What To Do After a Car Accident in Louisiana

A car accident can be chaotic and disorienting. Understanding practical next steps can help protect your physical well-being and preserve information that may matter later.

This guide provides general information and is not individualized legal or medical advice. Specific duties may depend on the circumstances and applicable insurance policy.

1. Check for Injuries and Contact Emergency Services

Check yourself and others for injuries. If anyone may be injured or there is an emergency, call 911. Louisiana law also requires immediate notice to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for crashes involving injury or death or property damage over $500.

2. Stay at the Scene and Fulfill Your Legal Duties

Do not leave without satisfying your legal duties. Louisiana law requires a driver involved in an accident to stop, provide identifying information, and render reasonable aid when appropriate. A reportable crash may also require immediate notice to the appropriate law-enforcement agency.

3. Move Your Vehicle to Safety When Required and Appropriate

Louisiana law requires a driver to move the vehicle from the travel lane to the nearest safe shoulder when the driver is not prevented by injury, the vehicle is not disabled, and the crash has not resulted in serious injury or death. Do not move the vehicle when those conditions are not satisfied or when doing so cannot be accomplished safely.

4. Call the Police — Get an Accident Report

A responding agency may prepare a crash report documenting information about the collision. The process for obtaining a copy depends on the investigating agency.

Read the Lafayette accident-report guide for help identifying the appropriate official request source.

Official crash-report resources:

• Lafayette Police Department report requests
• Lafayette Parish Sheriff accident reports
• Louisiana State Police crash-report information

5. Exchange Required Information

Exchange names, addresses, vehicle registration or license-plate information, and insurance information. Upon request and if available, Louisiana law requires a driver to exhibit a driver’s license or permit. Avoid guessing or speculating about fault at the scene.

6. Document the Scene

If it is safe to do so, use your phone to take photographs and videos of the scene. Capture the damage to all vehicles, their resting positions, skid marks, road conditions, traffic signs or signals, and any visible injuries. Visual evidence disappears quickly.

7. Gather Witness Information

If there are bystanders who witnessed the crash, ask for their names and contact information. Independent witness testimony can be critical if liability is later disputed by the other driver or their insurance company.

8. Seek Appropriate Medical Attention

If you are injured or develop symptoms after a collision, seek appropriate medical evaluation. For urgent or potentially serious symptoms, call 911 or seek emergency care.

9. Notify Your Insurer as Required by Your Policy

Review your policy and comply with applicable notice and cooperation requirements. When reporting the collision, provide accurate factual information and avoid guessing about fault, diagnosis, or prognosis.

10. Be Careful With Recorded Statements

Before giving a recorded statement to another driver’s insurer, consider speaking with an attorney. Your obligations to your own insurer may be different and depend on your policy.

11. Preserve Relevant Evidence and Records

Preserve relevant photographs, videos, crash-report information, insurance correspondence, medical bills and records, wage-loss documentation, and receipts related to the collision. Do not alter or discard potentially relevant evidence.

12. Consult a Lafayette Car Accident Attorney

Before accepting a settlement offer, consider consulting an attorney. An attorney can review the available evidence, insurance coverage, injuries, damages, and deadlines and explain options based on the particular circumstances.