Louisiana Crash Investigation, Evidence Preservation & Prescription

Louisiana changed the general prescriptive period for delictual actions arising on or after July 1, 2024. Civil Code Article 3493.1 now provides a two-year liberative prescription running from the day the injury or damage is sustained, subject to statutory exceptions and special causes of action.

Determine the accident date first because pre-July 1, 2024 claims may be governed by the former one-year rule.
Calendar any special public-entity, wrongful-death, survival, contractual or other prescription rules independently.
Preserve vehicles, EDR data, video, photographs, reports, witness information and electronic records before they disappear.
Do not use the general two-year period as a substitute for researching a claim-specific deadline.

Primary Louisiana Source

Louisiana Civil Code art. 3493.1 — Two-Year Delictual Prescription

Current-law review: September 16, 2026. The two-year rule applies prospectively to delictual actions arising after July 1, 2024.

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