If the wife is a co-owner of the car, and thus expected to have insurance on the vehicle with her husband, then to the best of our knowledge the Louisiana no pay/no play law would apply to her and thus she could not make a claim for the first $10,000 worth of her medical expenses from her bodily injuries sustained in the accident.

If there is no insurance available for one of the vehicles involved in an automobile accident, Louisiana's "No Pay, No Play" statute (La.R.S. 32:866) will be applied to the accident according to the LA Department of Insurance.

This Louisiana insurance statute, which went into effect in 1998, does not permit motor vehicle owners who do not have liability insurance from recovering the first ten thousand dollars of any bodily injury or property damage claim. This means if you are driving a car without insurance you give up the right to collect your first $10,000 of bodily injury and property damage claims.

These requirements apply not only to Louisiana residents but also drivers from other states which require their drivers to carry liability insurance. However, accidents caused by drunk drivers or hit and run drivers are not subject to the "No Pay, No Play" law. In these situations, victims are allowed to recover despite not having any insurance.

Passengers in a vehicle that lacks valid insurance are also not subject to the "No Pay, No Play" limitation. If the involved passenger is also an owner of the vehicle at issue, then the "No Pay, No Play" limitation is applicable as you can see in the sections of the law which we noted below:

866. Compulsory motor vehicle liability security; failure to comply; limitation of damages

A. (1) There shall be no recovery for the first ten thousand dollars of bodily injury and no recovery for the first ten thousand dollars of property damage based on any cause or right of action arising out of a motor vehicle accident, for such injury or damages occasioned by an owner or operator of a motor vehicle involved in such accident who fails to own or maintain compulsory motor vehicle liability security.

E. Nothing in this Section shall preclude a passenger in a vehicle from asserting a claim to recover damages for injury, death, or loss which he occasioned, in whole or in part, by the negligence of another person arising out of the operation or use of a motor vehicle. This Subsection shall not apply to a passenger who is also the owner of the uninsured motor vehicle involved in the accident.

If the wife was not a co-owner then it may be possible for her to make a claim for her bodily injuries with the other party however we could advise you to check with a Louisiana lawyer familiar with the no pay/no play law. He or she should be able to tell you if there is any case law regarding this LA law and a spouse in an uninsured vehicle being allowed or disallowed from claiming injuries.