Nothing about the weeks after losing someone is manageable. The grief is real — and it doesn’t wait for you to sort out legal questions. However, if your family lost someone due to another person’s negligence in East Baton Rouge Parish, you have one year to file a wrongful death claim under Louisiana law. Our Baton Rouge wrongful death lawyers can help your family understand what that means before that window closes.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
A wrongful death claim is a civil case brought when a person’s death results from someone else’s negligence. It’s separate from any criminal case. Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2 governs these claims — specifying who can bring one, in what priority order, and what losses are recoverable.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana law establishes a strict priority order. The right passes down only if a higher-priority person doesn’t exist or doesn’t file in time.
- First: Surviving spouse and children of the deceased.
- Second: Surviving parents, if no spouse or children survive.
- Third: Surviving siblings, if no parents survive.
- Fourth: Surviving grandparents, if no siblings survive.
This order matters practically. So, if a spouse and adult children both survive, they all have claims. A surviving parent typically does not have a wrongful death claim if the deceased left a spouse or children.
What Can a Baton Rouge Wrongful Death Case Recover?
Louisiana wrongful death claims cover both economic and non-economic losses. Both are real — and both are contested by insurance companies.
Economic Damages
Lost income and benefits the deceased would have earned over their remaining work life. Additionally, the cost of household services they provided, medical expenses from injury to death, and funeral and burial costs are all recoverable.
Non-Economic Damages
Loss of love, affection, companionship, and support. The grief and mental anguish suffered by surviving family members. Our broader post on wrongful death claims in Louisiana covers how these damages are calculated and contested by insurers.
These non-economic damages are often the largest part of a wrongful death settlement. Because of this, insurance companies fight hardest to minimize them.
Common Wrongful Death Scenarios in the Baton Rouge Area
Car and truck crashes are the most common source of wrongful death claims in East Baton Rouge Parish. The I-10/I-12 interchange and the Airline Highway corridor are locations where fatal crashes happen regularly. According to DOTD traffic records, these corridors see some of the highest crash concentrations in the state.
However, wrongful death situations also arise from premises liability deaths and other negligence in workplaces and public spaces. Each scenario requires its own analysis. Our Baton Rouge personal injury page outlines the full range of claims the firm handles.
The Survival Action: A Separate Claim Worth Knowing
Louisiana also recognizes a survival action under Civil Code Article 2315.1. This is not the same as wrongful death. Instead, a survival action lets the deceased person’s heirs pursue whatever claim the deceased themselves could have brought — their own pain and suffering, their medical bills, and other damages from injury to death.
Both claims can often be pursued simultaneously. Understanding which damages belong to which claim is therefore part of what a wrongful death attorney does first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in Louisiana?
You have one year from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim — and that deadline is firm. If the claim isn’t filed within that period, the right to recover is lost. If the death happened recently, the time to act is now.
What if the person who caused the death also died in the crash?
You would bring your claim against that person’s estate and their liability insurance. The death of the at-fault party doesn’t eliminate the claim.
What if the death happened months after the original injury?
The one-year deadline runs from the date of death, not the injury date. However, the original facts are still central to the claim — so act quickly regardless.
If your family lost someone in East Baton Rouge Parish, call us before the deadline passes. We handle wrongful death cases on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.