Who can sue for wrongful death?

Posted in Our Blog,Wrongful death on April 17, 2018

When someone you love dies because of the negligence or malicious actions of another person, it only adds to the grief you feel. You may want to find a way to ensure the person who hurt your loved one cannot hurt anyone else. In a case like this, you have rights in Louisiana to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the person. You may also file such a suit against an entity, such as a company.

The Louisiana State Legislature explains that wrongful death actions can be brought against a person or entity that caused the death of another person. However, the right to file this type of lawsuit is limited. The first right goes to the spouse of the person who died, or if you are not the spouse but are the person’s child, then you also have the right to file. If you are not one of these, then you cannot file if there is a living spouse or children.

If there is no spouse or children, then you can file the lawsuit if you are the person’s parent. If the person has no spouse, children or parents that are alive, then you may file if you are a sibling of that person. Beyond that, the only other relationship that allows for the filing of a wrongful death suit would be a grandparent as long as there are no closer relatives, such as spouse, children, parents or siblings, still alive. This information is for education and is not legal advice.