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 Different
- Investigating a Fatal Accident in Houma
- Fatal Truck and 18-Wheeler Accidents
- Workplace, Industrial, and Offshore Deaths
- What Damages May Be Involved?
- Louisiana’s Wrongful Death Deadline
- Why Preserving Evidence Still Matters Early
- Houma Wrongful Death Cases and the 32nd Judicial District Court
- Why Trust Our Firm With Your Houma Wrongful Death Case?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Houma Wrongful Death Claims
If the death resulted from another person’s or company’s legally actionable conduct, Louisiana law may allow certain surviving family members to pursue a wrongful death claim.
These cases require more than proving that a death occurred. We may need to determine what caused the fatal incident, who Louisiana law allows to bring the claim, which parties may be legally responsible, what damages are supported, and whether a related survival action also exists.
At Jacqueline A. Scott & Associates, we represent families dealing with fatal accidents throughout Louisiana. For a family in Houma or elsewhere in Terrebonne Parish, our attorneys can investigate what happened, preserve important evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and explain the rights Louisiana law provides.
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 after incidents involving:
- Car accidents
- Commercial truck collisions
- 18-wheeler crashes
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian or bicycle accidents
- Dangerous property conditions
- Defective products
- Certain workplace or industrial incidents
- Other events involving legally actionable fault
In the Houma area, a fatal accident may also involve industrial, workplace, offshore, or maritime circumstances. Those cases can raise specialized legal issues, and we do not assume ordinary Louisiana personal injury law controls every incident simply because it occurred in or around Terrebonne Parish.
Most importantly, a fatal accident does not automatically establish wrongful death liability. We still investigate what happened and what the evidence supports.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana does not allow any relative to bring a wrongful death claim simply because that person was close to the deceased.
Article 2315.2 establishes a specific hierarchy.
The right belongs first to the deceased person’s 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 family members survive, the right may pass to the surviving grandparents.
Louisiana law also addresses parental abandonment. Current law provides that a parent who abandoned the deceased during the deceased’s minority is treated as not having survived the deceased for purposes of the statute. A 2025 amendment also provides a presumption of abandonment under specified circumstances involving a period of at least 12 months and failure to provide care and support without just cause.
Determining the proper claimant is therefore one of the first legal questions we examine.
Wrongful Death and Survival Actions Are Different
A fatal accident can potentially create both a wrongful death action and a survival action, but they are not interchangeable.
A wrongful death action focuses on qualifying survivors’ losses resulting from the death.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.1, by contrast, allows certain claims belonging to the injured person to survive after that person’s death. The statute generally follows the same hierarchy of spouse and children, then parents, then siblings, then grandparents. If none of those beneficiary classes exists, the deceased person’s succession representative may pursue the right.
Consider a person who is severely injured in a collision in Houma, receives medical treatment, and later dies from the injuries.
Depending on the evidence and applicable law, the case could involve losses the deceased experienced between the injury and death as well as separate losses suffered by qualifying family members because of the death.
Our attorneys examine those claims separately rather than combining everything under the label “wrongful death.”
Investigating a Fatal Accident in Houma
Evidence becomes especially important when the person who died cannot explain what happened.
Depending on the circumstances, our investigation may involve:
- Police or investigative reports
- Accident-scene photographs
- Witness statements
- Surveillance footage
- Dash-camera video
- Vehicle information
- Electronic data
- Medical documentation
- Employment and income records
- Insurance policies
- Business records
- Maintenance and inspection documents
- Commercial trucking records
Houma’s transportation network includes LA 24 and connections with U.S. 90, along with other routes serving communities throughout Terrebonne Parish.
A fatal passenger-car collision on a Houma road will not necessarily produce the same evidence as a commercial truck crash, industrial accident, or incident involving offshore work.
We tailor the investigation to what actually happened rather than using the same checklist for every family.
Fatal Truck and 18-Wheeler Accidents
Our previous Houma pages discuss commercial truck and tractor-trailer claims in greater detail, but trucking evidence can become especially significant when a collision is fatal.
Depending on the vehicle and operation, we may need to investigate:
- Driver qualification information
- Employment relationships
- ELD and hours-of-service records
- Dispatch communications
- GPS or telematics information
- Electronic vehicle data
- Maintenance and inspection records
- Tractor and trailer ownership
- Cargo and loading documents
- Commercial insurance coverage
Potential responsibility may extend beyond the individual driver when supported by the evidence.
However, an 18-wheeler’s involvement in a fatal collision does not automatically establish that the truck driver, motor carrier, cargo company, or another business caused the death.
We build those claims from evidence.
Workplace, Industrial, and Offshore Deaths
Houma and Terrebonne Parish also have connections to industrial and offshore activity, which makes it important not to treat every fatal workplace incident as an ordinary personal injury case.
Depending on where and how the incident occurred, questions may arise involving workers’ compensation, maritime law, offshore-related law, third-party liability, or another legal framework.
Our firm handles workplace and offshore injury matters, but the applicable law has to be determined from the circumstances of the individual case.
That distinction can affect the parties, damages, deadlines, and procedures involved.
What Damages May Be Involved?
Louisiana wrongful death cases focus on losses sustained by qualifying survivors because of the death.
Depending on the circumstances and supporting evidence, recoverable damages may involve financial losses and other legally recognized consequences of losing a family member.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315 specifically recognizes loss of consortium, service, and society among potentially recoverable damages for the same categories of people who would have a wrongful death cause of action.
Other evidence may concern funeral-related expenses, lost financial support, and additional legally recoverable losses depending on the case.
A survival action can involve a different set of damages because it concerns the rights that survived the deceased person’s injury.
There is no standard dollar value for losing a family member, and our firm does not estimate a wrongful death case simply by comparing it with another family’s claim.
Louisiana’s Wrongful Death Deadline
Louisiana’s current wrongful death deadline requires careful attention because the law changed recently.
Article 2315.2 currently provides that a wrongful death action prescribes one year from the death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer.
Louisiana enacted this formulation in 2025, effective August 1, 2025. The legislation changed the prior one-year wrongful death rule.
Article 2315.1 uses the same general timing formulation for survival actions: one year from the death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer.
Importantly, current law contains a specific provision for wrongful death and survival claims arising from medical malpractice. Different claims and circumstances can therefore involve different timing rules.
Families should not rely on a general internet deadline without having the circumstances of the particular death evaluated.
Why Preserving Evidence Still Matters Early
Even when a legal filing deadline has not approached, evidence can disappear.
Surveillance footage can be overwritten. Vehicles can be repaired or disposed of. Witnesses can become harder to locate. Businesses may retain particular records only for limited periods.
In commercial trucking cases, for example, certain federal records can have retention periods substantially shorter than Louisiana’s general litigation deadlines.
Beginning an investigation early does not mean a family has decided to file a lawsuit. It helps protect potentially important evidence while the family considers its legal options.
Houma Wrongful Death Cases and the 32nd Judicial District Court
Houma is located in Terrebonne Parish, which is served by Louisiana’s 32nd Judicial District Court.
The 32nd JDC has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in Terrebonne Parish. Unlike some other cities in this project where the parish courthouse is located in another community, the court serving Terrebonne Parish is located directly in Houma at 7856 Main Street.
A fatal accident occurring in Houma does not automatically mean a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed in the 32nd JDC.
Proper venue and jurisdiction can depend on the accident location, defendants, type of claim, and applicable law—particularly when commercial businesses or offshore-related issues are involved.
Our attorneys evaluate those questions based on the actual case.
Why Trust Our Firm With Your Houma 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 our practice includes serious accident and wrongful death matters.
Our published case results include a $1 million wrongful death result. That is a past result and does not guarantee the same or a similar outcome for another family. Every wrongful death claim depends on its own evidence, legally eligible claimants, responsible parties, damages, insurance coverage, and applicable law.
We offer free initial consultations for personal injury matters. Our published information also states that injury cases involve no upfront attorney fees and that we are paid if we help obtain a recovery. Clients may remain responsible for costs and expenses.
When a Houma family comes to us after a fatal accident, our role is to investigate what happened, explain the legal process, identify evidence that should be preserved, determine who Louisiana law allows to bring the claim, and pursue the claims the evidence supports.
Make ’Em Pay.
Make ’Em Pay represents our approach to pursuing accountability when the facts and law support holding another person or company responsible.
In a Houma wrongful death case, that means building the claim carefully, identifying the correct parties, preserving important evidence, documenting legally recoverable losses, and pursuing accountability supported by Louisiana law.
It does not mean assuming liability because an accident was fatal, and it does not guarantee compensation or a particular result.
If your family lost a loved one in a fatal accident in Houma or elsewhere in Terrebonne Parish, contact our firm to discuss what happened and the legal options that may be available.
Make ’Em Pay.
Frequently Asked Questions About Houma Wrongful Death Claims
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana generally gives the right first to the surviving spouse and children, followed by parents, siblings, and grandparents when the preceding category does not exist.
Is a survival action the same as a wrongful death action?
No. A wrongful death action concerns qualifying survivors’ losses caused by the death. A survival action preserves certain rights arising from the injury to the deceased before death.
How long do I have to file a Louisiana wrongful death claim?
The current general rule is one year from the death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer. Specialized claims, including certain medical malpractice matters, can involve different rules.
Can a wrongful death case involve a trucking company or employer?
Potentially. Depending on the evidence, a fatal accident investigation may involve a driver, employer, motor carrier, vehicle owner, maintenance provider, or another business. A business relationship alone does not establish liability.
What court serves Houma and Terrebonne Parish?
The 32nd Judicial District Court serves Terrebonne Parish and is located at 7856 Main Street in Houma.
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.
