Baton Rouge Product Liability Lawyer
A tire that came apart, a machine with the guard removed, a device that failed when it mattered. Louisiana handles defective product claims under its own statute — and the product itself is usually the whole case.
The Louisiana Products Liability Act is the only route
Louisiana does not let you plead general negligence against a manufacturer. The Louisiana Products Liability Act, R.S. 9:2800.51 and following, is the exclusive theory of recovery, and it recognizes exactly four ways a product can be unreasonably dangerous:
- Construction or composition defect — this particular unit deviated from the manufacturer’s own specifications
- Design defect — an alternative design existed, and the risk avoided outweighed the burden of adopting it
- Inadequate warning — the danger was not obvious and the manufacturer failed to warn about it
- Breach of express warranty — the product did not do what the manufacturer expressly said it would, and you relied on that
On top of one of those four, you have to show the damage was proximately caused by that characteristic, and that the product was being used in a reasonably anticipated manner. That last phrase does a lot of work, and it is the defense manufacturers reach for first.
Preserve the product. Do not fix it, return it, or throw it away.
This is the single most important thing on this page. The product itself is the evidence. If a tire comes apart, keep the tire — all of it, including the tread that came off. If a heater catches fire, do not let the insurance adjuster haul away the debris. If a machine amputates a finger, do not let the employer repair it before it is documented.
Products cases are proven by engineers examining the actual item. A case with the product is a case. The same case with photographs and a receipt is usually not.
Who can be liable
The manufacturer is the primary target, but a seller can be liable when it knew or should have known the product was defective, and a company that holds itself out as the manufacturer — a private-label brand, for instance — can be treated as one. Where the manufacturer is overseas, identifying a domestic distributor with assets and insurance is often the practical question.
Common products cases
- Tire tread separations and blowouts
- Airbags that failed to deploy, seat backs that collapsed, defective restraints
- Machinery with removed or missing guards, and industrial equipment failures
- Defective medical devices and implants
- Household products that overheat, catch fire, or leak
- Chemical exposure from products with inadequate warnings
How long you have
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana allows two years from the date of injury. For injuries before that date, the older one-year period applies. Products cases also need lead time for expert inspection, so the working deadline is usually well before the legal one.
Talk to Ryan before you talk to the adjuster
Before anything gets repaired, returned, or hauled off, let us document it. Once the product is gone, so is most of the proof.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts. Contacting this firm or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney fee unless we recover for you; you may still be responsible for case costs.