Wrongful death claims are often discussed in economic terms, lost wages, medical bills, funeral costs. But the harm a family suffers when someone is taken from them is not only financial. Louisiana law recognizes that surviving family members experience real, compensable losses that go beyond what any bill or pay stub can capture. These non-economic damages form a significant part of many wrongful death recoveries.
Kiefer & Kiefer represents families throughout Louisiana in wrongful death cases and helps surviving family members understand the full range of losses they are entitled to pursue.
Grief, Anguish, and Mental Suffering
Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2 specifically allows surviving beneficiaries to recover for their own grief, loss of consortium, and mental anguish resulting from the death of a loved one. These are not vague or symbolic categories. They reflect the documented psychological toll that sudden, traumatic loss imposes on spouses, children, and parents.
Courts and juries assess this suffering based on the closeness of the relationship, the circumstances of the death, and the ongoing impact on each beneficiary’s life. A surviving spouse who shared decades of marriage with the deceased, or a young child who loses a parent during formative years, may face a different scale of loss than an adult sibling.
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium refers to the loss of the services, affection, companionship, and support that the deceased provided to their surviving family members. It captures the relational dimensions of the loss rather than the financial ones.
For a surviving spouse, consortium encompasses the loss of emotional intimacy, partnership, and mutual support. For surviving children, it includes the loss of parental guidance, nurturing, and presence at life milestones. These losses are real and lasting, and Louisiana law treats them as recoverable.
Loss of Guidance and Support for Minor Children
When a parent is killed due to someone else’s negligence, minor children face a particularly significant non-economic loss. Beyond the financial support their parent would have provided, they lose day-to-day guidance, encouragement, discipline, and a relationship that cannot be replicated. Louisiana courts recognize this loss, and evidence of the parent-child relationship can support a substantial award.
How These Damages Are Presented and Valued
Emotional damages do not come with a price tag attached. Building a compelling case for non-economic losses requires:
- Personal testimony from surviving family members about the relationship and the impact of the loss
- Supporting testimony from friends, family, and mental health professionals
- Documentation of counseling or psychological treatment sought after the death
- Evidence of the nature and quality of the relationship before the death occurred
Under Louisiana’s pure comparative fault framework, non-economic damages are subject to reduction if the deceased shared any fault. A New Orleans wrongful death lawyer can help surviving family members identify, document, and present the full range of emotional damages their family is entitled to recover. Reaching out to a New Orleans wrongful death lawyer promptly after a loss helps preserve the evidence and testimony that support these claims before memories fade and records become harder to obtain.
