should take photographs of the vehicles involved in the crash, being sure to get photographs from all sides to show where they collided. Zoom in if necessary so we can really see the damage. These photographs help document the state of all vehicles after the crash.
We also recommend talking to witnesses. Ask for their name and contact information. They can provide important testimony about what happened.
A major question in car accident cases is fault for the crash. Louisiana remains a “fault” state for car wrecks, so the person responsible for the collision must pay damages to anyone injured. Witnesses and photographs help those of us who weren’t at the scene visualize how the crash unfolded.
Contact a Lafayette Car Accident Lawyer for Assistance with Your Insurance Claim
Inzina Law Injury Attorneys can assist anyone hurt in a motor vehicle collision. We have negotiated personal injury settlements for those hurt in rollovers, T-bones, sideswipes, and rear-end collisions.
If you needed medical care after a crash, then you might qualify for financial compensation from the driver at-fault for the collision. Other damages include lost wages, pain and suffering, car damage and mental distress.
Call us today. We offer free consultations to anyone who requests one. We can review what happened. No fee unless we win.
