Getting hit by a car while walking is frightening, painful and physically disorienting. In New Orleans, crowded streets, narrow neighborhoods and heavy foot traffic can make pedestrians especially vulnerable. If a driver hit you, none of what follows is your fault. Still, the choices you make in the first hours and days can protect your health, preserve evidence and support a claim for the losses you now face because of the accident.
Get medical care first
Your health comes before everything else. Call 911 or ask someone nearby to call for you. Even if you think you can walk away, have emergency responders or a doctor evaluate you. Pedestrian injuries like concussions, internal bleeding and fractures do not always cause immediate pain, and a treatment delay can complicate recovery. Seeing a doctor promptly also creates medical documentation that ties your symptoms to the crash, which matters if an insurer later questions the connection between the accident and your medical condition.
Report the crash and gather what you can
Make sure the police come to the scene and write a report. If you’re able, get the driver’s name, license plate and insurance information, then ask any witnesses for their phone numbers before they leave.
Take photos of the street, the vehicle, your injuries and nearby details, such as traffic signals, crosswalk markings, lighting and debris. This documentation can matter in pedestrian accident claims. If you’re too hurt to do this, ask a companion, witness or nearby business whether someone can help preserve important scene evidence.
Be careful with the insurance company
An insurance adjuster may call quickly and sound friendly, but remember that the adjuster protects the insurance company’s financial interests. Do not give a recorded statement, accept blame or agree to a fast settlement before you understand your injuries and the full cost of treatment.
Louisiana follows a comparative fault rule, and insurers often try to assign some responsibility to the person who was walking. That argument does not automatically end the claim, but it can affect the amount available.is.
Keep track of how this affects your life
If you’re worried about bills piling up, missed paychecks or caring for your family while you heal, you’re not alone. Those losses are part of what a claim may address. Save your medical bills, keep a note of workdays you’ve missed and hold on to receipts for anything you’ve paid out of pocket. These details can show how the crash changed daily life, not just what the hospital charged or what appeared in the first medical report.
Know your deadline
Louisiana changed its deadline for many injury claims. For accidents on or after July 1, 2024, state law generally gives injured people a two-year deadline from the date injury or damage occurs. Even so, try to start your claim as soon as you can. Early action helps preserve evidence like video footage, witness statements and road conditions, which can fade or change over time and make your claim harder to prove.
Use the first week to decide what comes next
After the immediate shock passes, the most important question is whether your life is returning to normal or getting harder. Lingering pain, missed work or repeated calls from an adjuster may signal that the accident has consequences beyond the first doctor visit. Treat that as a sign to slow down and get a clearer picture of your losses before you sign paperwork, give statements or make settlement decisions about the claim.