Pursuant to House Bill 291, Louisiana modified the prescriptive dates for wrongful death and survival actions. Survival actions are brought to recover damages a deceased person suffered before his or her death. For survival actions, La. Civil Code Article 2315.1 (A) now provides as follows:
If a person who has been injured by an offense or quasi offense dies, the right to recover all damages for injury to that person, his property or otherwise, caused by the offense or quasi offense, shall survive for a period of one year from the death of the deceased or two years from the day that injury or damage is sustained, whichever is longer.
A wrongful death claim can compensate the surviving family members for their own suffering following someone’s death. Similar amendments were made for the wrongful death statute. La. Civil Code Article 2315.2(B) now provides that the right of action for wrongful death prescribes one year from the death of the deceased or two years from the day that injury or damage is sustained, whichever is longer.
The changes to these articles went into effect August 1, 2025.