Louisiana Dog Bite Lawyer — Free Consultation
Strict Liability State
Louisiana’s filing deadline doubled from one year to two on 1 July 2024 — and the change applies only to injuries arising after that date.
Your Rights After a Dog Bite in Louisiana
If a dog bit you in Louisiana, the first thing to establish is the date. Act 423 of 2024 repealed the state's long-standing one-year prescriptive period for tort claims and replaced it with two years, effective 1 July 2024. The change applies prospectively only, so an injury sustained before that date is still governed by the old one-year rule.
That boundary is sharp. There is no transitional blending — 30 June and 1 July 2024 carry different deadlines. And a great deal of published Louisiana guidance still describes the one-year period as current, some of it recent enough to look authoritative.
On liability itself, Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction and derives the rule from the Civil Code rather than a common-law statute. Article 2321 makes the owner of a dog strictly liable for injuries the dog caused which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person's provocation of the dog.
Those two conditions are built into the rule rather than sitting outside it as defenses, and that matters. Because provocation is a condition of strict liability rather than a comparative factor, provoking the dog defeats the strict liability claim outright rather than reducing the award — unusual in a state that otherwise applies pure comparative fault.
Fees are contingency, nothing upfront, commonly around a third of any recovery, and typically nothing owed if there is no recovery. Louisiana's civil-law framework means local knowledge matters more than usual, since multi-state guidance frequently mishandles the state.
Timelines depend on how contested provocation is. A clear-liability bite with a Louisiana SPCA investigation record can resolve in months; a case where provocation is asserted runs longer, because it is an all-or-nothing question rather than a discount.
Some bites do not need a lawyer. What changes it here: any uncertainty about which prescriptive period applies to your date of injury; any assertion that you provoked the dog; an injury requiring surgery or leaving a scar; a child victim; a denied claim; and any incident involving a parish, city or state entity, because Louisiana caps general damages against public defendants.
The evidence that decides a Louisiana claim: the precise date of injury, photographs of the wound over time, the Louisiana SPCA or parish animal control record, whether the dog was loose or the enclosure failed, witness accounts of what happened immediately before the bite, the owner's insurance details, and the complete medical record.
5 questions a Louisiana attorney will ask you
Answer these to see which factors strengthen or complicate a claim under Louisiana law.
Question 1 of 5
When did the bite happen?
Louisiana's deadline changed on 1 July 2024, and the change applies prospectively only.
Louisiana Dog Bite Laws
Louisiana is the only American state whose private law descends from the French and Spanish civil-law tradition rather than English common law. That is not a historical curiosity in this context — it shapes how the liability rule is written and how courts approach it.
Full breakdown of the statute, comparative negligence rules, and exceptions: Louisiana Dog Bite Laws →
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Economic damages are the documented losses: emergency and follow-up treatment, rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, reconstructive and revision surgery, physical therapy, lost wages, and the projected cost of future care.
General damages — Louisiana's term for pain and suffering, emotional distress and disfigurement — are not capped against a private dog owner. They are capped against the State and its political subdivisions under La. R.S. 13:5106, so whether a public entity is involved changes the ceiling on a claim.
Most claims are paid from a homeowners or renters policy. Louisiana's property insurance market has been unusually disrupted in recent years following successive hurricane seasons, with carrier withdrawals and policy changes, so verifying what coverage is actually in force matters more here than in a stable market.
A child's claim carries the usual premium for facial or hand scarring that may require revision surgery, and Louisiana's suspension rules mean prescription does not generally run against a minor, so the period typically begins at majority.
See typical dollar ranges: Louisiana Settlement Amounts →
Steps to Take After a Dog Bite
Louisiana's first steps begin with something most states do not require you to think about: pin down the exact date of the bite. Act 423 of 2024 changed the prescriptive period from one year to two effective 1 July 2024, prospectively only, so the difference between 30 June and 1 July 2024 is the difference between a one-year and a two-year deadline. Get medical care the same day — bite wounds carry a real infection risk from Pasteurella and Capnocytophaga, and a same-day record fixes the date as well as the injury. Then write down what happened in the seconds before the bite, because article 2321 conditions strict liability on the injury not resulting from your provocation of the dog; establishing provocation defeats the claim rather than reducing it, which is unusual in a pure comparative state. Note whether the dog was loose or an enclosure failed, since article 2321 also requires that the damage was something the owner could have prevented. Get the owner's name, address, phone and insurance details. Report the bite — in New Orleans that means the Louisiana SPCA, which holds the city's animal control contract, reachable at 504-821-2222 or 911 in an emergency. Photograph the wound immediately and through healing.
What happens after a dog bite in Louisiana
Most claims move through the same six stages. Timings vary — these are typical, not guaranteed.
The bite
Day 0Get the owner's name, address, phone and insurance details before leaving if you safely can, and photograph the scene — in Louisiana that includes any posted signage, not just the wound.
Medical treatment
Same dayDog bites carry a real infection risk from bacteria like Pasteurella and Capnocytophaga. A same-day record also becomes the document every later stage of the claim rests on.
Report & evidence
Days 1–7Report to animal control, which starts the rabies observation period and creates a timestamped official record independent of the owner. Photograph the wound again as it heals, and collect witness contacts.
Insurance claim
Weeks 1–8Most claims are paid by the owner's homeowners or renters policy. Adjusters typically call early to request a recorded statement — their job is to limit the payout, so it's worth getting advice before you're on record.
Attorney consultation
Any time — freeConsultations are free and contingency-based, so cost is rarely the deciding factor. Most attorneys will tell you plainly if a claim is simple enough to handle alone.
Settlement or lawsuit
Before the 2- years — but 1 year for injuries before 1 july 2024 deadlineMost claims settle without a lawsuit. If yours doesn't, Louisiana requires suit within 2 years — but 1 year for injuries before 1 july 2024 (La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1) — and an attorney generally won't settle before your treatment reaches maximum medical improvement.
Statute of Limitations
Louisiana's prescriptive period changed on 1 July 2024, and which rule applies to your claim depends entirely on when you were injured. Act 423 of 2024 repealed the former one-year period at Civil Code articles 3492 and 3493 and enacted a two-year period at article 3493.1 for delictual actions. The change applies prospectively only: an injury arising on or after 1 July 2024 carries two years; one arising before that date carries one year. There is no transitional provision softening the boundary, and a substantial amount of published Louisiana guidance still describes the one-year rule as current. Establishing the exact date of injury is therefore the first task in any Louisiana claim rather than a detail. Survival and wrongful death actions under Civil Code articles 2315.1 and 2315.2 follow the same change, running two years from the date of death where that occurred on or after 1 July 2024. Louisiana's suspension rules mean prescription does not generally run against a minor, so a child's period typically begins at majority. Claims against the State or a political subdivision proceed under La. R.S. 13:5106 and related provisions, which impose their own procedures and cap general damages against public entities — a ceiling that does not apply to a claim against a private dog owner.
Full breakdown of the statute, its exceptions, and how shared fault is handled: Louisiana dog bite laws →
Find a Dog Bite Lawyer Near You in Louisiana
- New Orleans Dog Bite Lawyer
- Baton Rouge (guide coming soon)
Louisiana dog bite questions, answered
The questions Louisiana readers ask most often. General information, not legal advice.
How long do I have to file a dog bite claim in Louisiana?
Two years for injuries arising on or after 1 July 2024, under La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1. Act 423 of 2024 repealed the old one-year prescriptive period and replaced it with two years, but the change applies prospectively only — so an injury sustained before 1 July 2024 remains governed by the one-year rule. A great deal of published Louisiana guidance still describes the one-year period as current.
Is Louisiana a strict liability state for dog bites?
Yes, though it reaches that result through the civil code rather than a common-law statute. La. Civ. Code art. 2321 makes the owner of a dog strictly liable for injuries the dog caused which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person's provocation of the dog.
What does "provocation" do to a Louisiana claim?
More than it does in most states. Provocation is written into article 2321 as a condition of strict liability rather than as an affirmative defense, so establishing it defeats the strict liability claim outright rather than reducing the award. That is notable because Louisiana is otherwise a pure comparative jurisdiction where shared fault only reduces recovery.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Louisiana?
Generally yes. La. Civ. Code art. 2323 applies pure comparative fault, so your damages are reduced by your share but never eliminated. The exception is provocation, which article 2321 treats as a condition of the strict liability claim rather than a comparative factor.
Who handles animal control in New Orleans?
The Louisiana SPCA, which holds a contract with the City of New Orleans to provide animal control services. Its Humane Law and Rescue division can be reached at 504-821-2222, or 911 in an emergency. It is a nonprofit contractor arrangement rather than a municipal department, so bite investigations and records sit with the LA/SPCA.
Is there a cap on damages in Louisiana?
Not against a private dog owner. Louisiana does cap general damages recoverable against the State and its political subdivisions under La. R.S. 13:5106, so a claim involving a public entity — a police K-9, for instance — carries a ceiling that a claim against a private owner does not.
Can a Louisiana parish ban a dog by breed?
Yes. Louisiana has no statewide preemption of breed-specific legislation, so parishes and municipalities retain authority to regulate particular breeds. That affects where a dog may lawfully be kept rather than liability — breed is not part of the article 2321 analysis.
What should I do right now?
Tick these off as you go. Nothing is saved — this is a checklist to work through, not a form.