Assumption Parish Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Assumption Parish and across South Louisiana, handling denied, delayed, and cut-off claims for people hurt on the job, along with the personal injury cases that sometimes grow out of a work accident. If you work in Napoleonville, Labadieville, Pierre Part, Belle Rose, Paincourtville, or Bayou L’Ourse, we can help you get the medical care and wage benefits Louisiana law provides. A Assumption Parish workers’ compensation lawyer who does nothing else has a real advantage, because the insurance company already knows its playbook and so do we.
Assumption Parish sits in the First Circuit for appeals, and its workers are employed in the kind of jobs where injuries are rarely minor: sugarcane and agricultural operations, industrial and chemical plant work along the river corridor, marine and bayou-based labor, pipe and construction crews, and trucking. These are physical jobs, and the claims that come out of them tend to involve backs, shoulders, knees, burns, and fractures. Most of those cases turn on how well the medical evidence answers the insurer’s first excuse.
Louisiana’s claim system moves on short clocks. Reporting your injury, filing a formal claim, disputing a treatment denial, and appealing a judgment each have their own deadline, and missing one can end a case that should have been won. The sections below walk through what matters most for someone hurt at work in Assumption Parish.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Assumption Parish Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Assumption Parish and the surrounding South Louisiana communities. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español) with clients from the first call to the end of the case.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe 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 team working these claims.
Results matter more than adjectives. We secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. We recovered $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 his lower extremities. Clients consistently describe the team as easy to work with, professional, and willing to listen, and several name Brad Baskin as the attorney who stood up to the insurance company for them.
Injuries and Claims We Handle for Assumption Parish Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, climbing, and repetitive heavy work at plants, on farms, and on job sites often produce lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, and we answer with medical evidence showing how the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among workers who pull pipe, handle heavy equipment, or spend shifts on their feet. When an employer calls the injury an old sports problem, the medical timeline is what settles it.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones from falls, struck-by accidents, and equipment incidents can require specialists and complex surgical repair, along with a long recovery that affects your ability to return to the same job.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and oil field work carry fire, chemical, and explosion risks. These injuries often lead to permanent disability benefits and, in the worst cases, death benefits for surviving family.
- Truck Driver and Delivery Driver Injuries: Drivers hurt in a wreck on the job may have both a comp claim and a claim against the at-fault driver. We make sure the two work together.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Conditions that develop over time from the work itself, including hearing loss and cumulative back or joint damage, can be compensable even without a single dramatic accident.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and job-related cancer are claims we handle for those who protect the community.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Assumption Parish
Start by getting medical care, then report the injury to your employer, in writing if you can. Louisiana law requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury, and a compensation proceeding generally cannot be maintained without it. Do not wait to see whether the pain goes away. A gap between the accident and the first report is the first thing an adjuster points to when arguing the injury did not happen at work.
The formal claim has its own clock. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were actually paid. Because exceptions depend on the facts, do not assume you have the longer period. Call us early so we can work out your real deadline.
Keep your own records. Write down what happened, who saw it, which body parts hurt, and every doctor visit. Save pay stubs, work schedules, and any messages with supervisors about the injury. If you are given a form to sign or asked to give a recorded statement to the insurer, you are allowed to talk to a lawyer first. Adjusters are collecting information to limit the claim, and a casual comment about an old injury can follow your case for years.
Louisiana claims are heard by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, not in a regular civil court. You choose among a few venues: the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. For many Assumption Parish workers, that choice affects which district office handles the case, and it is worth making deliberately rather than by default.
If the insurer refuses a treatment your doctor recommends, a different deadline takes over. You have 15 calendar days after receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to rule. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. Those periods run from issuance, not from the day you finally read the letter. People lose surgeries and injections to these clocks every year.
If a workers’ compensation judge issues an unfavorable final judgment, it can be appealed. A decision from an Assumption Parish case goes to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, since Assumption is one of the First Circuit parishes. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it within 60 days, counted from the later of the day after the judgment was signed or the day after notice was mailed. Beyond the First Circuit, a party can ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review by applying for a writ within 30 days of notice of the judgment.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and Returning to Work
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of your lost wages while you recover. Temporary total disability benefits apply while you cannot work at all. If you return to work but earn less because of the injury, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. Those benefits equal two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, and they apply when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your old pay. They can last until you return to full duty, earn your pre-injury wages, or hit the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520.
The weekly benefit is capped by a statewide maximum that is adjusted annually and fixed by the date of your accident, so it does not change later. That cap is one reason wage benefits alone often fall short of what a family loses, and why medical care and a fair settlement matter so much. Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits, along with catastrophic injury and death benefits, are available when the injury does not fully heal.
Return-to-work pressure is where many claims go wrong. Insurers sometimes push a worker back before the treating doctor has cleared them, or point to a light-duty job that does not truly fit your restrictions. Take your restrictions seriously, tell your doctor honestly what your job demands, and talk to us before accepting or refusing a modified position. Louisiana also protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Caused the Injury
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer, but it does not protect everyone else. If a negligent driver hit your work truck, a contractor’s unsafe site caused your fall, or defective equipment failed, you may also have a personal injury claim against that third party. That claim can recover damages comp does not pay, such as pain and suffering. Louisiana’s prescriptive period for most injury lawsuits is two years from the day the injury occurred for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. Louisiana also applies a fault rule under which a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, so how fault is argued matters. Our personal injury lawyers coordinate the two claims so a settlement in one does not damage the other.
Assumption Parish Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim needs one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys looking after its interests, and you should have someone doing the same for yours.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
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 soon do I have to report my injury in Louisiana?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the injury. Report it as soon as you can, in writing, and keep a copy.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of the accident. If the insurer has paid compensation benefits, the deadline can extend to three years from the last payment. Because the exceptions are fact-specific, speak with a lawyer rather than counting on the longer period.
What if the insurer denies the medical treatment my doctor ordered?
You have 15 calendar days from receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC. The medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you want to challenge that decision, Form 1008 is due within 45 days of the date it was issued.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
No. Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go 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 pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence tying the work to the change is the core of these cases.
Where will my case be heard if I live in Assumption Parish?
Louisiana workers’ compensation claims go before a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. You elect the venue from the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of your employer’s principal place of business. Appeals from Assumption Parish go to the First Circuit Court of Appeal.
Can I still get benefits if I was partly at fault for my own accident?
In general, workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, so carelessness on your part does not usually bar benefits. Fault matters more in a separate third-party injury claim, where Louisiana’s 51 percent rule can affect recovery for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
What happens if I am hurt on the job and also hit by another driver?
You may have both a comp claim and a personal injury claim. The comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, so the order and handling of the two cases matters. We coordinate them so one does not undercut the other.
Can I work with a lawyer if I speak mainly Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
If my claim is still pending, who pays my medical bills?
If the claim is accepted, the comp insurer pays authorized treatment. If it is disputed, bills can pile up while the question is resolved, which is one reason to act quickly on a denial. Tell your providers you are pursuing a workers’ compensation claim and talk to us before ignoring collection notices.
Serving Injured Workers From Napoleonville to the Bayou Communities
Our work for Assumption Parish begins with the parish seat of Napoleonville and extends through Labadieville, Belle Rose, Paincourtville, Pierre Part, Bayou L’Ourse, Supreme, Plattenville, and Modeste. We represent workers who commute out of the parish to plants and job sites in neighboring areas, and workers who stay close to home in agriculture, marine, and construction trades.
Beyond Assumption Parish, we serve injured workers in nearby communities such as Thibodaux, Houma, Donaldsonville, Gonzales, and Baton Rouge, and across South Louisiana in Lafayette, Lake Charles, and New Orleans. We also represent clients in Shreveport and north Louisiana, and across Mississippi from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. Wherever the injury happened, the same team handles the claim.
Talk to an Assumption Parish Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, the clock is already running on your notice and filing deadlines, and the insurer is already building its version of events. Speaking with an Assumption Parish workers’ compensation attorney early lets us gather the medical proof, protect your benefits, and deal with the employer and insurer on your behalf. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC today. We help injured workers, and that is all we do.
