Louisiana Wrongful Death Laws (2026): Deadlines

Losing a family member because of someone else's negligence or wrongful act is devastating, and Louisiana law gives close survivors a way to seek compensation for that loss. Louisiana recognizes two related but distinct claims: a wrongful death action that compensates survivors for their own losses, and a survival action that continues the claim the person who died could have brought. Both are governed by the Louisiana Civil Code, and both had their filing deadlines changed in 2025. This guide explains the current deadlines, who may sue, the damages available, and how fault is handled. It is general information and attorney advertising, not legal advice.

The deadline to file in Louisiana

Louisiana measures these deadlines as prescriptive periods. Under 2025 legislation that took effect August 1, 2025, both the wrongful death action under Civil Code article 2315.2 and the survival action under article 2315.1 must be brought within one year from the death of the deceased or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer. This replaced the prior flat one-year period and can give families more time when death follows the injury by a long interval.

There is an important exception. A wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice remains limited to one year from the date of death, without the alternative two-year-from-injury period. Because deadlines are strict and the facts control which period applies, confirming your specific deadline early is essential. Claims against a governmental entity can also carry separate notice requirements.

Who can file in Louisiana

Louisiana does not let just any relative sue. The Civil Code creates exclusive classes of beneficiaries and ranks them in order. Only the first class that has a living member may recover, and once that class exists, lower classes are excluded entirely. The order under articles 2315.1 and 2315.2 is:

1. The surviving spouse and child or children of the deceased, or either the spouse or the children.
2. The surviving father and mother, or either of them, if there is no surviving spouse or child.
3. The surviving brothers and sisters, or any of them, if there is no surviving spouse, child, or parent.
4. The surviving grandfathers and grandmothers, or any of them, if there is no surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling.

Adopted and adoptive relationships are treated the same as biological ones. A parent who abandoned the deceased during minority is excluded from recovering. Because the right belongs to the beneficiaries in their own names, the personal representative does not have to be the one who sues, and that includes the survival claim, which the same ranked beneficiary classes hold directly; the succession representative may bring it only if no class of beneficiary exists.

Wrongful death versus survival action

These two claims address different losses and should not be confused. The wrongful death action under article 2315.2 compensates the survivors for the losses the death caused them, such as lost support and lost companionship. The survival action under article 2315.1 is different: it continues the very claim the deceased person could have pursued had they lived, including the pain, suffering, and expenses the decedent experienced before death. Recovery in a survival action is for the benefit of the same ranked beneficiary classes as the wrongful death action; the deceased's succession representative may bring the survival claim only if no class of beneficiary exists. The two claims are commonly brought together, and the same beneficiary classes and the same whichever-is-longer deadline apply to both.

Damages you can recover

In a Louisiana wrongful death case, beneficiaries may recover for the losses the death caused them. Economic damages include the financial support and household services the deceased would have provided, plus funeral and burial expenses. Non-economic damages include loss of love, affection, companionship, society, and guidance, and the grief and mental anguish the survivors suffer from the death.

The survival action adds the decedent's own pre-death damages, including conscious pain and suffering, mental anguish, and medical expenses incurred before death, as well as any lost wages between injury and death. To recover survival damages for pain and suffering, there generally must be some evidence that the decedent was conscious and experienced the harm before death, even briefly. Together, the two claims are meant to capture both the family's loss and the harm to the person who died, which is why they are usually filed in the same lawsuit.

Damage caps and punitive damages

Louisiana does not cap compensatory damages in an ordinary wrongful death or survival action against a private defendant, so the recovery is measured by the losses actually proven. Two exceptions matter, and both come up often.

The first is medical malpractice. Louisiana's Medical Malpractice Act limits total recovery against qualified health care providers, and that cap reaches wrongful death claims based on malpractice.

The second applies when the defendant is a government body. Under La. R.S. 13:5106(B)(2), the total liability of the state and political subdivisions for all damages for the wrongful death of any one person, including all claims and derivative claims, cannot exceed $500,000. That ceiling is exclusive of property damages, medical care and related benefits, and loss of earnings or loss of support and loss of future support, which the same statute treats separately. Because police agencies, public hospitals, parish and municipal bodies, and state road authorities are common wrongful death defendants, families should identify early whether a government defendant is involved.

Punitive damages are generally not available in Louisiana. As a rule, Louisiana does not allow punitive or exemplary damages unless a specific statute authorizes them, so most wrongful death and survival claims recover compensatory damages only. A few narrow statutes permit punitive damages in particular circumstances, such as certain cases involving intoxicated drivers.

How fault affects the claim

Louisiana applies comparative fault under Civil Code article 2323. For conduct on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana moved from a pure comparative system to a modified one: if the person who died was 51 percent or more at fault, the claim is barred, and if their fault was less than 51 percent, the recovery is reduced in proportion to that share. An exception preserves full recovery against an intentional tortfeasor. The decedent's own fault is what matters here, and it carries through to the survivors' claim.

How proceeds are distributed

Because Louisiana fixes exclusive beneficiary classes, the proceeds go to the members of the first qualifying class and not to relatives in a lower class. When more than one beneficiary is in that class, for example a surviving spouse and several children, the recovery is divided among them, and damages for each person's loss are often assessed individually because grief and companionship losses differ from one survivor to the next. The survival recovery generally goes to the same ranked beneficiaries as the wrongful death recovery, not through the estate. Only when no class of beneficiary exists does Louisiana's succession representative pursue the survival claim on behalf of the estate, where it can be reached by the decedent's creditors. For that reason, how a settlement is allocated between the wrongful death claim and the survival claim can affect what each family member ultimately receives.

How to evaluate your situation

If you believe a loved one died because of someone else's wrongful act, a few steps help protect your rights. Preserve key records, including the death certificate, medical and accident records, and proof of the deceased person's earnings and the support they provided. Confirm which beneficiary class you fall into and your exact deadline, since the whichever-is-longer rule and the malpractice exception can change it. Most wrongful death attorneys offer a free consultation and work on a contingency basis, meaning no upfront fee and payment only out of any recovery. No lawyer can promise a specific result. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.