Wrongful Death Attorney in New Orleans

Has your family lost a loved one in a New Orleans accident caused by someone else? The Louisiana wrongful death statute may give your family the right to seek financial compensation for expenses and losses resulting from your loved one’s passing. Attorney Omar Thibeaux and The Thibeaux Firm can help your family pursue your legal rights and demand justice from those responsible for your loved one’s death.

We understand that you may not know where to turn after a loved one’s death occurs due to someone else’s wrongful acts. Our firm will manage each step of the legal process to give you peace of mind, knowing you have an advocate fighting for your family’s rights and interests.

Plus, as home to “The 25% Attorney,” we make sure you get the best value for your case. Attorney Thibeaux charges a flat and fair 25 percent legal upon recovering compensation for clients. This is much less than the industry standard of 33 to 40 percent that other lawyers demand. With us, you’ll get more money if we recover compensation for your losses, and you pay nothing upfront to secure legal representation for your wrongful death lawsuit.

After a loved one has died in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence or recklessness, your family deserves accountability and financial recovery for your loss. Contact The Thibeaux Firm for a free initial case review to learn what a wrongful death lawyer in New Orleans can do for you.

How a New Orleans Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You

Losing a loved one can cause significant anguish and grief for your family. You deserve the space to heal and learn how to move forward after a loved one’s death. A New Orleans wrongful death lawyer from The Thibeaux Firm can help your family recover from a loved one’s passing by handling the details of your wrongful death case so you can focus on each other.

Let us pursue the financial relief and justice you deserve by:

• Investigating the circumstances of your loved one’s death to secure evidence to build your family’s wrongful death case
• Identifying liable parties and options for pursuing financial recovery, such as potential insurance claims or lawsuits
• Sitting down with you to discuss your family’s needs, concerns, and goals to pursue a case strategy tailored to your situation
• Documenting expenses from your loved one’s passing and crafting compelling arguments to demonstrate the extent of your family’s emotional loss
• Dealing with insurance adjusters and defense lawyers to give you the freedom to grieve and heal
• Pursue every avenue to recover the financial compensation and justice your family deserves, even if that means going to court to hold at-fault parties accountable for your loved one’s death
• Never charging anything unless we recover compensation for your wrongful death lawsuit

How Can ‘The 25% attorney’ Help Me Get More Money in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

At Thibeaux Law Firm, we offer a distinct advantage in that we can get you more money on accident claims than most personal injury law firms. How so? To answer that, let’s look at the standard business model for accident attorneys.

The way injury lawyers usually work is through a contingency fee. In this arrangement, the person filing the accident lawsuit is only responsible for legal fees when the lawyer secures compensation for their case. These costs are taken from an agreed-upon percentage of what’s recovered. But it is common for a law firm to demand anywhere from 33 to 40 percent. That means almost half of the money goes to the attorney.

But at Thibeaux Law Firm, we do things differently — and to your advantage. As home to “The 25% Attorney,” we’ve instilled a simple and fair 25 percent flat fee on what Attorney Thibeaux recovers for you. If we can’t recover compensation for you in your case, you don’t owe us a penny. In addition, we don’t require any upfront fees on your part to get started, so don’t risk anything.

What Compensation Is Recoverable in a Wrongful Death Claim?

In a wrongful death case, your family may have the right to recover compensation for financial and personal losses arising from your loved one’s passing. Although no amount of money can bring a loved one back or make up for their loss, seeking compensation can give your family a meaningful measure of justice and provide you with the financial resources you need as you heal from your loved one’s passing.

Wrongful death beneficiaries in Louisiana may recover compensation for:

• Medical bills incurred to treat your loved one’s final injury or illness
• Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
• Lost earnings and benefits your loved one would have provided to your family if they had lived
• The value of household services provided by your loved one, such as housekeeping, home maintenance, or childcare
• Grief and anguish experienced by surviving family members
• The loss of your loved one’s care, companionship, guidance, and support

How Are Wrongful Death Settlements Paid Out?

Families who pursue financial compensation in a wrongful death claim for losses resulting from a loved one’s death may wonder, “How are wrongful death settlements paid out?” Because a claim compensates a family for the value of their loved one’s life, wrongful death compensation can involve substantial sums of money.

As a result, parties in a wrongful death case may negotiate various methods of paying settlement compensation. Wrongful death settlements typically take one of two forms: lump-sum or structured.

In a lump-sum settlement, the total amount gets paid in one check. Lump-sum settlements offer families several benefits, including providing a significant amount of money they can use to pay debts arising from a loved one’s death, such as medical bills, funeral and burial invoices, and credit card bills.

In a structured settlement, a party pays compensation to a decedent’s family over multiple payments, with the schedule of payments described in the settlement agreement. Payments may occur monthly, quarterly, annually, or at any other regular interval. Payment structure may also have a large initial payment, increasing payments over the settlement term, or a large final “balloon” payment.

Although structured settlements require families to wait to receive total payment for their loss, they offer some benefits. Structured settlements can give families an income stream lasting several months or years, which can help them adapt to the loss of a loved one’s income. At-fault parties may agree to pay higher compensation in a structured settlement because they can stretch payments over time or fund the settlement through financial vehicles like annuities.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Wrongful Death Case?

Successfully recovering compensation in a wrongful death claim requires you to prove that another party caused your loved one’s death due to wrongful acts or omissions (a failure to act despite having an obligation to do so).

Many wrongful death claims arise from acts of negligence. Proving negligence requires you to show that the party responsible for your loved one’s death had a duty to act with care; for example, a driver has to follow traffic laws and drive prudently. A negligence claim also requires you to prove that the at-fault party breached their duty of care and directly and proximately caused your loved one’s passing.

You might also prove a wrongful death case by showing that an at-fault party caused your loved one’s death due to reckless actions. Recklessness occurs when a party knowingly or intentionally disregards a substantial risk that their conduct will lead to severe harm to or the death of someone else.

Finally, some wrongful death cases arise from intentional conduct, which would require you to prove that the party responsible for your loved one’s death intended to cause it, such as through a homicide.

Depending on the circumstances leading to your loved one’s death, examples of evidence you might use to build a wrongful death case include:

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Louisiana?

Under Louisiana law, specific surviving family members have the right to institute a wrongful death case after the death of a loved one, in this order:

• The decedent’s surviving spouse and children
• If no surviving spouse or children, then any surviving parents
• If no surviving spouse, children, or parents, then the decedent’s surviving siblings
• If no surviving spouse, children, parents, or siblings, then any surviving grandparents

The law also treats adoptive children, parents, siblings, and grandparents the same as biological family members. Any parent who abandoned the decedent during their childhood is not treated as a surviving parent by the law for the purposes of a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

How Long Do I Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Louisiana?

The Louisiana wrongful death statute of limitations typically requires family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit within one year of a loved one’s passing. Because you have limited time to start your wrongful death case, talk to an attorney from The Thibeaux Firm as soon as possible after a loved one’s death. Doing so can ensure your family does not lose the right to seek financial recovery from those responsible.

What Are the Common Wrongful Death Cases?

At The Thibeaux Firm, our wrongful death law firm can help your family seek justice and financial relief after you’ve lost a loved one in New Orleans due to:

Contact a New Orleans Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

When your family has lost a loved one due to someone else’s wrongful conduct, you need skilled legal representation to demand accountability from the at-fault party. Let Attorney Thibeaux and The Thibeaux Firm take on the heavy burden of pursuing your legal claims, giving you the time and space to grieve.

You and your family deserve accountability and maximum compensation so that you can move on with your lives following the tragedy of a loved one’s sudden and unexpected death. And, as home to “The 25% Attorney,” you get the advantage of a greater share of your settlement award if we win your case.

Contact The Thibeaux Firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a New Orleans wrongful death attorney.