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Losing a family member because of someone else’s carelessness changes everything overnight. Funeral costs arrive before you feel ready, income stops coming in, and you are left trying to piece together what happened. You need straight answers and a Maurepas personal injury lawyer who can carry the practical weight of a claim, so you can focus on your family.
The Maurepas wrongful death lawyers at Gauthier Amedee Injury Lawyers can take on that work.
Attorney Andre P. Gauthier has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America for personal injury litigation since 2022. Attorney Lee “Jody” Amedee III is a former Louisiana state senator who chaired the Louisiana Governor’s DWI Task Force. He built this firm’s trial practice around serious and fatal crash cases.
That experience means your family can get real answers and a clear path toward the financial recovery the law allows. A conversation about where things stand costs you nothing.
| LICENSED IN LOUISIANA SINCE 1992 | GONZALES & BATON ROUGE OFFICES | FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE |
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When a family trusts us with a wrongful death or serious injury claim, they deserve lawyers who have taken cases in front of a jury and won. Attorneys Andre Gauthier and Lee “Jody” Amedee III obtained a $4 million auto accident jury verdict together, covered by In Touch and the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association.
The firm has also secured a $5 million auto accident jury award covered by Lawyers Weekly USA, and a $1.5 million personal injury jury award covered by The Wall Street Journal. Both founding attorneys were also selected to Super Lawyers for 2026 in personal injury. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
A wrongful death claim can follow almost any situation where someone else’s negligence or recklessness causes a fatal injury. At Gauthier Amedee Injury Lawyers, we handle claims arising from:
Each of these cases calls for building a record of fault and tracing every loss your family has suffered, from funeral costs to the future income your loved one would have provided.
Louisiana law gives specific family members the right to seek compensation when a loved one dies because of someone else’s fault. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2315.2, a surviving spouse and children have the first right to bring a claim, followed by parents, then siblings, then grandparents if no one higher in that order survived.
That same law sets the filing deadline: for most fatal accidents, your family generally has one year from the date of death or two years from the date of the injury that caused it, whichever is longer. These time limits took effect on August 1, 2025. If the injury or death happened before that date, an older and shorter deadline may apply.
Deaths connected to medical care follow a stricter rule. In most cases, the deadline is one year from the date of death. Filing a request for a medical review panel, a state process where outside health care providers review the care, can pause that deadline for a time. The pause has limits, so talk with a lawyer quickly.
Missing the deadline that applies to your case usually ends your family’s right to recover, no matter how clear the fault was.
Once a wrongful death claim is filed, the person or company being sued has a set time to respond, and both sides begin gathering evidence such as police reports, medical records, and witness statements.
Many claims settle once it is clear who is at fault and how much your family lost. If the insurer offers too little, the case can move toward mediation, where a neutral person helps both sides try to settle, or to a trial in a parish where the defendant can be sued.
We handle the negotiations for you.. Your family may still need to answer questions under oath or attend key hearings or a trial. We will prepare you and explain each step.
Timelines vary depending on how quickly records become available and whether the at-fault party disputes responsibility. Some claims resolve in months, while contested cases involving multiple parties or serious injuries can take longer. Knowing what stage your claim is in helps you plan for the months ahead instead of being surprised by delays.
A consultation with our firm costs nothing, and we can talk through fee arrangements once we understand what happened to your family. There is no obligation to move forward after that first conversation.
A survival action allows eligible surviving family members to recover damages the deceased person suffered between the time of their injury and their death, such as pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2315.1, specific relatives can bring this claim.
Yes. A wrongful death action compensates family members for their own losses resulting from the death (such as emotional distress and loss of financial support), while a survival action recovers damages the deceased person suffered before they died. Both actions can be filed together by eligible family members following a fatal accident.
Maurepas sits in Livingston Parish, so a wrongful death lawsuit arising there is often filed in the 21st Judicial District Court at the Livingston Parish Courthouse. The right court depends on where the crash happened and where the defendant lives. In some cases, it may be a different parish.
Eligible family members can seek compensation for funeral and burial costs, the financial support your loved one would have provided, and the loss of their love, guidance, and companionship. The exact damages depend on your family’s situation.
Yes. A wrongful death claim is a separate civil case that seeks compensation for your family, and it generally moves on its own timeline, whether or not criminal charges are filed. The civil deadline can run out while the criminal case is still going, so do not wait for it to end before you call a lawyer.
Grief does not pause for paperwork, and neither does Louisiana’s filing deadline. A Maurepas wrongful death lawyer at Gauthier Amedee Injury Lawyers can review what happened, explain your family’s options, and take on the claim while you focus on each other. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
As your dedicated and trusted Gonzales, LA, personal injury law firm, part of our responsibilities are defending your rights to
fair compensation against the aggressive, strong-arm tactics of insurance companies. We have spent decades fighting against
these tactics. We know how to stand up to them, that’s why we’re your Go2Laywers. The next time insurance adjusters come
calling, don’t talk to them. Direct them to your attorneys at Gauthier Amedee Injury Lawyers.
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