Losing a loved one causes a family intense grief. Oftentimes, it often causes great personal and financial hardship. Learning that the victim would not have died but for someone’s irresponsible conduct can intensify this pain all the more. When negligence results in the loss of life, eligible survivors have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault party. Retaining a Lafayette wrongful death attorney at Inzina Law Injury Attorneys can help you present your strongest case for compensation. Our office is in Lafayette, Louisiana, and we represent families across Acadiana.
Many Louisiana wrongful death claims begin as traffic cases. If your family lost someone in a fatal car accident in Lafayette, or in a crash with a commercial truck, the wrongful death claim and the underlying injury claim are handled together. We take these cases in Lafayette Parish and the surrounding Acadiana parishes.
What Constitutes a Wrongful Death?
An individual has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit if a close relative was killed because of the negligence of someone else. Wrongful death lawsuits are civil claims but can involve actions that are considered crimes, such as drunk driving. Examples of accidents that can cause wrongful death include the following:
- Automobile accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Drowning accidents
- Premise liability accidents (e.g. slips and falls)
- Workplace accidents
Seeking Justice, Closure, and Compensation
Wrongful death claims and calculating their value can be complicated. Their financial value is based on numerous factors, such as the age of the victim and the impact of the victim’s death on the family. While there is a monetary component to wrongful death, the overarching goal is to bring peace to the family.
For instance, survivors who suddenly have to pay for a funeral often find the expense to be beyond their means. But if the death was caused by someone’s negligence, that party can be ordered to pay these costs so the family doesn’t have the added financial burden of a bill they can’t afford.
Our goal at Inzina Law Injury Attorneys is to bring justice and closure by seeking fair compensation from parties who negligently cause the death of others.
How Much Can You Sue for Wrongful Death?
Although no amount of money can bring back a loved one, obtaining compensation can help ease an already difficult emotional situation. Wrongful death lawsuits, on average, settle for approximately $500,000, but the amount your family may receive (through settlement or court judgment) will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. A wrongful death lawyer in Lafayette can guide you through this process.
Recoverable Compensation After a Wrongful Death
A skilled Lafayette wrongful death lawyer can file and serve the necessary paperwork to bring your case in front of a jury. We can help your family seek compensation for costs such as:
- Funeral and burial costs
- The victim’s final medical bills
- Lost wages between the victim’s injury and his or her death
- Loss of benefits that the deceased victim provided to his or her family
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship, loss of parental guidance, and other intangible damages
- Repair or replacement of the victim’s vehicle and other property
How a Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You With Your Case
When you retain a wrongful death attorney from Lafayette, your lawyer will serve your family by:
- Investigating the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death to obtain evidence of negligence
- Determining the identities of the parties who could be held at fault
- Providing legal guidance concerning your rights and options
- Managing all aspects of litigation, including filing and serving court papers
- Negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurance company to try to reach a fair settlement
- Taking your wrongful death case to trial if the insurer refuses to negotiate in good faith
Laws Regarding Wrongful Death in Lafayette
We have extensive experience with Louisiana laws that allow survivors of deceased victims to:
- Seek a variety of wrongful death damages
- Recover the deceased victim’s personal injury damages by way of a survival action (a civil claim that is distinct from yet related to wrongful death)
We’re prepared to leverage our considerable legal knowledge to the benefit of your family. If your loved one died because of someone’s negligence, we can help you file a wrongful death and survival action.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
Only certain, closely related surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death claim in Louisiana. They generally include:
- Surviving spouse
- Children
- Parents
- Siblings
- Grandparents, if no spouse, child, parent, or sibling is available
How Soon Do You Need to File a Wrongful Death Claim?
It is important that you speak with a wrongful death lawyer from Lafayette, Louisiana, as soon as possible. In most cases, wrongful death and survival actions have a two-year deadline to file. For wrongful death, this period generally runs from the date of death. This deadline changed from one year to two years for claims arising on or after July 1, 2024; if the death occurred before that date, the shorter one-year deadline may still apply. If you file after the deadline, the court will likely dismiss your claim and you won’t recover any compensation.
A recent wrongful death result
When a truck driver’s mistake takes a life, the family is left with both the loss and the bills.
- $500,000 Motorcycle rider struck by a commercial truck, Vermilion Parish. The rider was killed, and we represented the family in a wrongful death claim. Read about this case
Figures shown are rounded; the exact amounts are on file. Past results are not a guarantee of future successes. Each case is different and is evaluated on its own facts.
Speak With a Lafayette Wrongful Death Attorney
We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the deadline approaches. Let us help bring resolution to your family’s loss by making the best possible legal claim for the maximum amount of damages. Give the family at Inzina Law Injury Attorneys a call to begin your wrongful death lawsuit and survival action today.