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Discovery Rule. Louisiana follows the "discovery rule" when determining the statute of limitations in some personal injury cases. This means that the clock starts ticking from the date the injury was discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence, rather than the date of the actual incident.

1001 now provides that a defendant shall file an answer twenty-one days after service of a citation (previously fifteen days). However, if a plaintiff files and serves a discovery request with the petition, a defendant has thirty days to file an answer after service of the petition and accompanying discovery.

On motion to compel discovery or for a protective order, the party from whom discovery is sought shall show that the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause.

The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within fifteen days after service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within thirty days after service of the petition upon that defendant. The court may allow a shorter or longer time.

The discovery rule plays a significant role in determining the timeframe for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana. This rule comes into effect when the injured party is unaware of the injury or its cause at the time of the incident.

If the plaintiff files and serves a discovery request with his petition, the defendant shall file his answer to the petition within thirty days after service of citation and service of discovery request.