After a fatal injury, a family may be dealing with funeral expenses, lost household income and the absence of someone who provided daily care and companionship. Louisiana law recognizes several kinds of loss, but they belong to different claims and require different proof.
A wrongful-death action concerns the survivors’ losses because of the death. A survival action preserves the injured person’s own claim for the harm suffered before death. Both may be part of the same lawsuit. Separating them helps explain what a family can seek and which records support each request.
Whose loss does each claim address?
Civil Code article 2315.2 identifies the relatives who may bring a wrongful-death action and the order in which they qualify. Our guide to who can file a Louisiana wrongful-death claim explains that hierarchy in more detail. A close relationship alone does not establish the right to sue. The family relationships must be reviewed before deciding who should bring the claim.
The survival action is governed by article 2315.1. It concerns the deceased person’s damages, rather than the family’s grief or lost support. The two articles should be checked separately for the proper claimant and deadline. Our Baton Rouge wrongful-death page explains the broader claim process.
The family’s financial and personal losses
Loss of support can include the financial contribution the deceased person would have made to the household. Employment records, tax returns and benefit information help establish that contribution. The work a person did at home also matters: child care, transportation, repairs and other services may have to be replaced even when they never appeared on a paycheck.
Loss of love, affection and companionship calls for a different kind of evidence. Family members can describe the relationship, shared routines and support the person provided. Specific memories and an accurate account of daily life are more informative than a general statement that the family was close.
Funeral and burial invoices, payment records and medical bills related to the fatal injury should also be kept. Bills need to be connected to the injury and placed in the appropriate claim. Listing an expense twice under different headings does not make it two separate losses.
The Louisiana Fifth Circuit discussed these categories in Perry v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, decided August 6, 2025. Its discussion illustrates why courts examine the particular relationship and evidence. An award in another family’s case does not establish the value of yours.
What happened between injury and death?
A survival claim may include supported medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, fear and awareness during the period before death. The length of that period and the person’s condition affect what can be proved. A claim involving an extended course of treatment presents different evidence from one involving an immediate death.
EMS observations, nursing notes, imaging, treatment records and witness accounts can help establish the sequence. Records of responsiveness and consciousness may be especially important when pain or awareness is disputed. The evidence must support the claimed experience; neither a serious diagnosis nor a treatment gap answers every question by itself.
Medical explanations should remain tied to the person’s actual records. General resources, such as the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s discussion of traumatic brain injury, can help a family understand terminology. They cannot establish what a particular person experienced or what caused the death.
Fault can affect the amount recovered
The damages evidence does not replace proof of responsibility for the fatal injury. Scene photographs, video, vehicle or equipment inspections, witness accounts and medical causation evidence may all bear on a disputed claim.
The version of Civil Code article 2323 effective January 1, 2026 uses a 51% bar: an injured person’s negligence below that threshold reduces damages proportionally, while negligence of 51% or more bars recovery under the article. Earlier events may be governed by the former rule. The relevant dates, the alleged fault and the particular wrongful-death and survival claims require analysis before applying a percentage.
That is a reason to examine an insurer’s fault allegation, not to accept it as a finding. Missing video or an incomplete account can leave important questions unanswered. Preserve available evidence promptly and safely, including records that may contradict your initial understanding of the incident.
Exemplary damages require separate legal grounds
Louisiana does not award exemplary damages merely because a death occurred or conduct was negligent. A statute must authorize them.
One example is Civil Code article 2315.4, involving injuries caused by wanton or reckless disregard for others’ rights and safety by a defendant whose intoxication while operating a motor vehicle was a cause in fact of the injuries. Evidence of intoxication alone does not dispense with the other requirements. The article’s application must be evaluated alongside the crash evidence.
Do not use a general injury deadline as the filing date
Civil Code article 3493.1 provides a general two-year period for delictual actions arising on or after July 1, 2024. That rule should not be used on its own to calculate a wrongful-death or survival deadline. Articles 2315.1 and 2315.2 contain their own timing provisions, and medical-malpractice claims require separate attention. Earlier events may involve prior law.
Have the injury date, death date and type of claim reviewed promptly. Do not assume that an ongoing investigation or insurance discussion keeps a claim open. The practical filing sequence and early evidence questions are discussed in our guide to filing a wrongful-death lawsuit in Louisiana.
Before signing a release or broad authorization, understand which claims and family members it affects. An offer to pay an immediate expense may arrive before the full losses are known. Keep the paperwork, medical-provider information, funeral invoices and available employment records together. You do not need to assemble a complete file before getting advice.
Last reviewed: September 26, 2026. Sources checked: September 27, 2026.
This article provides general Louisiana legal information. Eligibility, damages, fault and filing deadlines depend on the facts and applicable law.