Can Your Family Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?
If someone you love died because another person was careless or reckless, your family may be able to bring a wrongful death claim in Louisiana. The law lets certain close relatives recover for the loss they have suffered. It does not open the door to everyone. Louisiana sets a specific order of who may file, and a deadline for doing it.
This is hard to think about. You are grieving, and now there are legal questions on top of the loss. Our goal here is simple. We want to explain who can file, what a claim can recover, and how the process works, in plain language. Then you can decide what is right for your family.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Louisiana
Louisiana law answers this directly. Under Louisiana Civil Code article 2315.2, the right to file belongs to a ranked list of family members. Only the highest-ranking group that exists may bring the claim.
The order is:
- The surviving spouse and children, or either the spouse or the children.
- The surviving parents, if there is no spouse or child.
- The surviving siblings, if there is no spouse, child, or parent.
- The surviving grandparents, if none of the above survive.
So a higher group blocks a lower one. If the person who died left a spouse and children, the parents cannot file. If there is no spouse, child, or parent, the siblings may file. This structure keeps the claim with those closest to the person who passed. You can read the statute itself on the Louisiana State Legislature website.
If your family situation is unusual, the answer can get more complicated. Adopted children, stepchildren, and similar relationships raise specific questions. A short conversation with a lawyer will tell you where you stand.
Wrongful Death Claim vs. Survival Action
Louisiana actually recognizes two separate claims after a death like this. People often blur them together, but they cover different losses.
A wrongful death claim covers what the family lost because of the death. That includes the loss of companionship, guidance, and support, along with funeral costs and lost financial contributions.
A survival action is different. It covers what the person who died could have claimed if they had lived. That means the pain, suffering, and medical bills between the injury and the death. This claim belongs to the same ranked family members and is set out in Louisiana Civil Code article 2315.1.
In many cases, a family brings both at once. Together they account for the full picture: the harm to the person who died, and the harm to the people left behind. Our personal injury team handles these claims together so nothing gets left on the table.
What You Have to Prove
A wrongful death claim is built on negligence. To recover, your family generally has to show four things.
- Duty: the other party owed your loved one a duty of care.
- Breach: they failed to meet that duty.
- Causation: that failure caused the death.
- Damages: your family suffered real losses as a result.
The standard of proof in a civil case is lower than in a criminal case. You do not have to prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.” You have to show it is more likely than not. That is one reason a family can sometimes win a wrongful death case even when a criminal case did not end in a conviction.
Proving these elements takes evidence. That can mean accident reports, medical records, witness statements, and expert testimony. Building that record early matters, because evidence fades and memories blur with time. If you are weighing whether to talk to a lawyer at all, our overview of working with a New Orleans personal injury lawyer explains what the process looks like.
What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Recover
Every case is different, and no honest lawyer can promise a number. What we can do is explain the kinds of damages Louisiana allows.
A wrongful death claim may include compensation for:
- Loss of love, affection, and companionship.
- Loss of the financial support the person provided.
- Loss of services, like childcare or help around the home.
- Funeral and burial expenses.
- The survivors’ own grief and mental anguish.
The survival action adds the losses the person suffered before death, including their pain and the medical care they needed. When a death follows something like a serious crash or a medical error, those pre-death damages can be significant.
What a case is actually worth depends on the facts: the relationship, the circumstances of the death, the financial picture, and the strength of the evidence. A lawyer who has handled these cases can give you a grounded sense of range once they know the details.
Are Wrongful Death Settlements Taxable?
This question comes up a lot, so it is worth a direct answer. In general, compensation for a physical injury or wrongful death is not treated as taxable income under federal rules. Some pieces, like interest or certain punitive amounts, can be treated differently. Tax situations vary, so confirm the specifics with a tax professional before you rely on any general rule. The point is that the bulk of a typical wrongful death recovery is usually not taxed.
The Deadline to File in Louisiana
Louisiana puts a strict time limit on wrongful death claims. In legal terms it is called prescription. Once it passes, the right to file is generally gone for good, so missing it can end a case before it begins.
The exact deadline depends on the specifics: how and when the death happened, and the type of claim involved. Some claims, such as those involving medical malpractice, follow different and often shorter timelines. Because the rules turn on the details, this is not something to estimate on your own.
The safest step is simple. Talk with a lawyer as soon as you can. Acting early protects your deadline and makes it much easier to gather evidence while it is still fresh. If you are not sure how much time you have, we can tell you quickly.
If you are in Jefferson Parish or the surrounding area, our Gretna and Kenner attorneys handle wrongful death matters across the Greater New Orleans area.
How We Approach Wrongful Death Cases
At Arnona Rose, we take these cases personally. We are a small firm, which means the attorney you meet is the attorney who handles your case. We answer your questions and keep you informed, so you are never left wondering what is happening.
We also work on a contingency fee basis for these claims. You pay nothing up front, and we are paid only if we recover for you. That lets your family focus on healing while we handle the legal side. Small firm, big difference is not a slogan to us. It is how we work.
If you have lost someone and you think another party was at fault, you do not have to sort this out alone. Reach out to us for a free, no-pressure conversation about your family’s options.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a wrongful death lawsuit take in Louisiana?
There is no fixed timeline, because it depends on the case. A claim that settles can resolve in several months. A case that goes to trial can take a year or more. The complexity of the facts, the number of parties, and whether liability is disputed all affect the pace. A good lawyer pushes the case forward while still taking the time to build it properly. During your first conversation, we can give you a realistic estimate based on the specifics of what happened.
Who receives the money in a wrongful death case?
The compensation goes to the family members who had the right to file under Louisiana law, in the ranked order set by the statute. When more than one person shares the same rank, such as several children, the recovery is divided among them. How it is divided can depend on each person’s relationship to the deceased and their individual losses. If there is a dispute about the split, the court can decide. An attorney can explain how this is likely to work in your particular family situation.
What if the at-fault party has no insurance?
Sometimes the person at fault has little or no insurance, but that does not always end your claim. There may be other sources of recovery, such as a business that shares responsibility, the owner of a vehicle, or your own underinsured motorist coverage after a crash. Finding every available source is part of the work, and it is easy to miss one without help. We look at all of them, so your family is not left relying on a single party who cannot pay. We will tell you honestly what recovery is realistic in your situation.
Does our whole family have to agree before filing a wrongful death claim?
No. Louisiana law lets any eligible family member in the highest surviving class bring the claim. The statute says the spouse, child, parent, or sibling, “or any of them,” may sue, so one person can move the case forward even if others are unsure or unavailable. Filing does not require unanimous agreement. It is still wise to keep relatives informed, since the people in that class share an interest in the outcome. If family members genuinely disagree about whether to proceed, we can walk everyone through the options, and when necessary a court can resolve the dispute.
What if more than one person caused the death?
Louisiana allows a claim against more than one at-fault party. Many wrongful death cases involve several parties who each share some responsibility, such as multiple drivers or a driver and a company. Louisiana uses a comparative fault system, which means responsibility can be divided among them. Sorting out who is liable and for how much takes investigation, and it is one of the reasons having a lawyer matters. We identify every party who may share fault, so your family is not left chasing only part of the picture.
About the Author
Toni R. Arnona, Esq. is a partner at Arnona Rose, LLC, a personal injury firm in the Greater New Orleans area. A New Orleans native, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in French and Linguistics from Newcomb College at Tulane University and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2009. She was admitted to the Louisiana Bar that same year, after interning with Judge Robin M. Giarrusso and later clerking for Judge Lloyd J. Medley, Jr. in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. Toni joined Arnona Rose in 2014, where she focuses her practice on personal injury and related matters. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Louisiana Bar Association, the Jefferson Parish Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association.