Terrebonne Parish Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Workers in Houma, Gibson, Montegut, and every bayou community in between often reach a point after an injury where the insurance adjuster’s story and their own start to diverge, and a choice has to be made about whether to keep handling the claim alone. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Terrebonne Parish workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can step in at any stage: before a claim is filed, after a denial, or when benefits stop without warning.
Terrebonne’s economy produces a particular kind of injury claim. Offshore support work, marine fabrication, shipyards, oilfield service companies, seafood processing, and the hospital and healthcare employers in the Houma area all put people into physically punishing jobs with heavy equipment, wet decks, and long hours. Back, shoulder, and knee injuries dominate, and insurers routinely answer them with the same three arguments: it did not happen at work, it was already there, or you are well enough to go back. Knowing how to answer each one with medical evidence and work history is what separates a paid claim from a denied one.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Terrebonne Parish Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Terrebonne Parish, from Houma and Schriever to Chauvin and Dulac, and across South Louisiana and Mississippi. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle a work injury when one happens to walk in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español) from the first call through the end of the case.
The team is led by founding partner Rob Lunsford, who 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 attorney team. That trial depth matters in comp work, because a denied claim that cannot be resolved by negotiation ends up in front of a workers’ compensation judge.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries Terrebonne workers suffer. 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. A project manager struck in his work vehicle recovered $385,000, and a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities recovered $221,000. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stands up to the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We Handle for Terrebonne Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are the backbone of comp litigation, especially for deckhands, welders, pipefitters, and warehouse workers who lift and twist all day. When the insurer points to degenerative disc disease, the answer is medical evidence showing how years of heavy work or a single incident caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among derrickhands, mechanics, and anyone pulling pipe or climbing vessels. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and the response is a clear medical timeline tying the tear to the job.
- Fractures: Feet, ankles, hips, and other bones broken in falls from scaffolding, decks, or equipment often need specialists and complex surgical repair, which means long medical treatment and extended time off work.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Rigs, plants, and industrial sites around the parish carry risks of fire, explosion, and crushing injuries that can leave permanent disability and require lifetime medical care.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Conditions that develop over months or years of exposure and strain are compensable when the work caused or worsened them, though they are often disputed because there is no single dramatic accident.
- Denied, Delayed, and Terminated Benefits: Claims where the insurer refuses treatment, stops paying wage benefits, or pushes a return to work before the doctor clears it.
- Third-Party Injury Claims: A negligent driver who hits a work truck or a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall can create a personal injury claim alongside comp benefits, and the two must be coordinated.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Houma or Elsewhere in Terrebonne
The first deadline is notice. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice of the injury within thirty days, so report it right away, in writing if possible, and keep a copy. Get medical attention and tell every provider the injury happened at work so the history is recorded correctly from the start. Write down who saw the incident, what equipment was involved, and what your supervisor said. Those details fade, and an insurer who later claims the accident never happened will lean on every gap.
The second deadline is the claim itself. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment when benefits have been paid. Do not assume that because the adjuster is paying medical bills, you are safe; the clock can still be running on wage benefits. Disputes are heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and you choose among the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Louisiana’s workers’ compensation system has a district court in Houma, which is convenient for Terrebonne workers.
When an insurer denies a treatment your doctor recommends, a separate and much shorter clock applies. A request for review of the denial must be filed on Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, a further filing on Form 1008 must be made within 45 days of the date the decision issued, counted from issuance rather than from the day it reaches you. Missing these windows can cost you a surgery. A final judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed, and Terrebonne cases go up to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days and one that does not within sixty, and a party can then ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review through a writ application within 30 days of notice of the First Circuit’s judgment.
The common mistakes are predictable. Workers give recorded statements to the adjuster without preparation, return to full duty because they feel pressure, skip follow-up appointments, or sign paperwork they do not understand. Call a Terrebonne Parish workers’ compensation attorney before you take any of those steps, not after.
How Louisiana Wage Benefits Work for Injured Workers
Louisiana pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment in full, plus wage replacement while you cannot work. Temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages while you are fully unable to work. If you return to work but cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you earned before the injury, you may qualify for supplemental earnings benefits, calculated at two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. Those benefits 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.
The weekly rate is capped, and the cap is set each year from the statewide average weekly wage. The cap that applies to your claim is fixed by the date of your accident and does not change later. Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits, catastrophic injury benefits, and death benefits are available in the more serious cases, and the structure of any settlement should account for future medical needs, not just back pay.
Common Questions From Terrebonne Parish Injured Workers
Do I need a workers’ compensation lawyer in Terrebonne Parish?
Not every claim requires one, but if 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 make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Report it to your employer immediately, and no later than thirty days after the injury. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding if the employer did not receive timely notice, so a late report can sink an otherwise valid claim.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally one year from the date of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions are fact-specific, speak with an attorney early.
Can my employer fire me for filing a 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.
What if the insurer says my injury is 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. Answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of our work.
The insurer denied my surgery. How fast do I have to act?
Very fast. A request for review of a treatment denial must be filed within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. Bring the denial letter to a lawyer the day it arrives.
Can I choose my own doctor in a Louisiana comp claim?
Louisiana generally allows an injured worker to choose a treating physician in a given specialty, but rules govern changes and second opinions, and insurers often contest them. Before switching providers or agreeing to an insurer-selected evaluation, ask a lawyer how it may affect your claim.
Can I receive a settlement and still get future medical care?
That depends on how the settlement is structured. Some resolutions close out future medical benefits and some keep them open. Because a settlement for a back or shoulder injury can leave you responsible for years of treatment, the terms deserve careful review before you sign.
I was hurt in a crash while driving for work. Is that only a comp claim?
Not necessarily. If another driver caused the crash, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. Louisiana’s fault rules for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2026 bar recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault, and the injury claim generally has a two-year filing period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. Coordinating the two claims protects both.
What if I work offshore or on a vessel?
Some maritime workers fall under different federal or maritime remedies rather than state comp. Which law applies turns on your job duties and where you work, so describe your work to us in detail at the consultation.
Do you speak Spanish?
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 Injured Workers Across Terrebonne Parish and South Louisiana
Our team represents injured workers throughout Terrebonne Parish, beginning in Houma and extending to Gray, Schriever, Bayou Cane, Gibson, Montegut, Chauvin, Dulac, Bourg, Presquille, and the communities along Bayou Terrebonne, Bayou Petit Caillou, and Bayou Grand Caillou. We also help workers in neighboring parishes and across South Louisiana, including Thibodaux and Lafourche Parish, the New Orleans area, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as injured workers in Shreveport and north Louisiana. Because the firm also practices in Mississippi, we assist workers who live in Louisiana and were hurt across the state line, and those who live on the Gulf Coast, in Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta.
Talk With a Terrebonne Parish Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job in Houma or anywhere in Terrebonne Parish, you do not have to deal with the insurance company by yourself. A Terrebonne Parish workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which deadlines apply, and take over the fight for your medical care and wage benefits. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today to talk through your claim.
