New Orleans Wrongful Death Lawyer
When a family loses someone to another party’s negligence, the goal is to hold that party accountable and secure the financial footing the person left behind. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm that represents injured workers and accident victims across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a New Orleans wrongful death lawyer from our team handles fatal workplace accidents, fatal crashes, and other deaths caused by someone else’s carelessness for families in Orleans Parish and throughout South Louisiana.
Deaths in this region often trace back to the work that powers it: the port and river traffic, offshore and land-based oil and gas operations, petrochemical plants along the Mississippi, construction sites, and the trucking routes that feed all of them. A fatal job accident can create two separate tracks of recovery at once, and families who do not know that often leave money unclaimed.
The deadlines are short, the fault rules recently tightened, and the insurers involved start building their position almost immediately. What follows covers how Louisiana wrongful death claims actually work, who can bring one, and what a family should do in the first weeks.
Why Families Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Wrongful Death Claims
The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. That workers’ compensation foundation matters in a wrongful death case, because so many fatal accidents happen on the job, where death benefits and a separate lawsuit against a negligent outside party can both be in play.
Our attorneys include Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers; Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, Partners, who have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers; and attorneys Andrew Rueff, Keaton Belk, Erin Heimlicher, and Jared Martin. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. The firm was also ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Results include a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listens, communicates, and stands up to the insurance company. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless we recover for your family. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking families can work with us in their own language.
Fatal Accidents That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims in Louisiana
- Fatal Workplace Accidents: Falls from scaffolding, crush injuries, electrocutions, and equipment failures on construction sites and industrial properties can kill. The employer is usually shielded from a lawsuit by workers’ compensation, but death benefits are available, and a negligent contractor, equipment maker, or property owner may be separately liable.
- Oil Field and Offshore-Related Deaths: Rig explosions, burns, pipe-handling accidents, and transport crashes tied to oil and gas work are a recurring source of fatal claims in South Louisiana. The right legal framework depends on where and how the worker was injured.
- Truck and Car Collisions: Interstate corridors and the heavy commercial traffic around the port produce fatal crashes involving tractor-trailers, delivery vans, and distracted or impaired drivers. Fatal crashes involving a worker driving for their employer can support both a comp claim and a wrongful death suit.
- Premises Liability Deaths: Unsafe stairwells, inadequate security, unmarked hazards, and poorly maintained commercial or rental property can cause fatal falls and attacks. The owner or manager may answer for conditions they knew about or should have fixed.
- Industrial and Chemical Exposure: Plant explosions, toxic releases, and long-term exposure can cause death immediately or years later. Fault may lie with a contractor, manufacturer, or facility operator rather than the employer.
- Medical Negligence Deaths: Fatal surgical errors, missed diagnoses, and medication mistakes follow stricter rules in Louisiana. These claims carry their own, shorter filing window, so they should be raised with an attorney right away.
- Firefighter and First Responder Deaths: Fatal heart and lung disease, cancer, and on-scene injuries tied to the job can support death benefit claims and, in some cases, claims against third parties.
What to Do in the Weeks After a Loved One’s Death
Start with the time limits, because they are the part families cannot get back. Under Louisiana law, a wrongful death action must generally be brought within one year of the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever period is longer. A wrongful death claim built on medical malpractice is different: it stays limited to one year from the date of death. If the death was work-related, notice of the injury or death must reach the employer within 30 days for a workers’ compensation claim, and a formal comp claim generally must be filed within one year. Do not wait for the funeral expenses to settle or for an insurer to call you first.
Preserve evidence early. Keep the death certificate, medical records, bills, pay stubs, and anything that shows the person’s earnings and role in the household. Write down the names of coworkers, bystanders, and first responders. Photograph the scene if you can do so safely, and ask that equipment, vehicles, and surveillance footage be preserved. Companies and insurers often send adjusters within days, and recorded statements given while grieving can be used to blame the person who died.
Be careful about what you sign and say. Do not accept an early settlement offer, and do not give a recorded statement to any insurer without advice. Louisiana now bars recovery when the injured person is found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, and lower percentages of fault reduce the award proportionally. Insurers know this rule well and will look for any argument that the person who died was mostly to blame. Earlier causes of action remain under pure comparative fault, so the date of the death matters.
Cases in Orleans Parish are heard in the civil district court for the parish, and appeals go to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit, which covers Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes. Cases in Jefferson Parish and neighboring parishes may follow a different appellate path through the Fifth Circuit. Federal claims can land in the Eastern District of Louisiana, which sits in New Orleans. One call to our team lets us sort out which tracks apply and in what order.
Who Can Sue and What the Family Can Recover
Louisiana does not let just anyone file. The law sets an order of priority among surviving relatives. A surviving spouse and children come first, and if there are none, the claim passes to surviving parents, then to siblings, then to grandparents. A higher-ranking relative generally blocks lower-ranking ones from bringing the action, so figuring out who holds the right to sue is one of the first things we do. Louisiana also allows a separate survival action, which preserves the claim the person who died could have brought for their own pain and losses before death.
Recoverable losses typically include the grief and loss of love, affection, and companionship suffered by the family, the loss of the person’s financial support and services, medical bills from the final injury, and funeral and burial costs. In a death caused by an outside party at work, the family may receive workers’ compensation death benefits at the same time as pursuing the lawsuit, and the two have to be coordinated so one does not undercut the other. That coordination, including how the comp carrier’s reimbursement claim is handled, is an area where a firm focused on comp has a real advantage.
Wrongful Death Questions Families Ask
How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Louisiana?
The period is one year from the date of death or two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained, whichever is longer. Both wrongful death and survival actions now follow that approach. A death claim based on medical malpractice is still limited to one year from the date of death.
Who is allowed to bring a wrongful death claim?
Louisiana ranks surviving family members. A spouse and children have first priority, followed by parents, then siblings, then grandparents. A higher-ranking relative generally excludes the lower categories, so the right plaintiff has to be identified before filing.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
A wrongful death claim compensates the family for what they lost because of the death. A survival action carries forward the claim the person who died could have made for their own suffering and losses between the injury and death. Both can arise from the same event.
Can a family get workers’ compensation death benefits and also file a lawsuit?
Often, yes. If the death happened on the job, death benefits come through the comp system while a lawsuit against a negligent outside party, such as a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or other driver, can proceed separately. The employer itself is generally protected from suit.
What if my loved one was partly at fault?
For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana bars recovery if the person who died is found 51 percent or more at fault, and lower fault reduces the award by that share. Earlier causes of action remain under pure comparative fault. This is why fault evidence matters so much from day one.
How much does it cost to hire your firm for a wrongful death case?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover for your family.
Does the person who died need to have been working when the accident happened?
No. Wrongful death claims arise from any death caused by another party’s fault, including highway crashes and unsafe property. Work-related deaths simply add a comp claim to the picture.
Can we still bring a claim if the death happened months after the injury?
Yes. A person may survive an accident for a time and die later from the injuries. The deadline looks to the death date and the injury date, and the longer of the two periods applies, so a delayed death can still support a claim. Medical malpractice deaths are the exception and remain limited to one year from death.
What if the death involved a worker injured in Mississippi but the family lives in New Orleans?
The law that applies depends largely on where the accident happened. Mississippi uses a three-year period for negligence-based wrongful death, pure comparative negligence, and a cap on noneconomic damages in most wrongful death cases. Because our firm practices in both states, we can evaluate which rules govern.
Will an insurance company contact us before we hire a lawyer?
Very likely, and often quickly. Adjusters may ask for a recorded statement or offer a fast payout. Speak with an attorney before agreeing to either, because early statements and releases can limit what your family can recover later.
How long does a wrongful death case take?
It depends on the number of defendants, how disputed fault is, and whether the case settles or goes to trial. Cases with a comp component, multiple insurers, or contested liability take longer than straightforward ones. We will give you a realistic picture after reviewing the facts.
Serving Orleans Parish and Families Across South Louisiana
Our wrongful death work starts in New Orleans and Orleans Parish, from the French Quarter, the Marigny, and Bywater to Mid-City, Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, Uptown, the Garden District, and Lakeview. We also represent families across Jefferson Parish, including Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, and Gretna, and in neighboring communities such as Chalmette, Slidell, Covington, and Houma.
Beyond the metro area, we serve families in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Because the firm also practices in Mississippi, we represent families from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi when a death crosses state lines or involves a Mississippi worksite. Whether the loss came from an industrial accident, a highway crash, or an unsafe property, we are ready to look at what happened.
Talk With a New Orleans Wrongful Death Attorney Today
The deadlines in a Louisiana death case are short, and the evidence that proves fault does not stay available forever. A New Orleans wrongful death attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain who has the right to bring the claim, and coordinate any workers’ compensation death benefits with a lawsuit against the responsible party.
Call us any hour of the day. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for your family.
