New Orleans Burn Injury Lawyer
A burn at work does not end when the flames or the steam are gone. It follows you through skin grafts, wound care, months of therapy, and a long stretch of wondering whether the paychecks will keep coming. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across New Orleans and the rest of South Louisiana and Mississippi, and a New Orleans burn injury lawyer from our team can take over the insurance company, the paperwork, and the fight over medical care while you concentrate on healing.
Burn claims are different from most work injury claims because the injury is rarely a single event on a single day. Treatment can run through acute care, surgery, grafting, scar management, and psychological recovery, and each stage generates a new round of approvals the insurer can question. The Gulf Coast economy produces more of these injuries than people expect: refineries and petrochemical plants along the river, oil and gas operations, welding and fabrication yards, port and shipping work, commercial kitchens in a city built on food, and utility and construction crews working around live electricity.
Whether the burn came from fire, scalding liquid, chemicals, an electrical arc, or a flash explosion, the legal questions that decide your claim are mostly the same: was it reported on time, is the insurer authorizing the right specialists, and will your wage benefits keep coming while you cannot return to your old job.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Work Burn Claim
Workers’ compensation is the center of this firm’s practice, not a sideline. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi. We represent clients in New Orleans and throughout South Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and across Mississippi from Jackson and the Gulf Coast to the Delta. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language, hablamos espanol.
On the burn front specifically, we secured a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker who suffered severe burns to his lower extremities. Our other results show how we handle the serious, long-treatment injuries that burn cases often turn into, including a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured when he was struck in his work vehicle.
Rob Lunsford, our 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and our clients consistently describe lawyers who listened, stayed responsive, and fought the insurance company at every step.
Where Work Burns Happen and How Claims Are Built Around Them
- Fire and Flash Fire Burns: Refineries, chemical plants, and oil and gas sites carry ignition risks from vapor releases, hot work, and equipment failure. These injuries often involve deep burns that need grafting and long recovery, which means a long stream of medical bills the carrier must keep authorizing.
- Scalds and Steam Injuries: Industrial boilers, pressurized lines, and the hot oil and water in restaurant and hotel kitchens cause severe scalds. Hospitality is a major employer in New Orleans, and kitchen workers are often hurt in settings where reporting the injury quickly is harder than it should be.
- Chemical Burns: Caustic cleaners, acids, and industrial solvents can burn skin and eyes. These claims turn on proof of what the worker was exposed to, so safety data sheets, incident reports, and coworker statements matter early.
- Electrical Burns and Arc Flash: Linemen, electricians, and construction crews working near energized equipment can suffer burns that look minor on the surface and cause damage underneath, including nerve and cardiac problems that surface later. The delayed symptoms are a common reason insurers question the connection to work.
- Welding and Hot Work Burns: Fabrication yards and shipyards along the river expose workers to sparks, molten metal, and radiant heat, and the injuries range from flash burns to deep tissue damage.
- Catastrophic Burns on Rigs and Industrial Sites: Explosions and major fires on oil rigs and in plants produce burns covering large portions of the body. These cases involve burn center treatment, repeated surgery, and often permanent disability and disfigurement.
- Burns Caused by a Third Party: When defective equipment or a negligent contractor on the same site caused the burn, a personal injury claim may exist alongside workers’ compensation, and the two claims have to be coordinated carefully.
What to Do in the First Days After a Workplace Burn
Get medical treatment first, and tell the treating providers the burn happened at work so the record is clear from the start. In the New Orleans area, burn-specific care generally means being referred to a burn center, so ask the emergency physician about a referral rather than waiting for the carrier to pick someone. Photograph the burns at every stage, and photograph the scene, equipment, and any protective gear involved if you can.
Then report the injury to your employer in writing. In Louisiana, notice to the employer is required within 30 days of the injury, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If the insurer has already paid benefits, that deadline can stretch to three years from the last payment, but do not count on an exception. Mississippi workers have the same 30-day reporting rule and generally two years to file a petition with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Reporting immediately is the single easiest way to avoid giving the insurer an argument.
Be careful with the recorded statement the adjuster will ask for. Adjusters are often friendly, and the questions can be framed to pin down a version of events that shortens your claim, such as suggesting you were careless or that a burn on one body part was something older. You are not required to give a recorded statement without understanding how it will be used, and talking to a lawyer first costs you nothing.
Know where disputes go. A Louisiana workers’ compensation claim is heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation, with a district court in New Orleans handling claims in this area. The worker generally chooses the venue from the parish where the injury happened, the parish where the worker lived, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. When the issue is that the insurer denied a specific treatment, such as a surgery, a graft, or a pain management referral, a short deadline applies: the dispute form must be filed with the OWC within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. Missing that 15-day window is one of the most common ways burn patients lose ground on needed care.
Finally, do not return to work before your doctors clear you because the employer or adjuster pressures you to. And if you were fired or punished after reporting a burn, tell us right away, because both Louisiana and Mississippi protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim.
Benefits That Matter Most in a Burn Case
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment, and for burns that can mean far more than the first hospital stay: wound care, reconstructive and plastic surgery, physical and occupational therapy, compression garments, pain management, and mental health treatment for trauma that follows a serious fire or explosion. Insurers resist the later items most, so we document the medical necessity with treating physicians’ records rather than waiting for the carrier to agree.
Wage benefits depend on where you are in recovery. While you cannot work at all, temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages. If you recover enough to return but cannot earn what you did before, whether because scarring limits motion, heat exposure is now dangerous for your skin, or you cannot wear protective equipment, supplemental earnings benefits can make up part of the difference. They are generally two-thirds of the gap between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, and they run until you return to full duty, earn your old wages again, or reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that limit. Weekly amounts are capped by a maximum that is set by the date of your accident, so the figure that applies to you is locked in at the time of injury.
Permanent consequences, including disfigurement, loss of function, and permanent disability, bring additional benefit categories, and these questions usually decide whether and when a settlement makes sense. Settling too early, before the extent of scarring, contracture, and permanent restrictions is known, is a mistake we work to prevent.
If your appeal reaches the point of challenging a judge’s ruling, a workers’ compensation judge’s final decision can be appealed. A decision that suspends the judgment must be appealed within 30 days, and one that does not has a 60-day period. Cases arising in New Orleans go to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes.
Burn Injury Questions We Hear From New Orleans Workers
Do I need a lawyer for a burn injury workers’ comp claim?
Not every claim requires one, but burn claims often become long and disputed. If your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your recovery will keep you from work for an extended period, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and 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 case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a burn to my employer?
In both Louisiana and Mississippi, you should report right away, and the outside limit is 30 days from the injury. Written notice is best because it leaves a record the insurer cannot dispute later.
How long do I have to file a claim?
In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though payment of benefits can extend that to three years from the last payment. In Mississippi, you generally have two years to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Because exceptions are narrow, it is best to speak with an attorney early.
Will workers’ comp pay for skin grafts and reconstructive surgery?
Louisiana law covers medical treatment that is reasonable and necessary because of the work injury, and that can include grafting, plastic and reconstructive procedures, and follow-up care. Insurers often push back on later-stage treatment, which is why the written denial deadline matters so much. If a specific treatment is denied, you have 15 calendar days to dispute it with the OWC.
What if my employer says the burn was my own fault?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so carelessness on your part usually does not defeat a claim. There are narrow exceptions, such as intoxication or intentional misconduct, but an insurer’s accusation is not the same as proof. We look at the evidence behind any such allegation.
Can I also sue someone other than my employer?
Possibly. If a negligent contractor, an equipment manufacturer, or a driver caused your burn, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. Louisiana now generally gives two years for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, but the timing and the fault rules differ from the comp deadlines, so both claims need to be tracked from day one. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a plaintiff found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lesser fault reduces the award proportionally.
Will my claim be affected if I have scarring that limits my movement but I can still do some work?
It can actually strengthen certain benefit claims. If scarring or contracture keeps you from earning what you did before, supplemental earnings benefits may apply for the difference. We build these claims with medical opinions and vocational evidence about what work you can realistically do.
Does workers’ comp cover psychological injuries from a serious fire or explosion?
Counseling and treatment for trauma that follows a serious burn event are commonly part of the care discussed in these claims. Whether a particular mental health condition is covered depends on the facts and the medical records, so raise symptoms with your doctor early and tell us about them.
What if I was burned on a vessel or offshore platform rather than at a land-based site?
Different legal systems can apply to maritime and offshore work, and the right claim depends on your job and where you were working. Tell us the details at the consultation so we can sort out which route protects you. Many of our oil and gas clients were hurt on land-based rigs, which fall under the state comp system.
Can my employer fire me after a burn injury?
Louisiana and Mississippi both protect workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us at your consultation so we can review your options.
Serving Burn Injury Clients Across Orleans Parish and South Louisiana
We represent burn injury clients from every part of New Orleans, including the French Quarter, the Central Business District, Mid-City, Uptown, the Garden District, Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, Lakeview, the Bywater, and the Treme. Workers who commute into the city from neighboring Jefferson Parish, including Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, and Gretna, and from St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, have the same rights and the same deadlines, and we handle their claims as well.
Our work extends across South Louisiana wherever the industrial and energy economy puts workers at risk, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and the plants and job sites in between. In Mississippi, we represent injured workers from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. Wherever you were burned, our team can review your case and explain your benefits.
Talk With a New Orleans Burn Injury Attorney Today
The insurer already has people working on how to limit what it pays you. If you were burned on the job, a New Orleans burn injury attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can start protecting your medical care and your wage benefits right away. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us to talk through what happened and what comes next.
