How this estimate is built
Your medical expenses and lost wages are your economic damages. We apply the multiplier method, the industry-standard approach, to estimate pain and suffering (called "general damages" under Louisiana's civil law tradition): your economic damages multiplied by a factor of 1.5 to 5 — then checked against Louisiana's medical malpractice cap, if it applies.
A brand-new fault rule, effective January 1, 2026
For decades, Louisiana was a pure comparative fault state — a claimant could be 90% at fault and still recover the remaining 10%. Act 15 of 2025 (HB 431) changed that, effective January 1, 2026: Louisiana now uses modified comparative fault with a 51% bar. Below 51% fault, damages are reduced proportionally; at 51% or more, recovery is barred entirely. Genuinely distinctively, the new law also requires that when fault goes to a jury, the jury must be instructed on exactly what this rule means — most comparative-fault states leave juries in the dark about the legal consequences of their fault allocation.
Ordinary claims: no damages cap
Outside medical malpractice, Louisiana places no cap on economic or non-economic damages — general damages for pain and suffering are left entirely to the fact-finder's discretion.
Medical malpractice: a $500,000 total cap, since 1975
The Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act caps total recoverable damages — general damages and most economic damages combined — at $500,000, excluding future medical care. A qualified provider's own liability is capped at $100,000; the state's Patient's Compensation Fund covers the rest, up to the $500,000 total. Future medical expenses are paid entirely outside the cap, directly by the Fund, for as long as the patient needs care.