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Louisiana medical malpractice law

In Louisiana, you generally have 1 year to file a medical malpractice claim from the date of the treatment. See the damage caps and expert rules for 2026.

Sources checked

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Malpractice lawyers in Louisiana

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How a malpractice claim usually moves in Louisiana

  1. 1.Something went wrong

    Write down dates and names while they're fresh.

  2. 2.Get your records

    Ask for your full chart and test results.

  3. 3.Free case review

    A lawyer looks at what happened, free.

  4. 4.Medical opinion

    A doctor checks whether the care fell short.

  5. 5.Start the claim in time

    Your lawyer starts the claim before the deadline.

  6. 6.Settlement or trial

    Many claims settle. Some go to a judge or jury.

Your deadline: 1 year from the treatment

Louisiana rules at a glance

Work out your deadline
Filing deadline
1 year from the treatment
Damage caps
Louisiana caps total damages for qualified…
Before you file
Written notice before you sue
Shared fault
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Full Louisiana law guidedeadlines, caps, children, experts and sources

Example: treatment and discovery six months ago

  • TreatmentMay 7, 2026
  • Likely deadlineMay 7, 2027
  • Outer limitMay 7, 2029
The filing deadline in Louisiana
  1. The clock startsOn the day of the treatment
  2. Time to start a claim1 yearMiss it and the claim is usually lost.
  3. At the very most3 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions

The rules in Louisiana

Filing deadline

1 year

Counted from the treatment. File within 1 year of the act or neglect, or within 1 year of discovery, but never more than 3 years after the act. Filing a request for a medical review panel suspends the period.

La. Rev. Stat. § 9:5628

Discovery rule

Applies

Yes, 1 year from discovery, inside the 3-year limit.

Outer limit

3 years

3 years from the act, omission or neglect; the Louisiana courts have upheld this limit.

La. Rev. Stat. § 9:5628

Damage caps

Louisiana caps total damages (economic and non-economic, excluding future medical care) for qualified health care providers.

Total
$500,000 total, plus the cost of future medical care, for claims against qualified providers; a provider pays up to $100,000 and the Patient's Compensation Fund pays the rest.

La. Rev. Stat. § 40:1231.2

Children

Different clock

The same 1-year and 3-year limits apply to children; minority does not extend them.

Affidavit of merit

Not required

No affidavit of merit; the medical review panel takes its place.

Notice before suing

Required

Claims against qualified providers must first be reviewed by a medical review panel, unless the parties agree otherwise. Filing the request suspends the deadline.

La. Rev. Stat. § 40:1231.8

Shared fault

Modified comparative (51% bar)

Modified comparative fault: barred above 50% of the fault

Experts

Expert evidence

Expert testimony is generally required; the panel's opinion is admissible at trial.

Louisiana switched from pure comparative fault to a 51 percent bar for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026 (La. Civ. Code art. 2323). Injuries before 2026 stay under pure comparative fault. The Louisiana Legislature's statute pages could not be retrieved for 9:5628 and 40:1231.2, so those two facts rest on the MPL Association compendium and secondary summaries.

Sources

  1. La. Rev. Stat. § 40:1231.8, Medical review panel, Louisiana State Legislature
  2. Louisiana Medical Malpractice Laws and Statutory Rules, AllLaw (Nolo)
  3. State Enactments of Selected Medical Liability Reforms (as of 8/27/2026), Medical Professional Liability Association
  4. Contributory Negligence/Comparative Fault Laws in All 50 States (updated 6/10/2026), Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.

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