How an Accident Can Lead to a Manslaughter Charge Against You

Law Offices of Philip B. Adams, LLC — Shreveport, Louisiana

It may sound strange, but it is true: not every death is a crime. Accidents happen, and when they do, the person responsible may face a civil lawsuit and significant money damages without ever being charged with a crime. The State does not prosecute every tragedy.

But sometimes an unintended death is a crime — and in Louisiana, the charge is not always what people expect. Many assume any accidental death is "manslaughter." Others assume that if you never meant to hurt anyone, you cannot be charged at all. Both assumptions are wrong.

Whether an accidental death leads to criminal charges, and which charges, depends on the circumstances. Three Louisiana crimes are worth understanding, because the difference between them can be decades of prison exposure.

When Carelessness Becomes a Crime: Negligent Homicide

The everyday carelessness that gets you sued in civil court is ordinary negligence. Negligent homicide requires something more. Under Louisiana law, criminal negligence means a gross deviation below the standard of care that a reasonably careful person would maintain — conduct so far below the line that it disregards the safety of others.

Where ordinary negligence ends and criminal negligence begins is a matter of degree, and it is often a question for the jury. That is precisely why these cases are so defensible with the right lawyer: reasonable people can disagree about whether conduct was merely careless or grossly so.

Negligent homicide is punishable by up to ten years in prison, with or without hard labor. If the victim was under the age of ten, the sentence is two to ten years at hard labor, without the possibility of probation, parole, or a suspended sentence. (Louisiana raised the maximum from five to ten years in 2024 — one reason it always pays to confirm the current penalty rather than rely on older information.)

Common examples include a caretaker who grossly fails to feed or attend to a dependent child, a child left unattended near a pool who drowns, or a driver so fatigued that falling asleep at the wheel causes a fatal crash.

When the Driver Was Impaired: Vehicular Homicide

If a fatal crash involves a driver who was under the influence — for example, alcohol at 0.08 percent or higher, or drugs — Louisiana does not treat it as ordinary negligent homicide. It is charged as vehicular homicide, a separate and far more serious crime.

Importantly, vehicular homicide applies whether or not the driver intended to cause any harm. "I never meant to hurt anyone" is not a defense to the charge. The penalty can be a fine of $2,000 to $15,000 and five to thirty years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of at least three years that cannot be probated or paroled — increasing to five years at a higher blood alcohol level or with a prior DWI. If the driver's blood alcohol concentration was above 0.20 percent, the offense is treated as a crime of violence.

This is the charge that actually applies to most impaired-driving fatalities, and the exposure is dramatically higher than negligent homicide.

When People Say "Manslaughter": A Broader, More Serious Crime

In casual conversation, people call almost any accidental death "manslaughter." In Louisiana, manslaughter is a specific crime — and a more serious one than negligent homicide.

Manslaughter does include the killing many people picture: a homicide that would otherwise be murder but was committed in sudden passion or heat of blood, provoked by something that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control. But it does not stop there. Louisiana manslaughter also covers a death the offender never intended to cause, when it happens while that person is committing another felony, or even an intentional misdemeanor directly affecting another person.

That is the key point the "it was just an accident" assumption misses. A death you genuinely did not intend can still be manslaughter if you caused it while committing an underlying crime. The dividing line between negligent homicide and manslaughter often turns on exactly that question — was there an underlying offense in progress?

The stakes reflect the seriousness: manslaughter carries up to forty years at hard labor, and a minimum of ten years (up to forty) without probation or suspension if the victim was under the age of ten.

Why Strong Representation Matters

Because so much depends on degree and circumstance, these cases are genuinely contestable. Was the conduct grossly negligent or merely careless? Was there an underlying crime, or not? Did impairment actually contribute to the death, or was the crash unavoidable regardless? Was the driver in actual physical control? Each of these questions can move a case from one charge to another — or out of criminal court entirely — and the difference can be the difference between a defensible misdemeanor-level dispute and decades in prison.

If you or a loved one is facing a homicide charge arising from an accident, do not assume the charge is correct, and do not assume a lack of intent will protect you. Get a lawyer who will examine every element.

Contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams, LLC today. Mr. Adams is a dedicated Louisiana criminal defense lawyer. His office is in Shreveport, and he handles criminal defense cases throughout Louisiana.

Law Offices of Philip B. Adams, LLC 400 Travis Street, Suite 1109 Shreveport, LA 71101 (318) 230-7199

This article is for general information only, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Criminal statutes and penalties change — the negligent homicide penalty discussed above, for example, was amended in 2024. For advice about a specific situation, speak with an attorney.