On this page
- What Is a Louisiana Wrongful Death Claim?
- Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
- Wrongful Death and Survival Actions Are Not the Same
- Evidence After a Fatal Accident in Hammond
- Fatal Commercial Truck and 18-Wheeler Accidents
- What Damages May Be Involved?
- How Long Does a Family Have to File?
- Hammond Wrongful Death Cases and the 21st Judicial District
- Why Trust Our Firm With Your Hammond Wrongful Death Case?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Hammond Wrongful Death Claims
Funeral costs can arrive quickly. A household may suddenly lose income or support, while family members are trying to understand insurance issues and determine what actually happened.
Louisiana law provides certain family members with the right to pursue a wrongful death action when a person dies because of another party’s fault. However, the law also establishes specific rules concerning who may bring the action, what claims may exist, and how long eligible family members have to act.
If your family lost someone in Hammond or elsewhere in Tangipahoa Parish, our attorneys can investigate the circumstances, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve important evidence, and determine whether Louisiana’s wrongful death and survival-action laws apply.
What Is a Louisiana Wrongful Death Claim?
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2 provides that when a person dies due to the fault of another, certain surviving family members may bring an action to recover damages they sustained because of the death.
A wrongful death claim may potentially arise from circumstances involving:
- Car accidents
- Commercial truck collisions
- 18-wheeler crashes
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian or bicycle accidents
- Dangerous property conditions
- Defective products
- Certain workplace-related incidents
- Other events involving legally actionable fault
A fatal accident does not automatically establish a wrongful death claim.
Our investigation must still examine what happened, whether another party was legally at fault, whether that conduct caused or contributed to the death, and whether the person seeking recovery has the legal right to bring the claim.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana establishes a specific order of people who may bring a wrongful death action.
Under Article 2315.2, the right belongs first to the surviving spouse and child or children, or either the spouse or children.
If there is no surviving spouse or child, the right passes to the surviving father and mother, or either parent. If there is no surviving spouse, child, or parent, the right passes to the surviving brothers and sisters. If none of those relatives survive, the right may pass to the surviving grandparents.
Louisiana law also addresses parental abandonment. A father or mother who abandoned the deceased during the deceased’s minority can be treated as not having survived the deceased for purposes of the wrongful death statute. Current law also provides a specific presumption of abandonment under certain circumstances.
Because Louisiana uses this statutory hierarchy, being related to the deceased does not automatically mean someone has the legal right to bring the action.
Wrongful Death and Survival Actions Are Not the Same
A fatal accident can potentially create two related but legally different types of claims: a wrongful death action and a survival action.
A wrongful death action focuses on losses suffered by eligible surviving family members because of the person’s death.
A survival action under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.1 preserves the deceased person’s right to recover certain damages arising from the injury before death. The statute uses a beneficiary hierarchy similar to the wrongful death statute and also permits the deceased person’s succession representative to pursue the right when none of the listed beneficiary classes exists.
Consider a person who is seriously injured in a Hammond collision, receives medical treatment, and later dies from the injuries. Depending on the facts and applicable law, the case may involve both losses sustained by the deceased before death and separate losses sustained by eligible family members because of the death.
Our attorneys evaluate those claims separately rather than treating every loss as part of a single category.
Evidence After a Fatal Accident in Hammond
Determining what happened in a fatal accident can require evidence from many different sources.
Depending on the circumstances, our investigation may examine:
- Police or investigative reports
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Witness statements
- Surveillance or dash-camera footage
- Vehicle information
- Electronic vehicle data
- Medical documentation
- Employment and income records
- Insurance policies
- Maintenance or inspection records
- Commercial trucking records
- Business or property records
Hammond’s location can make the investigation particularly important in vehicle-related cases.
The city sits near the intersection of I-12 and I-55, while U.S. 190 and surrounding highways carry local and regional traffic through Tangipahoa Parish. A fatal passenger-car accident on a Hammond street may create a different evidence trail from a tractor-trailer collision involving an interstate motor carrier.
Our job is not to assume that someone was responsible because an accident was severe. We investigate the evidence to determine what it actually supports.
Fatal Commercial Truck and 18-Wheeler Accidents
Hammond’s position along I-12 and I-55 also makes commercial transportation particularly relevant to this hub.
When an 18-wheeler or another commercial vehicle is involved in a fatal collision, potentially important evidence may extend beyond the crash scene.
Depending on the operation, we may need to investigate:
- Driver qualification information
- Hours-of-service records
- ELD information
- Dispatch communications
- GPS or telematics records
- Maintenance and inspection documents
- Tractor and trailer ownership
- Cargo and loading records
- Company safety information
- Insurance coverage
Those records can also help determine whether responsibility extends beyond the individual driver to another person or business.
However, the involvement of a commercial vehicle does not automatically establish motor-carrier liability. The evidence must support any claim we pursue.
What Damages May Be Involved?
No dollar amount can measure a family’s loss simply from the fact that a wrongful death occurred.
Depending on the facts and Louisiana law, damages may involve evidence concerning financial losses, funeral-related expenses, lost support, and other legally recognized consequences of the death.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315 also recognizes loss of consortium, service, and society among potentially recoverable damages for the same respective categories of people who would have a wrongful death cause of action.
A related survival action may address certain damages associated with what the deceased experienced between the injury and death.
The damages available in any case depend on the evidence. Our firm does not assign a case value simply because a fatal accident occurred, and no prior settlement or verdict can guarantee the result of another family’s case.
How Long Does a Family Have to File?
Louisiana’s current wrongful death deadline deserves careful attention.
Article 2315.2 provides that the wrongful death right prescribes one year from the death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer.
Louisiana’s survival-action statute uses the same general timing framework: one year from the death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer.
Families should not assume that every Louisiana injury or death claim has the same deadline. Different causes of action, defendants, accident dates, and other circumstances can affect the analysis.
There is also an important practical reason to investigate earlier. Video can be overwritten, vehicles can be repaired or disposed of, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and commercial records may be retained for limited periods.
Hammond Wrongful Death Cases and the 21st Judicial District
Hammond is located in Tangipahoa Parish, which is served by Louisiana’s 21st Judicial District Court.
The 21st JDC has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in Tangipahoa, Livingston, and St. Helena Parishes. The Tangipahoa Parish Courthouse is located at 110 North Bay Street in Amite.
That local structure is important because Hammond itself is not the location of the Tangipahoa Parish courthouse.
A wrongful death occurring in Hammond also does not automatically mean litigation must be filed in Amite. Proper venue depends on the circumstances, the defendants, and Louisiana law.
Our attorneys can evaluate those procedural questions as part of the case rather than expecting a grieving family to determine them alone.
Why Trust Our Firm With Your Hammond Wrongful Death Case?
At Jacqueline A. Scott & Associates, we represent injured people and families throughout Louisiana. Attorney Jacqueline Scott has more than 30 years of legal experience, and her background includes public service and work within Louisiana’s legal system.
Our website reports a $1 million past wrongful death result. That result reflects a previous case and does not guarantee the same or a similar outcome for another client. Every wrongful death case depends on its own evidence, defendants, damages, insurance coverage, and applicable law.
We also emphasize communication with our clients. Our website explains that we want clients to remain informed about their cases and understand their options. We offer free consultations for injury matters, and injury cases are handled without upfront attorney fees; our published disclaimer notes that clients may remain responsible for costs and expenses.
When a Hammond family comes to us after a fatal accident, our role is to investigate what happened, explain the legal process, identify evidence that may need to be preserved, and pursue the claims that the evidence and Louisiana law support.
Make ’Em Pay.
Make ’Em Pay represents our approach to pursuing accountability when another person’s or company’s legally actionable conduct causes harm.
In a Hammond wrongful death case, that means building the claim around the evidence, identifying the parties the law supports holding responsible, and pursuing legally available damages on behalf of eligible family members.
It does not mean guaranteeing liability, compensation, or a particular outcome.
If your family lost a loved one in a fatal accident in Hammond or elsewhere in Tangipahoa Parish, contact our firm to discuss what happened and the legal options that may be available.
Make ’Em Pay.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hammond Wrongful Death Claims
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Louisiana?
Louisiana uses a specific beneficiary hierarchy. The right generally begins with the surviving spouse and children, followed by parents, siblings, and grandparents when the preceding category does not exist.
What is the difference between wrongful death and a survival action?
A wrongful death action addresses qualifying family members’ losses resulting from the death. A survival action preserves certain claims belonging to the deceased person arising from the injury before death.
How long do I have to file a Louisiana wrongful death claim?
Article 2315.2 currently provides one year from the death or two years from the date the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer. Specific circumstances can affect the applicable deadline.
Where is the district courthouse serving Hammond?
Hammond is in Tangipahoa Parish and is served by the 21st Judicial District Court. The Tangipahoa Parish Courthouse is located at 110 North Bay Street in Amite, Louisiana.
Does a fatal accident automatically mean the family has a wrongful death claim?
No. A death alone does not establish liability. The evidence must support that another party was legally at fault and that the requirements for the applicable claim are satisfied.
This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines can change, and every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.
