New Orleans
Sometimes the crash isn’t the real failure, the vehicle is.
A tire that shouldn’t have blown, an airbag that shouldn’t have malfunctioned, a seatbelt that shouldn’t have failed.
The Voorhies Law Firm holds manufacturers accountable when a defective vehicle or part turns an ordinary crash into a catastrophic one.
An auto product liability claim targets the manufacturer of a vehicle or vehicle component that was defective and made your crash, or your injuries, worse than they should have been.
This includes:
These cases are different from an ordinary crash claim.
The question isn’t just what happened in the moment of impact, but whether a defect in the vehicle itself turned a survivable crash into something far worse.
Auto product liability claims in Louisiana are governed almost entirely by one specific statute, separate from the ordinary negligence rules that apply to most car accident claims.
The Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA) is the exclusive remedy against a manufacturer for injuries caused by a vehicle or its components.
To succeed with this, you generally need to show the product was unreasonably dangerous in one of the four following ways:
Under this act, the term “Manufacturer” is broadly used and most do not realize that it can apply to the vehicle maker, component part suppliers, and sellers who label a product as their own.
Unlike an ordinary accident claim, a product liability case depends heavily on the physical evidence, meaning the actual defective part needs to be available after the accident for inspection.
A blown tire, a malfunctioning airbag module, or damaged brake components can all be lost, repaired, or discarded before a claim even has the chance to be filed, which is exactly why early legal involvement matters so much in these types of cases.
For claims on or after July 1, 2024, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file, under Civil Code article 3493.1.
Where a driver’s own conduct also contributed to the crash, Louisiana’s 51% comparative fault bar under article 2323 applies for incidents on or after January 1, 2026.
STEP 1
Free consultation.
Tell us what happened and what part or system you believe failed. We’ll give you an honest, no-cost assessment.
STEP 2
Evidence preservation.
We move immediately to secure the vehicle and the specific component involved before it’s repaired, discarded, or lost.
STEP 3
Technical investigation.
We bring in engineers and accident reconstruction experts to identify exactly how and why the product failed.
STEP 4
Recall and complaint history review.
We research whether the manufacturer had prior knowledge of the same defect.
STEP 5
Medical documentation.
We connect your specific injuries to the product failure, not just the crash generally.
STEP 6
Damage calculation.
We add up medical costs, lost wages, pain, suffering, and any long-term impact.
STEP 7
Filing suit, if needed.
If a fair number isn’t offered, we take the case to court.
STEP 8
Resolution.
Your claim is resolved, either through settlement or a verdict.
We handle auto product liability claims involving:
Behind every auto product liability case is someone who survived the crash itself only to be failed by the vehicle that was supposed to protect them.
We build the case to prove exactly where that failure happened.
Auto product liability recoveries add to the more than $100 million The Voorhies Law Firm has won for clients overall.
Results may vary, and every case depends on the specific defect and available evidence.
Auto manufacturers have legal teams built specifically to make defect claims disappear, arguing driver error instead of a product failure.
Richard P. Voorhies III and the team at The Voorhies Law Firm have the technical resources to push back on that argument.
We’re recognized by Super Lawyers and other legal organizations, but what matters in a case that is this technical is direct access to your attorney, not a call center, and no costs to you unless we recover compensation for you.
That’s exactly what a technical investigation is designed to answer. Signs worth mentioning to an attorney include an airbag that didn’t deploy, a tire that failed before any obvious damage, or a seatbelt that didn’t hold, all of which can point to a product defect rather than ordinary crash forces.
If so, that’s extremely valuable. Preserving the actual defective component, rather than allowing it to be repaired or discarded, is one of the most important things you can do for a product liability claim.
Often, yes. It’s common for a crash to involve both an at-fault driver and a product defect that made your injuries worse than they should have been, and both may bear separate responsibility.
Generally two years from the date of injury for claims on or after July 1, 2024, under Civil Code article 3493.1.
Nothing upfront. We handle these cases on contingency, so you don’t pay us unless we win your case.
