Yes. Under Louisiana law, a family can still file a wrongful death claim even if their loved one was partially responsible for the accident that led to their death.
The same comparative fault rules that apply to a regular injury claim apply here too. This means your compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased and may be barred entirely if the percentage of fault is 51% or higher. But the claim itself isn’t wiped out just because they share some of the blame.
A compassionate wrongful death attorney can walk you through what this means for your specific situation.
How Fault Percentage Affects What Your Family Can Recover
Louisiana follows a modified comparative fault system. Say a jury determines your family’s damages are worth $500,000, but also finds your loved one was 20% at fault for the accident that killed them. Your recovery would be reduced to $400,000, the value of the claim after subtracting that percentage.
However, if the deceased is found to be 51% or more at fault, the claim is barred entirely, and nothing can be recovered.
That threshold matters a great deal, which is exactly why defendants and their insurers often fight hard to push the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased as high as possible. Getting an accurate, fair assessment of what actually happened is often the difference between a meaningful recovery and nothing at all.
What Qualifies as Wrongful Death in Louisiana?
Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2, a wrongful death claim exists when someone dies because of another party’s fault. That fault can come from a few different sources:
- A negligent act, such as a driver causing a fatal crash by speeding, driving distracted, or driving under the influence
- An intentional act, such as an assault that results in death
- Medical malpractice, where a patient dies because of care that fell below the accepted standard
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana law limits who’s allowed to bring this kind of claim, and it goes in a specific order. A surviving spouse and children have the first right to file.
If there’s no spouse or children, the deceased’s parents can bring the claim. Without a surviving spouse, child, or parent, siblings are next, followed by grandparents if none of the above survive.
What Compensation Is Available in a Louisiana Wrongful Death Claim?
Wrongful death damages in Louisiana can include the deceased’s medical expenses between the injury and the death, funeral and burial costs, lost income and benefits the family would have received, and property damage tied to the incident.
Families can also seek compensation for the loss of companionship, love, affection, and emotional support the deceased provided, even though there’s no fixed dollar figure for those losses. A wrongful death lawyer typically works with you to assign a fair value to both the financial and non-financial sides of the claim.
What If a Loved One Survived for a While After the Injury?
If your family member lived for some time after the accident before passing away, Louisiana law may allow for two separate claims.
A survival action covers the pain, suffering, and other damages your loved one personally experienced between the injury and their death. Once they pass, a separate wrongful death action can be brought to recover the family’s own losses.
How Long Do You Have to File a Louisiana Wrongful Death Claim?
Louisiana generally gives survivors one year from the date of death to bring a wrongful death claim. However, the timeline can extend further in situations where the underlying injury occurred well before the death.
Because these deadlines can be unforgiving, it’s worth talking to a wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible rather than waiting to see how things unfold.
Talk to a Compassionate Wrongful Death Attorney in Baton Rouge
Losing a loved one is difficult enough without also being told that their own share of fault means your family can’t recover anything. In most cases, that simply isn’t true.
The wrongful death lawyers at Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys can review the details of what happened, push back against attempts to inflate your loved one’s share of the blame, and fight for the compensation your family deserves.
Call our Baton Rouge wrongful death attorneys at (225) 999-1111 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.