Westwego Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A hurt back on a Westwego dock, a crushed hand at a Jefferson Parish plant, or a fall from scaffolding on a Westbank job site can leave a worker with no paycheck and a stack of medical bills almost overnight. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Westwego workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can take over the fight with the employer and its insurer while you recover.
Westwego sits in Jefferson Parish, in the middle of an industrial corridor tied to the Mississippi River. Shipyards, barge fleeting operations, cargo terminals, warehouses, and oilfield service yards employ thousands of people in and around town. That work is physical, and the injuries that follow are rarely minor: ruptured discs, rotator cuff tears, fractures, burns, and crush injuries.
Louisiana law gives you real rights after a work injury, including medical care and wage benefits. Insurers, though, have their own playbook for limiting what they pay. What follows covers how claims work for Westwego workers, where deadlines bite, and what a lawyer actually does to move a claim forward.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Westwego Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Westwego, Jefferson Parish, and the surrounding Westbank communities. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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 in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results matter more than adjectives. The firm secured $685,000 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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Those are the kinds of injuries Westwego’s industrial workforce suffers, and the kinds of claims insurers fight hardest. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stands up to the carrier at every step.
Injuries and Claims We See From Westbank Workplaces
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting cargo, hauling gear on a vessel, or working in a warehouse often leads to lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Carriers commonly blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical evidence has to show how the work caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among riggers, pipefitters, mechanics, and drivers. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and that argument needs a direct medical answer.
- Fractures: Falls from docks, ladders, and scaffolds and being struck by equipment can fracture feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, often requiring specialists and complicated surgical repair.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial sites and oil and gas facilities carry fire, chemical, and explosion risk. These injuries can mean long treatment and permanent limitations.
- Truck and Delivery Driver Injuries: Drivers hauling freight through Jefferson Parish face crashes and repetitive strain. When another driver caused the wreck, a separate personal injury claim may exist beside the comp claim.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Hearing loss, breathing conditions, and injuries that build over months of heavy labor can qualify, even when there was no single dramatic accident.
- Denied, Delayed, and Terminated Benefits: Claims denied outright, checks that stop without warning, and treatment the adjuster refuses to authorize are all situations where an attorney changes the outcome.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Westwego
Get medical attention first, then tell your employer about the injury in writing. Louisiana requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury, and waiting invites the insurer to question whether the accident happened at all. Describe what happened, where, and which body parts hurt. Keep a copy.
Be careful with the first doctor visit. Tell the provider the injury happened at work and describe every symptom, not just the worst one. Gaps and vague histories in early medical records are what insurers use later to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Follow the treatment plan, keep appointments, and save every bill, prescription receipt, and work-status note.
Know the claim deadline. A formal claim in Louisiana generally must be filed within one year of the injury, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. Do not rely on the extension. Many workers lose rights by assuming a friendly adjuster will keep paying.
Disputes over medical care follow a short, strict track. If the insurer denies a treatment request, the worker has 15 calendar days from written notice to file LWC Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. These clocks start when the paperwork is issued, not when you read it, so a denial letter sitting in a pile of mail can cost you your window.
Louisiana lets the worker choose where the hearing is held: the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. That choice affects which district office handles your case, and your attorney should make it deliberately. If a workers’ compensation judge rules against you, an appeal goes to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal. For Jefferson Parish, that is the Fifth Circuit, which covers Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes.
Avoid recorded statements to the insurer without advice, avoid signing broad medical releases, and do not return to work before your doctor clears you. Do not post about your activity on social media. Adjusters look.
How Louisiana Wage Benefits Work
While you are temporarily unable to work, Louisiana pays temporary total disability benefits at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum that is set by the date of your accident and adjusted annually. If you can return to work but earn less, supplemental earnings benefits pay two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you made before. These benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total.
Permanent injuries bring additional benefits, and settlements often turn on how a lawyer proves the extent of the disability. That is where the work happens: gathering treating physician opinions, documenting job restrictions, challenging a vocational counselor who says jobs exist that you cannot actually do, and pushing back on surveillance used to paint a hurt worker as healthy.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is at Fault
Workers’ compensation generally protects your employer from being sued, but it does not protect everyone. A negligent driver who hits your work truck, a subcontractor whose unsafe equipment injures you, or a property owner who ignored a known hazard can face a separate injury claim. Louisiana’s two-year period for most injury lawsuits applies to injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and fault rules changed for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, with a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault barred from recovery. Because the comp carrier may be owed reimbursement from a third-party recovery, the two claims must be handled together. Our personal injury lawyers coordinate both so one does not undercut the other.
Westwego Workers’ Compensation FAQ
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Westwego?
Not every claim needs one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time, a lawyer makes a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys working for it. You should have someone working for you.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the injury. Do it right away and in writing if you can. A late report gives the insurer an easy reason to fight the claim.
What is the deadline to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of injury. If the insurer has paid compensation, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions are fact-specific, speak with an attorney early.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Louisiana gives injured workers a right to choose a treating physician in a specialty, within the rules of the system, but the details matter and the insurer may try to steer you. Ask us before treating with a doctor the adjuster recommends so you do not give up options.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were fired, demoted, or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury is from a pre-existing condition?
A prior condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated it, you may still be owed benefits. Answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
What if my medical treatment request was denied?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation. Missing that window can seriously damage your ability to get the treatment approved, so bring the denial letter to us immediately.
I live in Westwego but was hurt on a job in another parish. Where is my case heard?
You choose among the parish where you were injured, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish where your employer’s principal place of business is located. We evaluate which choice serves your claim best.
Will my health insurance pay while my comp claim is pending?
Health insurers often resist paying for injuries that should be covered by workers’ compensation, and may seek reimbursement later. Do not assume either way. Tell your providers it is a work injury and let us help sort out who pays what.
Can I settle my claim and still get future medical care?
It depends on how the settlement is structured. Some settlements close out future medical, which can leave you paying for surgery or injections later. We review that before you sign anything, because a bad release cannot easily be undone.
What if I was hurt in a crash while driving for work?
You may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the other driver. The two interact, so coordinating them is important to protect your total recovery.
Serving Westwego and Jefferson Parish Workers Across Louisiana and Mississippi
Our work for Westwego workers extends across Jefferson Parish and the Westbank, including Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, Avondale, Bridge City, Waggaman, Estelle, and Terrytown, along with Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, and River Ridge on the east side of the parish. We represent clients from neighboring St. Charles Parish and the River Parishes, as well as workers throughout New Orleans and South Louisiana.
Beyond the New Orleans area, we serve injured workers in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and in north Louisiana. Our reach also covers Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, including north Mississippi. Whether the injury happened at a Westbank terminal, an offshore support yard, or a job site far from home, we handle claims for construction workers, truck drivers, ironworkers, oil field workers, nurses, firefighters, and general laborers.
Talk to a Westwego Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, the clock is already running on notice and filing deadlines. A Westwego workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain what benefits you are owed, and take on the insurance company so you can focus on getting well. Call us any time, day or night. Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers. That is all we do.
