Update Regarding “Housley” Presumption

Louisiana personal injury law changed significantly in 2025 with the elimination of the “Housley presumption,” a rule that had favored injured plaintiffs for more than 30 years. Under the new law, courts can no longer presume an accident caused an injury simply because a person was healthy before the accident and developed symptoms afterward. Instead, plaintiffs must affirmatively prove medical causation with evidence, rather than relying on timing alone. This change raises the bar in many injury cases, particularly those involving soft‑tissue injuries or pre‑existing conditions. Attorneys Mike Alker and Jim Rather of Alker & Rather, LLC in Mandeville, Louisiana have decades of experience litigating personal injury cases involving contested issues of medical causation.