Smiley Injury Law represents people injured throughout Louisiana in car and truck crashes, maritime accidents, medical malpractice cases, dangerous property incidents, and other accidents caused by negligence.
Our approach also includes a straightforward promise: you will make more than we will. Through our Net-to-Client Guarantee, you should walk away from your case with as much or more than we do.
If you were hurt and someone else may be responsible, call (504) 822-2222 or contact Smiley Injury Law to request a private case evaluation.
Which Type Of Personal Injury Case Do You Have?
You do not need to know the legal name for your claim before speaking with an attorney. Start with how the injury happened.
| If You Were Hurt… | Start Here |
|---|---|
| In a crash with another driver | Car Accidents |
| By an Uber or Lyft driver | Rideshare Accidents |
| By an 18-wheeler | Truck Accidents |
| By a delivery van or company vehicle | Commercial Vehicle Accidents |
| While riding a motorcycle | Motorcycle Accidents |
| While walking or riding a bicycle | Bicycle And Pedestrian Accidents |
| At a store, business, or other property | Premises Liability |
| At a construction site | Construction Accidents |
| Offshore or on a vessel | Boat And Maritime Accidents |
| Because of medical care | Medical Malpractice |
| In a nursing home | Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect |
| Because of a dangerous product | Defective Products |
| Because of a hazardous substance | Toxic Exposure |
| In an accident causing life-changing injuries | Catastrophic Injuries |
| If a family member died because of negligence | Wrongful Death |
| In a dispute with your insurer | Insurance Claims And Bad Faith |
Some cases fit into more than one category. Part of our job is identifying every potentially responsible party and source of compensation.
What Types Of Personal Injury Cases Does Smiley Injury Law Handle?
An injury claim in Louisiana might begin with a crash on I-10, a delivery vehicle on Canal Street, an offshore accident in the Gulf, or a fall at a neighborhood business. Wherever it happens, the first steps are much the same: determine what happened, preserve evidence, and identify who may be responsible.
Car Accidents
A car crash can leave you juggling medical appointments, missed work, vehicle repairs, and calls from insurance adjusters. Our Louisiana car accident lawyers handle rear-end, head-on, intersection, distracted driving, drunk driving, hit-and-run, uninsured motorist, and multi-vehicle crashes.
For accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2026, an injured person who is 51% or more at fault generally cannot recover damages in Louisiana. Below that threshold, compensation is generally reduced according to the person’s percentage of fault. Different rules may apply to earlier accidents.
Rideshare Accidents
Uber and Lyft crashes can involve additional insurance questions. Coverage may depend on whether the rideshare app was active, whether the driver had accepted a trip, and whether a passenger was in the vehicle.
We identify potentially responsible parties and policies so injured passengers and others involved in a rideshare crash don’t have to sort through competing insurers alone.
Commercial Vehicle And Delivery Van Accidents
A crash with a delivery van, box truck, or company vehicle may involve more than the driver. An employer or another business could also bear responsibility.
We look at who owned the vehicle, why the driver was on the road, what insurance coverage applies, and whether company practices contributed to the collision.
Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can involve drivers, trucking companies, vehicle owners, maintenance providers, cargo companies, and other businesses. Driver records, electronic data, maintenance information, and company records may all become relevant.
Trucking companies and insurers can begin investigating quickly after a serious crash. Smiley Injury Law works to preserve evidence and build an independent account of what happened.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists have little protection from the force of a collision. A crash can cause fractures, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, road rash, and other serious conditions.
Our Louisiana motorcycle accident lawyers focus on evidence such as photographs, video, witness accounts, vehicle damage, and information from the scene rather than assumptions about how motorcyclists drive.
Bicycle And Pedestrian Accidents
Drivers who fail to yield, speed, or drive distracted can seriously injure people walking or riding bicycles.
Smiley Injury Law represents pedestrians and cyclists injured in crosswalks, bike lanes, parking areas, intersections, and other locations. We consider both immediate losses and longer-term effects such as rehabilitation and time away from work.
Slip And Fall And Premises Liability Accidents
Unsafe property conditions can cause broken bones, head injuries, back injuries, and other serious harm. Premises liability claims may involve slippery floors, broken stairs, damaged railings, uneven surfaces, poor lighting, or other hazards.
Evidence such as photographs, surveillance footage, maintenance records, incident reports, and witness statements may help establish how an accident occurred.
Smiley Injury Law’s results include a $3.2 million premises liability settlement for a client seriously injured in a fall at a local business. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Construction Accidents
Construction accidents may involve contractors, subcontractors, property owners, equipment companies, and other parties. Seth Smiley worked in construction before becoming an attorney, giving him practical familiarity with job-site conditions and how construction work gets done.
Workers’ compensation may apply to an on-the-job injury. If someone other than the injured worker’s employer contributed to the accident, a separate third-party claim may also be possible.
Boat And Maritime Accidents
Louisiana’s waterways support jobs and recreation throughout the state, but accidents offshore, aboard vessels, and around ports can involve laws that differ from those governing an ordinary injury claim.
Depending on the circumstances, a case could involve the Jones Act, general maritime law, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, or Louisiana law. Which law applies may depend on where the accident happened, the injured person’s work, and their connection to a vessel.
Smiley Injury Law represents maritime workers as well as people injured in recreational boating accidents.
Medical Malpractice
A bad medical outcome does not automatically mean malpractice occurred. A viable claim generally requires evidence that a healthcare provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and caused harm.
Claims may involve delayed diagnoses, surgical mistakes, medication errors, birth injuries, inadequate monitoring, and other preventable medical errors.
Louisiana also has special procedures for medical malpractice claims. Claims against healthcare providers covered by the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act generally go through a medical review panel process before proceeding in court.
Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
Nursing home residents deserve safe and dignified care. Abuse or neglect may involve physical abuse, bedsores, malnutrition, dehydration, inadequate medical care, preventable falls, or unsafe living conditions.
Repeated injuries, unexplained bruises, worsening bedsores, weight loss, behavioral changes, or inconsistent explanations from staff may give families reason to question the care a resident is receiving.
Defective Products
A dangerous or defective product can cause serious injury even when someone uses it as intended. Product liability cases may involve consumer goods, machinery, equipment, or vehicle components.
If a product caused an injury, preserve it if possible. Packaging, instructions, receipts, and photographs may also become important evidence.
Toxic Exposure
Exposure to hazardous chemicals or substances may cause immediate symptoms or health problems that develop later.
These claims can involve workplaces, industrial facilities, property owners, manufacturers, and contractors. Establishing responsibility may require determining what substance was involved, where exposure occurred, and who had a duty to prevent it.
Catastrophic Injuries
A traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, severe burn, paralysis, or other permanent injury can affect someone’s ability to work and live independently for years.
A catastrophic injury claim may need to account for future treatment, rehabilitation, reduced earning capacity, mobility equipment, home modifications, personal assistance, and permanent disability. Smiley Injury Law looks beyond today’s bills to understand what an injury may cost over time.
Wrongful Death
When negligence causes a death, surviving family members face both personal loss and financial consequences.
Smiley Injury Law handles wrongful death claims arising from motor vehicle crashes, medical malpractice, unsafe properties, defective products, construction accidents, and other forms of negligence. Available damages can include funeral expenses, lost financial support, and other losses recognized by Louisiana law.
Insurance Claims And Bad Faith
Policyholders sometimes encounter delayed claims, inadequate payments, disputed coverage, or outright denials.
Smiley Injury Law handles disputes involving insurance coverage, property damage, injury claims, and alleged bad-faith claim handling. We review the policy, communications with the insurer, documentation of the loss, and the insurer’s explanation for its decision.
What Does Smiley Injury Law Do After Taking Your Case?
Every injury claim is different, but building one usually starts with two questions: Who was responsible, and what did the injury cost you?
Depending on the case, we may:
- Investigate what happened using available records, photographs, video, witnesses, and other evidence.
- Identify responsible parties and insurance coverage, including additional companies or policies when applicable.
- Document your losses through medical records, wage information, and evidence of future needs.
- Handle insurance communications and negotiations while you focus on recovery.
- Prepare for litigation when necessary if a fair resolution cannot be reached.
The goal is to understand what the claim is actually worth rather than build it around an insurer’s first offer.
What Compensation May Be Available After A Louisiana Injury?
There is no standard personal injury settlement. Compensation depends on the injury, financial losses, available insurance or assets, fault, and other facts.
Depending on the case, compensation may address:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent impairment or disability
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Put simply, a claim should reflect the injury’s actual impact, not just the bills that have arrived so far.
What Is Different About Smiley Injury Law?
Smiley Injury Law is a two-attorney firm built around direct access rather than a high-volume model where clients rarely speak with the lawyer responsible for their case.
For Seth Smiley, representing injured people is personal. He was seriously injured in a car accident as a child. Before becoming an attorney, he also worked in construction. He has been licensed since 2009 and has represented injured people across Louisiana.
Serious cases are prepared from the beginning with the possibility that they may eventually need to be presented to a jury. That preparation matters even when a case settles because the other side knows whether an attorney is prepared to keep going.
That approach means looking beyond the immediate question of who caused an accident. A strong case also needs to show what the injury has taken from the client. That may include months away from work, ongoing medical treatment, activities the person can no longer enjoy, or future care they will need.
Smiley Injury Law builds each case around the individual client rather than treating an injury as a number on a spreadsheet. For a small firm, every case matters, and clients have direct access to the attorneys making decisions about theirs.
The firm’s published results include a $3.2 million premises liability settlement, a $1.25 million premises liability settlement, and a $700,000 car accident settlement. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Clients can also expect:
- Direct access to the attorney handling the case
- No attorney fees unless compensation is recovered
- Case expenses advanced by the firm
- A strategy based on the individual case
- The Net-to-Client Guarantee: you make more than we do
You are not hiring a billboard or a call center. You know who is responsible for your case and who to contact when you have a question.
Talk To A Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer About Your Case
You do not have to know what your case is called or what it is worth before asking for help. But you should understand both before an insurance company asks you to settle it.
Smiley Injury Law can review what happened, identify the type of claim you may have, and explain where you stand in plain language.
And if we take your case, our promise is simple: you make more than we do.
Call (504) 822-2222 or contact Smiley Injury Law to request a private case evaluation.