§2800.63. Action for damages by persons other than the individual user

            A. Any one or more of the following persons may bring an action for damages caused by an individual's use of an illegal controlled substance against those persons enumerated in Subsection B of this Section:

            (1) A parent, legal custodian, child, spouse, or sibling of the individual user.

            (2) An individual who was exposed to an illegal controlled substance in utero.

            (3) An employer of the individual user.

            (4) A medical facility, insurer, employer, governmental entity, or other legal entity that funds a drug treatment program or other employee assistance program for or that otherwise expends money on behalf of the individual user.

            (5) A person injured as a result of the willful, reckless, or negligent actions of an individual user.

            B. A person entitled to bring an action pursuant to Subsection A of this Section may seek damages from one or more of the following:

            (1) A person who sold, administered, or furnished an illegal controlled substance to the individual user or consumable hemp product as defined by R.S. 3:1481 to a person under the age of twenty-one.

            (2) A person who knowingly participated in the marketing of an illegal controlled substance, if all of the following apply:

            (a) The place of illegal activity by the individual user is within the municipality, parish, or unincorporated area of the parish in which the defendant's place of participation is situated.

            (b) The defendant's participation in the marketing of illegal controlled substances was connected with the same type of illegal controlled substance used by the individual user, and the defendant has been convicted of an offense for that type of specified illegal controlled substance, which he committed in the same parish as the individual user's place of use.

            (c) The defendant participated in the marketing of illegal controlled substances at any time during the period in which the individual user used the illegal controlled substance.

            C. As used in Paragraph B(2) of this Section, "knowingly participated in the marketing of an illegal controlled substance" means was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute or distribution of an illegal controlled substance in violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, R.S. 40:961 et seq.

            D. A person entitled to bring an action under this Section may recover all of the following damages:

            (1) Economic damages, including but not limited to the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, support expenses, accidents or injury, and any other pecuniary loss proximately caused by the use of an illegal controlled substance.

            (2) Noneconomic damages, including but not limited to physical and emotional pain and suffering, physical impairment, emotional distress, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship, services, and consortium, and other nonpecuniary losses proximately caused by an individual's use of an illegal controlled substance.

            (3) Exemplary damages.

            (4) Reasonable attorney fees.

            (5) Costs of suit, including but not limited to reasonable expenses for expert testimony.

            E.(1) A person otherwise entitled to bring an action pursuant to Subsection A of this Section may not seek damages if the damages were caused by an individual's use of a consumable hemp product and any of the following applies:

            (a) The sole allegation is that the processor, wholesaler, or retailer was operating without an active permit, provided the business held a valid permit at the time of applying for renewal, and the renewal application was under review by the Louisiana Department of Health or the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control at the time of the alleged offense.

            (b) The consumable hemp product that caused the damage was approved by the Louisiana Department of Health at the time of the alleged incident.

            (c) The consumable hemp product that caused the damage had been previously approved by the Louisiana Department of Health and had not been revoked for more than sixty days prior to the alleged incident.

            (2) The exemptions in this Subsection shall not apply if the individual injured as a result of the use of the consumable hemp product is a minor.

            Acts 1997, No. 719, §1; Acts 2025, No. 345, §1.