Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving 18-Wheeler Trucks: What is a Louisiana Survival Action?

Sadly, fatalities happen all too often when an 18-wheeler truck is involved in an accident on the roads of Louisiana. This is because of the typical difference in size and mass between a big rig truck and a standard passenger vehicle. 

Our Louisiana personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams explains more on this below. 

When a fatality occurs in an 18-wheeler truck accident, Louisiana law allows for two different types of lawsuits to be filed if the death is caused by the negligence of the truck driver. The first is called a wrongful death action, and the second is called a survival action. Wrongful death is a legal cause of action brought by the family members of the deceased person for their losses -- such as loss of society, loss of companionship, loss of love, loss of affection, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of society and services due to someone's death. Recovery can also occur for past medical expenses. See La. C.C. Article 2315.2.

By contrast, a survival action is brought by the Personal Representative of the person who died to recover compensation for the injuries, pain, suffering, and other harms that happened to the deceased person between the time of the accident and the time of death. That is, a survival action seeks to recover the damages that the deceased person would have been entitled to recover if the person had lived. See La. C.C. Article 2315.1. In addition to the above damages, fright, fear, and mental anguish while the ordeal is in progress are legally compensable, along with medical bills and funeral costs.

For example, assume that an 18-wheeler accident in Shreveport causes a fatality. The driver of the big rig tractor-trailer truck is entirely at fault for the accident. Assume that the 18-wheeler crashes into a passenger car. Assume that the passenger does not die immediately but is severely injured and is taken to the hospital by ambulance. Assume that the injured passenger dies a week later from complications due to their injuries. In this hypothetical, the deceased victim's Personal Representative would be able to bring a survival action to recover compensation for suffering and expenses from the time of the accident to the time of death (and for funeral costs).

A real-world example can be seen in the case of Cahanin v. Louisiana Med. Mut. Ins. Co., 235 So. 3d 1250 - La: Court of Appeals, 5th Cir 2017). That case involved medical malpractice. The wife of the deceased husband brought suit for both wrongful death and for survival. The survival action was based on pain, suffering, and anguish for the time period when her husband awoke at his nursing home feeling short of breath until the time of his death approximately six hours later at the hospital emergency room. In that case, the jury awarded $25,000 as compensation for the survival action. This amount was approved as just, fair, and supported by the evidence by the Louisiana Court of Appeals.

Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today

For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full amount of compensation to which you are entitled under Louisiana law. To contact us, complete our "Contact Us" page here. We have the experience and legal knowledge that you need. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading and visiting our website.

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