A pedestrian crash claim rarely turns on one document. A police report matters, but video from a nearby business, the traffic signal phase, photographs of crosswalk markings, medical records, and proof of missed work can each answer a different question about what happened and what the crash has cost. Knowing what to preserve and moving quickly can be the difference between a complete record and one full of gaps.
At Womac Law Firm, we’ve handled trial-level personal injury cases for more than 30 years and represented more than 40,000 personal injury victims. In a New Orleans pedestrian accident claim, we look beyond a single account of the collision and examine the records that establish fault, injury, and financial loss.
If you or a loved one was injured while crossing the street or walking along Louisiana roadways, do not let critical evidence disappear. Call Womac Law Firm at (504) 470-3935 or complete our online contact form today to schedule your free consultation.
What Evidence Shows Who Caused the Crash
An NOPD crash report is often the starting point. It documents the crash, the vehicles, the drivers, the injured, and the pedestrians involved. It may also identify witnesses, note contributing factors, and record initial observations. But a report alone rarely tells the full story, especially when accounts conflict or the crash happened at a busy intersection.
Our pedestrian accident attorneys compare the report with physical and digital evidence that addresses the questions insurers will raise: Where was the pedestrian walking? Was a marked crosswalk present? What was the traffic signal phase? Did the driver have an unobstructed view? Were lighting, weather, parked vehicles, or construction relevant to visibility and reaction time?
Louisiana uses comparative fault, meaning responsibility can be assigned among everyone involved. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2323, effective January 1, 2026, damages are reduced by a claimant’s percentage of fault, and recovery is barred when the claimant is 51 percent or more at fault. That makes documentation of crosswalk use, signal status, a pedestrian’s path of travel, clothing, lighting, and the driver’s conduct particularly important, because the other side will use any gaps in the record against you.
Photos, Video & Witness Statements
Conditions at a crash scene can look very different within hours. A vehicle gets moved, debris gets cleared, a damaged sign gets repaired, and whatever the scene showed at the moment of impact is gone. Photographs and video preserve what documentation can’t.
Useful scene images include:
- Intersection views: Crosswalk markings, stop lines, traffic lights, signs, sidewalks, and the pedestrian’s likely path.
- Visibility conditions: Streetlights, shadows, rain, glare, parked vehicles, vegetation, construction barriers, and other obstructions.
- Vehicle evidence: Damage, license plate information, resting position, broken parts, and debris if it can be photographed safely.
- Personal evidence: Clothing, shoes, bags, damaged glasses, and visible injuries before items are cleaned, repaired, or discarded.
Many business, residential, and vehicle cameras record only for a limited period before overwriting. Nearby surveillance footage, dashcams, cellphone recordings, and traffic cameras may capture moments before, during, or after impact. Footage isn’t guaranteed to exist or to capture the collision clearly, but identifying likely camera locations early makes it possible to send a preservation request before the recording disappears.
Eyewitness statements fill gaps no camera can. They can document the sound of a horn, the color of a traffic signal, a driver looking away from the road, or the pedestrian’s direction of travel. Save each witness’s name, phone number, and email address, along with a brief note about what they observed. Don’t rely on memory alone, and don’t edit, crop, delete, or filter original photos or video files.
Medical & Financial Records That Support the Claim
Medical records can include ambulance records, emergency department notes, diagnostic imaging, physician visits, prescriptions, therapy records, rehabilitation plans, and follow-up appointments. These records connect symptoms and treatment to the collision, which matters especially when injuries require care well beyond the initial emergency visit.
Keep a straightforward personal record of symptoms, limitations, treatment instructions, and changes in everyday activities. Note when pain prevents walking stairs, sleeping normally, driving, carrying groceries, or completing regular work tasks. This doesn’t replace medical documentation. It helps explain what the injury actually looks like between appointments, in language a jury can understand.
Financial records may include:
- Income records: Pay stubs, direct deposit records, tax documents, and employer attendance records.
- Missed work documentation: Written confirmation of missed shifts, reduced hours, job restrictions, or disability leave.
- Out-of-pocket expenses: Receipts for prescriptions, medical equipment, transportation, parking, and other crash-related costs.
- Household support costs: Records of help needed with tasks the injured person normally handled.
We use these records to evaluate both current losses and what additional documentation may be needed as treatment continues. Keep originals when possible and store digital copies in one place so that invoices, receipts, and employment records don’t get scattered across inboxes and folders.
What to Preserve after a New Orleans Pedestrian Crash
Prompt medical care comes first. Once immediate safety and treatment needs are addressed, preserving information prevents avoidable gaps in the record before video overwrites, memories fade, and roadway conditions change.
A practical preservation checklist:
- Get medical evaluation: Follow treatment instructions and retain discharge papers, prescriptions, and appointment records.
- Photograph the scene: Capture the intersection, crosswalk, signals, signs, lighting, vehicle damage, clothing, and injuries when it’s safe to do so.
- Record witness details: Save names and contact information before witnesses leave or memories fade.
- Request the report: Obtain the NOPD crash report through the department’s police report request or public records services when available.
- Preserve personal items: Keep damaged clothing, shoes, bags, phones, and other items in their condition after the crash.
- Save financial documents: Keep medical bills, receipts, wage records, insurance correspondence, and records of missed work.
- Write down what you remember: Note the time, location, direction of travel, signal status, weather, conversations, and events leading up to impact.
The City of New Orleans publishes MAXTraffic data with accident and accident-with-injury call-for-service layers updated nightly from 911 computer-aided dispatch information. That data can provide useful context, but it isn’t a substitute for the crash report, witness information, scene evidence, or medical documentation.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1 generally provides a two-year prescriptive period for injury claims, beginning when the injury or damage is sustained. Waiting until that deadline approaches makes a case harder to build. Video may be long overwritten, witnesses may be difficult to locate, and physical conditions at the scene will have changed.
How We Use the Evidence
We organize evidence into a coherent account of the crash rather than treating each item in isolation. The crash report, scene photographs, video, vehicle evidence, witness accounts, medical records, and lost wage documentation can support or challenge different versions of events, and the version the insurer presents won’t always be accurate.
That review is particularly important when an insurer alleges that the pedestrian crossed outside a crosswalk, entered against a signal, was difficult to see, or contributed to the collision in another way. It also guides next steps after a hit-and-run crash, when available vehicle information is limited, or when additional records or technical analysis may be needed.
At Womac Law Firm, we prepare cases with the possibility of trial in mind, including rigorous mock courtroom and mock jury work. We also keep clients informed about the records being reviewed and the questions that still need answers, because a strong claim depends on facts that can be clearly explained, to an insurer, and if necessary, to a jury.
Preserve the Details Before They Disappear
A few photographs, a witness’s phone number, unwashed clothing, or a saved receipt can become significant when considered alongside the NOPD crash report and the rest of the record. The sooner those details are captured, the more complete the picture.
If you want help assessing the evidence and your next steps, Womac Law Firm offers a free and confidential consultation at (504) 470-3935.