Louisiana Product Liability Lawyer
A defective ladder, a failed hoist, or a machine with no working guard can leave a Louisiana worker with a back, hand, or burn injury and a pile of questions about who is actually responsible. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims across South Louisiana and Mississippi, and when a Louisiana product liability lawyer is needed because a defective product caused a work injury, we handle that claim alongside the workers’ compensation case.
The reason this matters is simple. Workers’ compensation pays medical care and wage benefits, but it generally does not let you sue your employer for pain and suffering. A product liability claim is different. It is brought against someone outside your employment relationship, such as the company that designed, built, or sold the equipment that hurt you, and it can reach categories of damages that comp benefits never will. Many injured workers have both claims and do not know it until someone points it out.
Louisiana handles these cases under the Louisiana Products Liability Act, which is the exclusive way to hold a manufacturer responsible for damage caused by its product. The statute focuses on the manufacturer, not on sellers in general, and it recognizes specific theories of defect. Getting the right theory identified early, and preserving the physical evidence that proves it, often decides whether the claim succeeds.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Defective Product Injury
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm first. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who see a work injury only occasionally. We are built the other way around, with workers’ compensation at the center of our practice and over 75 years of combined experience among our attorneys. We represent injured people throughout Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as across Mississippi, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish.
That focus matters in product cases because the comp claim and the product claim are tied together. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both partners, have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Our results reflect the kinds of injuries that product defects tend to cause: a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities. Clients consistently describe an attorney who listens, fights the insurance company at every step, and stays reachable.
Products and Workplace Settings Where Defects Cause Injury
- Industrial and Oilfield Equipment: Pipe-handling tools, winches, pressure vessels, and rig components can fail under load. Burn and crush injuries on oil rigs and in plants along the Gulf corridor often trace back to a part that was designed or built wrong.
- Construction Machinery and Tools: Lifts, scaffolding components, nail guns, saws, and compact equipment without proper guarding or warnings injure construction workers on commercial and residential sites alike.
- Commercial Vehicles and Their Parts: Brake failures, tire blowouts, defective seat restraints, and steering problems can cause wrecks involving delivery drivers and truck drivers. A work vehicle crash may involve a negligent driver, a defective part, or both.
- Protective Equipment That Fails: Harnesses, lanyards, respirators, gloves, and hard hats are supposed to prevent injury. When they break or do not perform as marketed, the maker can be responsible.
- Chemical and Toxic Exposure Products: Solvents, coatings, and industrial chemicals sold without adequate hazard warnings can cause burns, lung disease, and long-term illness in plant and refinery workers.
- Medical and Hospital Equipment: Nurses and surgical staff are hurt by defective patient lifts, needles, and operating room equipment, which can support a claim against the manufacturer in addition to comp.
- Heavy Trucks, Forklifts, and Warehouse Machinery: Missing safety interlocks, unstable designs, and inadequate operator warnings lead to rollovers, pinning injuries, and amputations in warehouses and ports.
What to Do After a Product Defect Injures You at Work
Start with the comp claim, because its deadlines are short. Report your injury to your employer right away, and in any event within 30 days. A formal workers’ compensation claim in Louisiana generally has to be filed within one year of the injury, though that period can stretch to three years from the last benefit payment when payments have been made. Do not let a product claim distract you from these dates.
Then protect the product. The single most valuable piece of evidence in a defect case is often the item itself. Ask your employer in writing to keep the machine, tool, or part exactly as it is, and do not allow anyone to repair, discard, or return it to the manufacturer. Photograph it, the work area, the warning labels, and your injuries. Write down the make, model, serial number, and who owned and maintained it, and get contact information for coworkers who saw what happened. If a safety inspector or supervisor prepared an incident report, ask for a copy.
Be careful what you say to insurers. The comp carrier and any manufacturer’s insurer are not neutral, and recorded statements can be used to argue that you misused the product or caused the accident yourself. Louisiana applies comparative fault, and for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, while a lower share of fault reduces the award proportionally. How the accident is described early can shape that allocation.
Your comp case runs through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which has district offices across the state, while the product liability claim is a civil lawsuit filed in court. If benefits are denied, a utilization review dispute over medical treatment must be filed within 15 calendar days of the denial notice, and a judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal within 30 days when a suspensive appeal is sought. Missing any of these windows can cost you real benefits, so call us promptly.
How a Louisiana Product Liability Claim Is Built
Under the Louisiana Products Liability Act, a manufacturer is responsible when a characteristic of its product made it unreasonably dangerous and that danger caused your injury during normal use or reasonably anticipated use. The Act recognizes four ways a product can be unreasonably dangerous: defective construction, meaning it departed from the manufacturer’s own specifications; defective design, meaning a safer alternative design existed; inadequate warning, meaning the manufacturer failed to tell users about a danger it knew or should have known about; and failure to conform to an express warranty. Each theory requires different evidence, and an attorney who knows these cases will often pursue more than one.
Proof usually means engineering analysis. We work with qualified experts who examine the product, compare it to the manufacturer’s design and testing, and explain to a judge or jury why it failed. Medical evidence ties the injury to the incident, which is also where the pre-existing condition argument tends to appear. Insurers frequently blame degenerative changes in the spine or an old shoulder or knee problem, so careful medical records matter in both the comp and the product claim.
Timing is governed by Louisiana’s prescription rules. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the period to bring a delictual action is two years from the day the injury or damage is sustained; earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Prescription does not run against minors or interdicts in actions involving permanent disability brought under the Louisiana Products Liability Act. In a death case, the family generally has the longer of one year from the death or two years from the injury. Because comp deadlines are shorter than the product deadline, injured workers sometimes assume everything has the same clock. It does not.
How Workers’ Compensation and a Product Claim Fit Together
When someone other than your employer caused your injury, the comp carrier that paid your medical bills and wage benefits may have a right to be reimbursed from what you recover in the outside claim. How that reimbursement interacts with a settlement is one of the places a lawyer who understands both systems earns the fee. A poorly timed comp settlement can complicate or cut off the carrier’s reimbursement rights, and a poorly structured product settlement can leave you with less than you expected after the carrier is repaid.
Comp benefits cover reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you cannot work, supplemental earnings benefits if you return at reduced pay, and additional benefits for permanent disability, catastrophic injury, or death. A product claim goes further by seeking damages for pain, suffering, and the full extent of your losses. We coordinate the two so that decisions in one case do not undercut the other, which is exactly what our personal injury lawyers are there to do.
Frequently Asked Questions About Louisiana Product Liability Claims
Can I file a product liability claim if I am already receiving workers’ compensation?
Yes. Workers’ compensation generally bars a lawsuit against your employer, but it does not stop you from suing a third party such as the manufacturer of defective equipment. Many injured workers pursue both at the same time.
Who can be held responsible when a product injures me at work?
Under the Louisiana Products Liability Act, the focus is on the manufacturer. Depending on the facts, other parties such as a negligent contractor, an equipment owner, or a driver may also be responsible under general negligence rules.
How long do I have to file a product liability lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the general period is two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Earlier injuries fall under the prior one-year period. Your comp deadlines are shorter, so act quickly on both.
What are the deadlines for the workers’ compensation side?
Report the injury to your employer within 30 days. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with the period extending to three years from the last payment if benefits have been paid.
What does it cost to hire your firm?
Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if my employer owned and maintained the machine that hurt me?
Your employer’s maintenance does not erase a claim against the manufacturer. If the product was unreasonably dangerous in its design, construction, or warnings, the maker can still be responsible, though poor maintenance may be raised as a defense.
Should I let my employer fix or throw away the defective equipment?
No. Ask in writing that it be preserved untouched. Repairing or discarding the item can destroy the proof that the product was defective, and courts and juries may find the claim much harder to believe without it.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Louisiana reduces your recovery by your share of fault. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, being found 51 percent or more at fault bars recovery entirely, so how fault is investigated and presented is critical.
Can the workers’ compensation carrier take part of my product liability settlement?
Often the carrier has a reimbursement interest in what it paid out. The details depend on the facts and on how the cases are resolved, which is why the two claims should be handled together rather than separately.
What if a family member died because of a defective product at work?
A wrongful death claim in Louisiana generally must be brought within the longer of one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained. Death benefits may also be available under workers’ compensation, and the two claims can proceed together.
Is a defect case worth pursuing if my injury seems modest?
Product cases require expert analysis and can be expensive, so the value of the injury matters. Because we advance costs and charge no fee unless we recover, a consultation is a low-risk way to learn whether the claim makes sense.
Do you handle these cases if I am a Spanish speaker?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Product Liability Clients Across Louisiana
We represent injured workers and accident victims throughout Louisiana, starting in New Orleans and the surrounding communities of Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, Gretna, and Slidell. From there our work extends across South Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houma, Thibodaux, and Lake Charles, and north through Alexandria, Monroe, and Shreveport. We also help clients hurt on the job in the refineries, shipyards, ports, and oilfield operations that define so much of the state’s industrial economy.
Our reach continues into Mississippi, where we serve Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta, as well as north Mississippi. Wherever the defective product injured you, whether on a rig, a construction site, a plant floor, or a delivery route, we can review the facts, preserve the evidence, and pursue both the comp benefits and the product claim you may be entitled to.
Talk to a Louisiana Product Liability Attorney Today
If a defective machine, tool, or vehicle part cost you your health and your paycheck, speak with a Louisiana product liability attorney before the equipment is repaired, returned, or lost. Call us any time of day or night; consultations are free, we advance the case costs, and you owe no fee unless we recover for you. We will look at your comp claim and your product claim together and tell you plainly what we see.
