Lockport Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A workers’ compensation claim succeeds when three things line up: your medical treatment gets authorized, your wage benefits arrive on time, and a denial or cutoff gets reversed before it costs you your home. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles exactly that work for injured employees in Lockport, across Lafourche Parish, and throughout South Louisiana and Mississippi. If you need a Lockport workers’ compensation lawyer, our firm brings a practice built around injured workers and not much else.
Lockport sits on Bayou Lafourche, and the work around it is physical: marine and shipyard fabrication, oilfield support and supply, pipeline and industrial maintenance, sugarcane and agricultural work, and the trucking that moves it all. Those jobs produce the injuries that insurers like to argue about: a herniated disc after years of heavy lifting, a shoulder torn pulling pipe, a knee that gave out on uneven deck plating. The insurer’s first move is often to say the injury came from age, an old sports incident, or something outside work. Our job is to answer that with medical records, witness accounts, and a clear work history.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Lockport Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm representing injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lockport and the surrounding Lafourche Parish communities. Most lawyers who accept comp cases are personal injury attorneys who take one when it happens to arrive. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements, and the work is done on a no recovery, no fee basis with free consultations. We advance the costs of the case, answer the phones 24 hours a day, and speak Spanish (hablamos español) from the first call through the end of the case.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries Lockport workers suffer. We 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 injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities. Other results include $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes and $135,000 for a diesel mechanic with a SLAP tear.
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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients consistently describe the same things in their reviews: an attorney who listened, who fought the insurance company at every step, and who stayed reachable.
Injuries and Claims We See From Lafourche Parish Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most contested comp injuries. Insurers point to degenerative disc disease; we show how repetitive heavy work or a single incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among pipe handlers, fabricators, and deckhands. Employers often label them old sports injuries, which a clear medical timeline can rebut.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Oil rigs, plants, and industrial job sites produce severe burns and life-altering trauma. These claims typically involve long treatment, specialist care, and permanent disability questions.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones from falls, dropped loads, and equipment accidents can require surgical repair and extended time off work.
- Denied and Cut-Off Claims: Benefits stopped without warning, treatment refused, or an accident disputed outright. These cases move through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration and, when necessary, the appellate courts.
- Vehicle Crashes on the Job: Delivery drivers, truckers, and field workers hit by negligent drivers may have both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault party.
- Death Benefits and Wrongful Death: When a workplace accident takes a life, surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits and, if a third party was responsible, a wrongful death claim.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Lockport
Report the injury to your employer right away, and in writing if you can. Louisiana law requires notice within 30 days of the injury, and a compensation proceeding can be defeated without it. Do not wait to see whether the pain improves. Then get medical care and tell every provider that the injury happened at work, so the records connect your condition to your job from the first visit.
The formal claim deadline is separate from the notice deadline. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of the accident, and that period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if the insurer has been paying benefits. Do not assume that because checks are arriving, you are safe indefinitely. Talk to an attorney well before any of these dates approach.
Lafourche Parish cases are heard by workers’ compensation judges in the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which operates district offices around the state. You choose where the case is heard from among three options: the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish where your employer has its principal place of business. Appeals from Lafourche Parish go to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal.
Disputes over medical treatment have their own short fuse. If the insurer denies a treatment your doctor recommends, you have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. After that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. Missing these windows can end your ability to challenge the denial, which is why the first call to a lawyer should happen as soon as a denial letter arrives.
A few mistakes cause the most damage. Giving a recorded statement to the adjuster before you understand what it will be used for, returning to work before your doctor releases you, skipping appointments, posting about your activities online, and signing paperwork you have not had reviewed. Keep copies of every document, a log of missed work, and the names of coworkers who saw the accident or know your physical duties.
Wage Benefits and Supplemental Earnings in Louisiana
Louisiana pays indemnity benefits when you cannot work or cannot earn what you used to. Temporary total disability covers the period when you are fully off work while recovering, and permanent disability benefits apply when the injury leaves lasting limitations. Weekly compensation is a percentage of your average weekly wage, subject to a maximum that is set annually under state law and fixed by the date of your accident.
Many Lockport workers end up in supplemental earnings benefits, which apply when you can return to work but cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages. The benefit is 66 2/3 percent of the difference between your average pre-injury monthly wage and what you earn or are able to earn. These benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. Insurers frequently try to reduce supplemental earnings by claiming you could earn more than you do, so the vocational evidence behind your restrictions matters a great deal.
Questions Lockport Workers Ask About Comp Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Lockport?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
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 workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report and file my claim?
Report your injury to your employer within 30 days. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though the deadline can reach three years from the last payment when benefits have been paid. Because exceptions are narrow, do not wait.
What if the insurance company says my injury is from a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of our work.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Medical treatment is a frequent point of dispute, and the rules on choice of physician and on changing doctors have specific requirements. Raise this with an attorney before switching providers, because an unauthorized change can lead the insurer to refuse payment.
What if my treatment request is denied?
You must act quickly. The utilization review dispute process requires filing Form 1009 with the OWC within 15 calendar days of written notice of the denial. A lawyer can prepare the filing and gather the medical support the director will want to see.
How long can I receive wage benefits if I go back to work at lower pay?
Supplemental earnings benefits can last up to 520 weeks, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that limit. They end sooner if you return to full duty or reach your pre-injury earnings.
What if a third party, not my employer, caused my accident?
You may have a personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits, such as against a negligent driver who struck your work truck or a contractor with an unsafe site. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the general time limit for these claims is two years. Louisiana also now bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, so these cases need careful handling alongside the comp claim.
If my judge rules against me, can I appeal?
Yes. A final judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the court of appeal. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it must be filed within 60 days, running from the day after the judgment was signed or notice was mailed, whichever is later. A party can then ask the Louisiana Supreme Court for review within 30 days of notice of the appellate judgment.
Do you handle cases for Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Lockport and Lafourche Parish Injured Workers
Our work for Lockport clients extends along Bayou Lafourche and across Lafourche Parish, including Raceland, Thibodaux, Larose, Golden Meadow, Galliano, Cut Off, and Mathews. We also represent workers in neighboring Terrebonne Parish communities such as Houma and Gray, in Assumption Parish, and in St. Mary Parish, where marine, oilfield, and industrial employers draw workers from throughout the region.
Beyond the bayou parishes, the firm serves injured workers across South Louisiana and the rest of the state, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as north Louisiana. We also represent workers in Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi.
Talk With a Lockport Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, the insurance company already has a plan for your claim. Speaking with a Lockport workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe means you have someone building yours: the medical evidence, the wage records, and the deadlines tracked from day one. Our phones are answered around the clock, consultations are free, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and tell us what happened.
