If you are hurt and the person who hurt you refuses to make it right, you may have to file a lawsuit. It is not enough to know where “the courthouse” is. You have to know where the right courthouse is. The right courthouse is known as the “venue.” The venue for your personal injury case will depend on the answer to three questions. Where are you from? Where is the company that is responsible for hurting you from? What are you suing about?
Can you file in state court?
If you are from the same state as the person who hurt you, then you can usually file your personal injury lawsuit in state court. In Louisiana, each parish has a state courthouse. It is called the District Court. There are 43 District Courts in Louisiana. New Orleans has the Orleans Civil District Court. Other Parishes use a numbering system. (For example, Baton Rouge has the 19th Judicial District Court). This is where the trial will happen. To figure out which District Court is the right one, you need to know the parish where the person who hurt you is from, and where the injury occurred. The answers are not as straightforward as they may seem but typically, you can bring your personal injury lawsuit in the parish where the person is from or in the parish where they caused the harm.
Can you file in federal court?
If you are from different states, and your injuries are over $75,000, you can sue in federal court. If you are suing under certain federal statutes, you may have to file in federal court. There are only three Federal District Courts in Louisiana. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans), US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (multiple locations), and the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana (Baton Rouge). Each one could be the venue for injuries that occur anywhere within their district.
Talk to a Louisiana personal injury lawyer.
This article is limited. Usually, the venue question is a lot more complicated. This is especially the case when multiple people might be responsible for your injuries. If you have been hurt and are suffering personal injuries as the result of someone else’s negligence, call Stag Liuzza today for a free consultation at 504-593-9600.
