Someone’s untimely death in Louisiana will affect many other people. Those close to someone who dies tragically often have a hard time accepting their loss. The grief people experience can change who they are as a person and shift their other relationships.
They may also experience a variety of economic challenges related to their family tragedy. The law in Louisiana provides opportunities for those affected by someone’s premature death. Specifically, surviving family members may have the option of pursuing either a survival action or a wrongful death action.
What separates these two different types of lawsuits?
Survival actions are about the deceased
When the wrongful behavior of one party causes someone’s untimely death, the person who dies often experiences an assortment of losses before their passing. These may include major medical expenses and property damage costs.
Survival action laws in Louisiana permit the family members of someone who died to seek the compensation that the deceased party could have requested via a personal injury lawsuit if they had survived. On the other hand, wrongful death lawsuits focus on the impact someone’s passing has on those who survive.
A successful wrongful death lawsuit can compensate family members for someone’s lost income and years of lost household contributions. Often, those with grounds to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit may need to consider simultaneously filing a survival action to recoup expenses incurred before someone’s death that may become the responsibility of their family members or their estate after their passing.
Learning how Louisiana law protects those affected by wrongful deaths may make the pursuit of justice after a tragedy a bit easier.