When someone injures you through negligence or wrongdoing, Louisiana law allows you to sue that person and ask a court to compensate you for the financial damages the injury caused you. If your injury resulted from medical malpractice, you can sue not only the health care professional whose negligence caused your injury, but also the company for which he or she works.
FindLaw explains that you sue for two kinds of damages in a personal injury lawsuit: economic and noneconomic. Your economic damages represent those on which you can place a precise amount, such as your medical bills, ambulance bills, etc. Conversely, your noneconomic damages represent those on which you cannot place a precise amount, such as your pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering examples
Your pain and suffering damages cover a number of things, including the following:
- Your physical, mental and emotional pain, anguish, distress, etc.
- Your impairment
- Your disfigurement
- Your loss of consortium and companionship with your spouse, children, etc.
- Your loss of enjoyment of your life
Pain and suffering limits
Depending on who you sue, Louisiana law imposes a cap on the amount of damages you can receive. For instance, you can receive no more than $500,000 if you bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. You can receive no pain and suffering damages at all if you bring a Workers’ Compensation claim.
In addition, Louisiana has a comparative fault rule. If the judge or jury finds that you contributed to your own injury, the court will reduce your damage award by your percentage of fault.
Keep in mind that you have only one year from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit.