Louisiana’s New 51% Fault Rule: What Act 15 of 2025 Changed

For accidents on or after January 1, 2026, an injured person found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing under Louisiana law. An injured person found less than 51% at fault can still recover, but the award is reduced by that person’s percentage of fault (La. C.C. art. 2323(A)(2)). The change came from Act 15 of the 2025 Regular Session, which took effect on January 1, 2026 (Acts 2025, No. 15, §2). This article explains the Louisiana rule and where it does not apply.

What the law says now

Article 2323 of the Louisiana Civil Code governs how fault is shared when more than one person causes an injury. As amended effective January 1, 2026, it works in three steps.

• Fault is assigned to everyone involved. The judge or jury determines the percentage of fault of every person who caused or contributed to the injury, whether or not that person is a party to the suit, and even if that person is immune, insolvent, or unidentified (La. C.C. art. 2323(A)(1)).
• At 51% or more, there is no recovery. If the injured person’s share of negligence is “equal to or greater than fifty-one percent,” that person “shall not be entitled to recover damages” (La. C.C. art. 2323(A)(2)(a)).
• Below 51%, damages are reduced. If the injured person’s share is less than 51%, the damages are reduced in proportion to that share (La. C.C. art. 2323(A)(2)(b)).

The rule reaches any claim for injury, death, or loss, whatever the legal theory of liability (La. C.C. art. 2323(B)). One exception remains: if the other person’s fault was intentional, the injured person’s own negligence does not reduce the recovery (La. C.C. art. 2323(C)).

Act 15 also added a new paragraph. When comparative fault goes to a jury, the jury must be told what the article does (La. C.C. art. 2323(D)). That includes what a finding of 51% means.

What changed

Before January 1, 2026, Louisiana followed pure comparative fault. The former text of article 2323(A) reduced the damages “in proportion to the degree or percentage of negligence attributable to the person suffering the injury,” with no cutoff (Acts 2025, No. 15, §1, showing the deleted text). Under that rule, a person found 70% at fault could still recover 30% of the damages. Act 15 deleted that sentence and replaced it with the 51% bar. Louisiana now follows a modified comparative fault rule.

The line sits at 51%, not 50%. An injured person found exactly 50% at fault is below the bar and can still recover half of the damages (La. C.C. art. 2323(A)(2)(b)).

A simple example

The figures below are hypothetical. They show only how the arithmetic works, not what any case is worth. Assume a jury finds total damages of $100,000 in a car crash that happened in 2026.

• Injured driver found 20% at fault: the award is reduced by 20%, to $80,000.
• Injured driver found 50% at fault: the award is reduced by half, to $50,000.
• Injured driver found 51% at fault: the injured driver recovers nothing.

Under the old rule, the 51% driver would have recovered $49,000. One percentage point now separates half the damages from none of them.

Under the new rule, the fight over percentages is often the fight over the whole case.

Which accidents does the new rule reach?

Act 15 states only that it “shall become effective on January 1, 2026” (Acts 2025, No. 15, §2) and does not address earlier accidents. The rule plainly applies to accidents on or after January 1, 2026. Louisiana generally applies a change in substantive law only going forward (La. C.C. art. 6), so a claim from an earlier accident may still be decided under the prior pure comparative fault rule. Courts are still working that question out. If your accident happened in late 2025, have the date and the applicable rule checked.

Where the 51% rule does not apply: maritime claims

Article 2323 is Louisiana law. It does not govern claims that arise under federal maritime law. A seaman’s Jones Act claim against an employer uses the federal railroad-worker rule, under which the worker’s own negligence reduces the damages in proportion but does not bar recovery, and in some cases does not reduce them at all (46 U.S.C. § 30104; 45 U.S.C. § 53). General maritime law also apportions damages by fault without a 51% bar. Whether a particular injury on or near the water falls under maritime law is its own question. See the firm’s maritime law page.

Mississippi is also different. Its comparative negligence statute reduces damages in proportion to the injured person’s fault and does not bar recovery at 51% (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15). A crash near the state line can raise a real question about which state’s law applies.

Why the percentage matters more now

Fault percentages have always affected the size of a recovery. Under the new rule, they can decide whether there is any recovery at all. Insurers know this, and the share of fault they assign to an injured person early in a claim deserves close scrutiny.

Evidence of how an accident happened is often the first thing to disappear: vehicle data, video from nearby businesses, scene photographs, and the memories of witnesses. Preserving it early is the surest protection against an inflated fault number later. Be careful, too, about recorded statements to another driver’s insurer before you have advice. Offhand comments about fault can be repeated later.

Deadlines still apply

The 51% rule changes what you can recover, not how long you have to file. Louisiana changed the filing deadline for many injury claims in 2024. See Louisiana Now Gives Injury Victims Two Years to File — But Not Everyone.

You can read more about the firm’s personal injury practice. To talk about your situation, call (985) 612-7220 or start a confidential intake.