Lafayette Work Injury Lawyer
Hurt at a job site, plant, or yard in the Acadiana region and wondering what happens to your paycheck and your medical care? Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Lafayette, throughout Lafayette Parish, and across South Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Lafayette work injury lawyer from our firm can take the insurer off your back while you recover.
Acadiana’s economy runs on work that hurts people: offshore and land-based oilfield service, pipe yards, refineries and processing plants, construction crews, trucking and delivery, hospitals, and warehouses. Injuries in those settings tend to be serious: torn shoulders from handling heavy pipe, burns, crushed feet, spinal injuries from falls and wrecks. They also tend to be disputed, because the carrier’s first move is often to call the problem old, degenerative, or unrelated to the job.
Louisiana’s system is built to pay medical bills and replace part of your wages without proving anyone was careless. The catch is that the system has its own deadlines, forms, and judges, and missing one can cost you far more than the insurer’s initial denial ever would.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Lafayette Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that handles injured-worker claims in Lafayette and communities across South Louisiana, as well as throughout Mississippi. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Hablamos español.
The people behind that work matter. Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, 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. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. The firm was also ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Results show how that experience plays out. 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. Closer to the kind of work Lafayette sees, we recovered $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns, $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes, and $135,000 for a diesel mechanic with a SLAP tear. Clients who have written about us describe an attorney who fought the insurance company at every step, listened carefully, and was easy to work with.
Common Work Injuries We Handle for Lafayette Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most frequent claims from lifting, pipe handling, driving, and repetitive labor. Carriers lean on degenerative disc disease to argue the job did nothing; the answer is medical evidence showing how the work caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among oilfield hands, mechanics, and drivers. Employers sometimes recast them as old sports injuries, and we build the record to counter that.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Rigs, plants, and industrial sites produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that can require long treatment and permanent restrictions.
- Fractures: Feet, ankles, hips, and other bones broken in falls or struck-by incidents often need specialist care and complex surgical repair.
- Trucking and Delivery Wrecks: A driver hurt in a crash on the job can have a comp claim and, if another driver was at fault, a separate injury claim against that driver.
- Firefighter and First Responder Conditions: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are claims we pursue for responders.
- Occupational Illness: Conditions that develop from the work environment, not a single accident, can qualify for benefits, though proving the connection takes careful medical support.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Lafayette
Report the injury to your supervisor right away, and in writing if you can. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within thirty days of the injury. Waiting for symptoms to “settle” is how people lose claims they would have won. Then get medical care and tell every provider the injury happened at work, so the records connect the condition to the job from day one.
Keep your own file: photographs, the names of coworkers who saw it happen, your work schedule, pay stubs, and every letter or text from the employer or insurer. Be careful with recorded statements to the adjuster. Adjusters ask questions designed to find a prior injury, a gap in treatment, or a moment of inconsistency, and a casual answer can be quoted back for years.
The formal clock is separate from the notice clock. A claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if the carrier has been paying benefits. Disputes over your claim are decided by workers’ compensation judges in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Lafayette has its own OWC district office, and the worker chooses the venue: the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business.
When the dispute is about medical treatment the insurer refuses to approve, a short fuse applies. 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. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it issued to file Form 1008. Those periods run from issuance, not from when you get around to reading the letter.
If a workers’ compensation judge rules against you after trial, the next stop is the appellate court. Lafayette Parish falls within the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days, and one that does not suspend it within sixty, running from the day after the judgment was signed or the day after notice of judgment was mailed, whichever is later. A further request for review by the Louisiana Supreme Court must be filed within 30 days of notice of the appellate judgment.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and Where Claims Get Stuck
Compensation in Louisiana has several moving parts. Medical treatment that is reasonable and necessary is covered. While you are temporarily unable to work, you receive wage replacement at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at a weekly maximum that the state sets each year based on the accident date. Permanent injuries bring additional benefits tied to the extent of disability.
Supplemental earnings benefits matter for workers who come back at lower pay. If you cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you made before the injury, you may receive two-thirds of the difference between your old wages and what you earn or are able to earn. Those benefits can continue until you return to full duty, earn your pre-injury wages, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of total disability benefits count toward that limit.
Claims tend to stall at predictable points: a carrier that stops paying without warning, a doctor chosen by the insurer who releases you early, a surgery recommendation that sits unapproved, or a job offer within restrictions you cannot realistically perform. Each of those is a fight we handle regularly, and each has its own procedural route, which is why the dates above matter so much.
Third-Party Claims and Retaliation Concerns
Workers’ compensation does not let you sue your employer for negligence, but it does not shield everyone else. If a negligent driver hit your work truck, or a contractor on a shared site created the hazard that dropped you, you may have an injury claim against that outside party alongside your comp benefits. Louisiana’s tort deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years from the day the injury was sustained, and recent changes mean a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault can be barred entirely for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. Coordinating the two claims matters because the comp insurer may have reimbursement rights, and a careless settlement in one can damage the other.
Louisiana also protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a claim. If you were disciplined or let go after reporting an injury, tell us at your consultation so we can look at the timing and the stated reasons.
Lafayette Work Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or stopped, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone doing the same for you.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance case costs, 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 soon must I report my injury in Louisiana?
Report it right away. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer gets notice within thirty days of the injury, and the same thirty-day rule applies in Mississippi.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of injury. If the insurer has paid compensation, the period can extend to three years from the last payment, but relying on that exception is risky without advice.
What if my injury was caused by a pre-existing condition?
A prior condition does not end your claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the problem, benefits may still be owed. Insurers raise this argument constantly, and strong medical evidence is how it gets answered.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Louisiana prohibits retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you were terminated or punished after reporting an injury, we can review the circumstances.
The insurer denied the surgery my doctor recommended. What now?
That is a medical treatment dispute with a tight deadline. You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, after which the medical director has 30 calendar days to rule. Missing the 15 days can leave you with far fewer options.
Can I choose where my case is heard?
Yes, within limits. The worker may elect the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Which choice helps most depends on where witnesses, doctors, and records are located.
I was hurt in a wreck driving for work. Can I get comp and sue the other driver?
Often yes. Comp covers your medical care and wage loss regardless of fault, and a separate claim against the at-fault driver can recover damages comp does not. The two must be handled together so one does not undercut the other, and your own share of fault can reduce or, at 51 percent or more for newer claims, bar the injury claim.
Will my own health insurance pay while the comp claim is fought?
Some workers use health insurance as a stopgap when the comp carrier refuses treatment, but that can create reimbursement problems later. Tell us before you rely on it, so we can push for the comp carrier to authorize care and keep your options clear.
What happens if I disagree with the workers’ compensation judge’s ruling?
You can appeal to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal for cases from Lafayette Parish, within thirty days if the appeal suspends the judgment or sixty if it does not. Appellate review is based on the record made at trial, so how the case is built at the hearing matters enormously.
Do you represent workers who speak 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.
Representing Injured Workers Across Lafayette and Acadiana
Our work for injured workers starts in Lafayette and reaches throughout Lafayette Parish, including Scott, Broussard, Carencro, Youngsville, and Duson, as well as the communities that surround them. We also represent workers from neighboring Acadiana parishes, in towns such as Abbeville, New Iberia, Crowley, Opelousas, Breaux Bridge, Eunice, and St. Martinville, many of whom commute into Lafayette for jobs in oilfield services, healthcare, construction, and trucking.
Beyond Acadiana, we handle claims in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, across South Louisiana, in Shreveport and north Louisiana, and throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Wherever the injury happened, the same approach applies: gather the medical proof, answer the insurer’s arguments, and press for the benefits the law provides.
Talk With a Lafayette Work Injury Attorney Today
The sooner a Lafayette work injury attorney reviews your situation, the more options you keep, because the notice and filing periods begin running the day you are hurt. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC any hour. The consultation is free, we advance the costs, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers, and that is the work we do.
