10 Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Lafayette, LA (2026)

This guide covers 10 personal injury law firms that handle injury claims for residents of Lafayette, Louisiana and the surrounding Acadiana parishes. Each firm was evaluated on three criteria: the trial and courtroom background of its attorneys, depth of experience in the injury cases most common in this region (car and 18-wheeler crashes on I-10 and I-49, offshore and maritime injuries, industrial accidents, and wrongful death), and practice focus, meaning whether personal injury is the firm’s core work or one area among several. Firms are described with their office addresses, phone numbers, practice areas, and size so readers can compare them directly.

When comparing options, three practical questions matter most. First, does the attorney try cases, or does the firm settle nearly everything, since insurers price a claim differently when they expect a trial? Second, does the firm have working knowledge of maritime and offshore law, because Jones Act and Longshore claims follow different rules than a standard car-crash claim? Third, who will actually handle the file day to day: the named attorney, a team, or an associate? This list is not ranked and is not sponsored. Firm details come from each firm’s own website, cross-checked against attorney directories such as Avvo, Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell and Justia, and business listings such as Yelp and Google Business where a specific figure is cited.

1. Law Offices of Richard R. Kennedy

• Attorney/Key Figure: Richard R. Kennedy, Managing Partner; Richard R. Kennedy III, Member
• Headquarters: 309 Polk Street, Lafayette, LA 70501
• Phone: (337) 232-1934
• Website: richardkennedy.com
• Practice Areas: Admiralty and maritime (Jones Act, offshore injury), personal injury (car, trucking, wrongful death, DUI/DWI-related, helicopter accidents), appellate practice
• Firm Size: Family-owned boutique with two attorneys
• Social Profiles: Avvo, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn.

Richard R. Kennedy was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1965 and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a membership the Keenan Trial Institute describes as limited to about one percent of the bar. The Keenan Trial Institute, where he serves as faculty, reports that in 1980 he became the first Louisiana attorney certified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and that he holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV rating.

The firm’s maritime depth stands out: Richard Kennedy III reports that the office has handled Jones Act and maritime cases for more than 45 years. Appellate practice is also on the firm’s list, which matters when a verdict or a summary judgment is likely to be reviewed. The firm works from downtown Lafayette.

2. Chris Villemarette, Trial Lawyer

• • Attorney/Key Figure: Chris Villemarette, Trial Lawyer (solo practitioner)
  • Headquarters: 3404 Moss Street, Lafayette, LA 70507
  • Phone: (337) 232-3100
  • Website: chrisvlaw.com
  • Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, truck, rideshare, boat, drunk driving, and uninsured/underinsured motorist accidents; I-10 and I-49 accidents; pedestrian, bicycle, slip and fall, dog bite, elevator and trampoline accidents; back, spinal cord and brain injuries; wrongful death), medical malpractice, family law, criminal defense

• Firm Size: Solo practice, in practice since 1994; the firm reports more than $60 million recovered for clients
• Practice Area Page: Lafayette Personal Injury Lawyer
• Social Profiles: Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Avvo, Yelp

Chris Villemarette has practiced law since 1994 and was admitted in Louisiana that year and in Texas in 1995. His firm’s site states that he has taken hundreds of cases to verdict in both jury and bench trials and has argued before the Louisiana courts of appeal, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit. He also holds an accounting degree, and the firm’s own writing on injury valuation describes how that background shapes the way damages are calculated.

The practice is built around one attorney. Villemarette states that he personally represents every client and does not hand the advocacy to other lawyers. He also says he will turn down an insurer’s offer and let a judge or jury set the award when the offer falls short, which makes this firm a fit for readers who want a lawyer comfortable going to trial in Lafayette Parish.

3. Sanchez Burke, LLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Joseph M. W. Burke, Partner (personal injury); Walter Marshall Sanchez
• Headquarters: 1200 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601 (additional office: 223 East Main Street, New Iberia, LA 70563)
• Phone: (337) 433-4405
• Website: sanchezburke.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, truck, commercial vehicle and motorcycle accidents; Jones Act, offshore injury and Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation claims; plant accidents, premises liability, negligent security, defective roadways, aircraft and electrical accidents, construction accidents, burn and traumatic brain injuries, dog bites, boating accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful death and survival actions, hurricane damage), insurance claims, family law, criminal defense, professional disciplinary actions, estate planning and succession
• Firm Size: Boutique, with five attorneys listed on the firm’s site
• Practice Area Page: Personal Injury and Maritime Injuries
• Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

Sanchez Burke serves Lafayette and the wider Acadiana region from its Lake Charles headquarters and a second office in New Iberia. Partner Joe Burke handles personal injury work. He earned his J.D./D.C.L. at LSU, where he competed on the Admiralty Moot Court and Trial Advocacy teams and won the Ira S. Flory Trial Competition, and he worked as attorney of counsel at the plaintiffs’ firm deGravelles & Palmintier from 2012 to 2019. Before law school he worked on hydrographic surveying projects for the U.S. Navy and Department of Commerce, a background that connects directly to the vessel and waterway cases the firm takes. He was named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in 2021 and 2022 and to Acadiana Profile’s Top Lawyers of Acadiana in 2021, 2022 and 2025.

What sets the firm apart on this topic is the breadth of its injury list for the Gulf Coast economy: Jones Act and offshore claims, Longshore compensation, plant and electrical accidents, and hurricane damage sit alongside standard auto and truck cases. Clients who need an injury claim and an insurance dispute handled under one roof will find both listed among the firm’s services.

4. The Law Office of Joshua S. Guillory, LLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Joshua S. Guillory, Founder
• Headquarters: 203 W Brentwood Blvd, Suite 3, Lafayette, LA 70506
• Phone: (337) 233-1303
• Website: jsguillorylaw.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury and auto accidents (car, motorcycle, truck, construction and premises liability accidents, brain injury, wrongful death), criminal defense, family law, business law, estate planning
• Firm Size: Small firm, founded 2011, with two attorneys listed on the firm’s site
• Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Yelp

Joshua Guillory founded his Lafayette firm in 2011 and was admitted to the Louisiana bar that year, the Supreme Court of the United States in 2015, and the Massachusetts bar in 2017. He also teaches as a Professor of Law at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His personal injury work centers on auto accidents, with trucking, motorcycle, construction, and premises cases also listed.

The firm’s mix of practice areas is a practical advantage for crash victims whose situations overlap: a collision that leads to criminal charges, or an injury that affects a divorce or custody matter, can be handled by the same office. The firm also offers Spanish-language representation through attorney Daniel Tercero and serves clients in Youngsville, Broussard, Crowley, and across Acadiana.

5. Gaar Law Firm

• Attorney/Key Figure: Joseph F. Gaar Jr., Attorney
• Headquarters: 900 S College Road, Suite 205, Lafayette, LA 70503
• Phone: (337) 233-3185
• Website: gaarlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury and wrongful death exclusively: maritime, Jones Act and offshore accidents, motor vehicle and truck accidents, helicopter and aviation accidents, product liability, premises liability, workplace and industrial accidents, catastrophic injuries (amputation, brain, spinal cord, burn)
• Firm Size: Small, injury-only firm; the firm reports more than $40 million recovered for clients
• Practice Area Page: Lafayette Personal Injury Lawyer
• Social Profiles: Facebook, Instagram

Joseph Gaar Jr. has been admitted to the Louisiana bar since 1985. He began his career at a large insurance defense and maritime firm and spent two years defending corporations and boat companies before moving to the plaintiff side, so he knows how the other side builds a defense. By his firm’s account he tried his first personal injury jury trial within his first year of solo practice and won a $4.2 million verdict in Assumption Parish in 1996. He holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV peer rating and was listed by Super Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 from 2009 through 2019.

The firm practices exclusively in personal injury and wrongful death, with a heavy emphasis on offshore, maritime, aviation, and trucking cases. Its published results include a $7.1 million verdict for a Jones Act seaman with a knee injury and complex regional pain syndrome and a $4.3 million federal jury verdict for a client rear-ended by an 18-wheeler on Interstate 10.

6. The Thompson Law Office, LLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Danielle Thompson, Managing Attorney
• Headquarters: 149 James Comeaux Road, Suite A, Lafayette, LA 70508
• Phone: (337) 534-8761
• Website: thompsonlawoffice.us
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, pedestrian and bicycle, motorcycle and 18-wheeler accidents; medical negligence; maritime accidents; wrongful death; premises liability), family law, criminal defense, wills and successions, powers of attorney
• Firm Size: Small firm; the firm reports more than 30 years of combined personal injury experience across its attorneys
• Practice Area Page: Lafayette Personal Injury Lawyer
• Social Profiles: Facebook

The Thompson Law Office is led by Managing Attorney Danielle Thompson, with Paul J. deMahy (Ret. Hon.) working as attorney of counsel. The firm’s injury practice covers the standard range of motor vehicle claims, including pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, and 18-wheeler cases, and extends to medical negligence, maritime accidents, wrongful death, and premises liability.

The firm positions itself as a Lafayette office that takes cases from any parish in Louisiana. Because it also handles family law and criminal defense, clients dealing with an injury alongside a custody, divorce, or criminal matter can keep everything with one firm.

7. Gauthier & Granger Attorneys at Law

• Attorney/Key Figure: Daniel J. Gauthier and Christopher D. Granger, Attorneys
• Headquarters: 1118 Jefferson Street, Lafayette, LA 70501
• Phone: (337) 534-8026
• Website: gauthiergranger.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, motorcycle and truck accidents, slip and fall, pedestrian accidents, dog bites, wrongful death), business law, real estate law, estate planning
• Firm Size: Two-attorney firm, launched in 2025

Gauthier & Granger is a Lafayette firm launched in 2025 by attorneys Daniel Gauthier and Christopher Granger. Their personal injury work covers the full range of everyday injury claims in Lafayette Parish and the broader Acadiana region, from car, motorcycle, and truck crashes to slip and fall and pedestrian cases, plus dog bites and wrongful death.

The firm’s practice list sets personal injury beside business law, real estate, and estate planning, so a client who owns a business or property and is also dealing with an injury claim can work with the same two attorneys. The firm works from an office on Jefferson Street in Lafayette.

8. Marcelle Robertson Mestayer LLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Brian Marcelle, Alex Robertson, and Jacques Mestayer, Founding Partners
• Headquarters: 650 Poydras Street, Suite 2720, New Orleans, LA 70130 (additional office: 227 La Rue France, Lafayette, LA 70508)
• Phone: (337) 761-1080 (Lafayette); (504) 910-6220 (New Orleans)
• Website: mrmlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car and truck accidents, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, maritime and offshore injuries, product liability, premises liability), asbestos exposure, bad faith insurance, hurricane damage, railroad worker and train injuries
• Firm Size: Boutique litigation firm with three founding partners plus additional attorneys and staff

Marcelle Robertson Mestayer was founded in 2021 by Brian Marcelle, Alex Robertson, and Jacques Mestayer as a litigation firm built for complex cases. Its Lafayette office on La Rue France gives Acadiana clients a local point of contact while the firm represents clients throughout Louisiana.

The firm’s focus on harder categories sets it apart: asbestos exposure, railroad worker and train injuries, bad faith insurance claims, and hurricane damage appear alongside car, truck, and catastrophic injury work. That range suits injured workers and families whose claims involve complicated liability or an insurer that has denied or underpaid a claim.

9. Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers

• Attorney/Key Figure: Digger Earles and David Laborde, Attorneys
• Headquarters: 1901 Kaliste Saloom Road, Suite A, Lafayette, LA 70508 (additional offices: New Orleans, New Iberia, Marksville, and Lake Charles)
• Phone: (337) 777-7777 (24/7, Spanish spoken)
• Website: onmyside.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, truck and motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, maritime injury, workers’ compensation, wrongful death, premises liability, slip and fall, dog bites), hurricane claims, mass torts, mesothelioma, dangerous drugs, defective devices, product liability
• Firm Size: Large, with more than 25 attorneys across several Louisiana offices

Laborde Earles is one of the largest injury firms based in Lafayette. Its Super Lawyers profile lists attorneys Digger Earles (personal injury and class action/mass torts), David Laborde (personal injury and general litigation), M. Benjamin Alexander (personal injury and transportation/maritime), Shawn Bordelon, and Kelby Rasmussen among the firm’s attorneys recognized by that rating service.

The firm’s scale is its main distinction: a statewide office footprint, around-the-clock phone intake, and a practice list that includes mass torts, mesothelioma, dangerous drugs, and defective devices. The trade-off of a firm this size is that cases are worked by a team, so a client may deal with several attorneys and staff members rather than a single lead lawyer.

10. Galloway Jefcoat, Injury Attorneys

• Attorney/Key Figure: John M. Jefcoat and Johnae Jefcoat-Broussard, Attorneys
• Headquarters: 1925 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506 (additional office: Lake Charles, LA)
• Phone: (337) 984-8020 (phone lines open 24/7)
• Website: gallowayjefcoat.com
• Practice Areas: Personal injury (car, truck, motorcycle and bus accidents; oilfield and offshore accidents; slip and fall), workers’ compensation, Social Security disability
• Firm Size: Mid-size, established in 1996, with several attorneys and a full support staff
• Social Profiles: Facebook, X, Instagram, Yelp

Galloway Jefcoat has served Acadiana injury victims since 1996. Attorneys John Jefcoat and Johnae Jefcoat-Broussard appear on the firm’s published client results, including a $1.3 million settlement in a car wreck case, and the firm’s FindLaw profile notes two attorneys selected to Super Lawyers.

The firm is a strong fit for injured oilfield and offshore workers, since oilfield accidents, offshore accidents, and workers’ compensation are all on its core practice list alongside car and 18-wheeler crashes. The trade-off is breadth: workers’ compensation and Social Security disability sit next to tort work, so the practice is not exclusively focused on injury litigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana?

For injuries that occur on or after July 1, 2024, most personal injury claims in Louisiana must be filed within two years of the date of injury under Civil Code article 3493.1. Injuries that occurred before that date fall under the older one-year period. Some claim types, such as products liability, can still run on a shorter clock. Because Louisiana’s prescription period extinguishes the claim itself once it runs, early filing protects your rights.

How does Louisiana’s 51 percent fault rule affect my claim?

For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana applies a modified comparative fault rule. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and you are barred from recovering anything if you are found 51 percent or more at fault. Earlier accidents keep the older pure comparative rule. Because insurers now have a stronger incentive to push fault onto the injured person, fault disputes can decide a case, and firms with real trial records, such as Chris Villemarette, Trial Lawyer and Gaar Law Firm, are positioned to contest those arguments in court.

How much does a personal injury lawyer in Lafayette cost?

Personal injury lawyers in Louisiana typically work on a contingency fee, meaning the fee is a percentage of the recovery and nothing is owed up front. Gaar Law Firm and Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers both describe free initial case evaluations. Ask separately how case costs, such as filing fees, medical records, and expert witnesses, are handled, since those are distinct from the attorney’s fee.

Do I need a lawyer who handles offshore and maritime injuries?

If you work on a vessel, offshore platform, or in a shipyard or on the docks, yes. Seamen injured at sea are generally covered by the Jones Act, while harbor and dock workers fall under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, and each carries different rights and deadlines. In this guide, Law Offices of Richard R. Kennedy, Gaar Law Firm, Sanchez Burke, Marcelle Robertson Mestayer, and Galloway Jefcoat each list offshore or maritime injury work among their practice areas.

Should I choose a solo attorney, a boutique, or a large firm?

The choice mostly comes down to access versus resources. A solo practice such as Chris Villemarette’s puts one attorney on the file from intake through trial. A boutique such as Marcelle Robertson Mestayer or Sanchez Burke offers a small team with shared trial experience. A large firm such as Laborde Earles offers more staff, multiple offices, and the capacity to handle mass tort and product cases. Ask any firm you consider who will be your day-to-day contact and who will try the case if it does not settle.

Can one firm handle my injury claim and related legal matters?

Several Lafayette firms combine injury work with other practice areas. Galloway Jefcoat handles workers’ compensation and Social Security disability alongside injury claims, which helps when a workplace accident triggers more than one claim. Gauthier & Granger pairs personal injury with business and real estate law, and The Thompson Law Office and The Law Office of Joshua S. Guillory pair it with family law and criminal defense, which can help when a crash leads to charges or affects a divorce or custody case.

Disclaimer: This guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, a formal attorney referral, or the formation of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a ranked, sponsored, or endorsed list; inclusion here does not imply an affiliation with or recommendation by the publisher. Law firm details, including attorney credentials, office locations, contact information, Google ratings, and practice areas, are subject to change and should be independently verified with the respective firm or the appropriate state bar before making a hiring decision. Past case outcomes, settlements, verdicts, or successful claims do not guarantee, warrant, or predict similar results in any future personal injury case.