Lafayette Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
A fall from scaffolding, a crushed hand on a pipe-laying crew, or a back that gave out after months of lifting rebar can end a paycheck overnight, and in Lafayette the insurer’s questions start almost immediately. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and as a Lafayette construction worker injury lawyer team it handles claims for people hurt on commercial builds, industrial sites, road projects, and residential jobs throughout Lafayette Parish and the surrounding Acadiana region.
Construction claims tend to be harder than ordinary workplace claims because the work site is crowded with employers. A general contractor, three subcontractors, a staffing agency, and an equipment owner may all have touched the project, and each one has an insurer with a reason to point elsewhere. Who actually employed you, who carries the coverage, and whether anyone besides your employer bears fault are the first questions that shape what you can recover.
Most construction injuries also follow a recognizable pattern: a sudden event such as a fall or a struck-by incident, or a gradual breakdown of the spine, shoulders, and knees from years of heavy labor. Each pattern draws a different line of attack from the carrier, and knowing which one you are dealing with early changes how the evidence should be built.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is built around injured workers. The firm serves clients throughout Lafayette Parish and Acadiana, across South Louisiana, and statewide in both Louisiana and Mississippi, with Spanish-speaking clients able to work with the team in their own language. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered.
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. Together the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements.
The results most relevant to construction work include $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured after being struck in his work vehicle, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Back, shoulder, and burn injuries are exactly what job sites produce, and those outcomes reflect the medical and vocational evidence it takes to value them properly. Clients describe a team that listens, communicates, and stays in the fight with the insurance company at every step.
Common Construction Injuries and the Claims They Generate
- Falls from height: Scaffolds, ladders, roofs, and elevated decking produce fractures of the ankles, hips, and spine. These often require specialist surgery and long recovery, and they frequently raise third-party questions about who built or inspected the structure.
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims. Carriers commonly blame degenerative disc disease, so the case turns on showing how repetitive heavy work or one specific incident caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from overhead work, pulling, kneeling, and twisting on uneven ground. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, which is a causation fight, not a coverage one.
- Struck-by and crush injuries: Falling materials, swinging loads, and heavy equipment cause fractures, amputations, and traumatic injuries. Vehicle incidents on road and site projects belong here too, and they often open a separate injury claim against a negligent driver.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and rigs around South Louisiana expose workers to fire, chemical, and electrical hazards. Severe burns can bring permanent disability benefits and long-term medical needs.
- Repetitive strain and occupational conditions: Hearing loss, joint deterioration, and chronic spinal wear develop over years of construction work. These claims depend on tying the condition to job duties through medical opinion and work history.
- Injuries involving subcontractors and staffing agencies: Workers hired through labor providers or small subcontractors often face disputes over who the employer is and whose policy responds. Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry coverage, even with a single employee.
What to Do After a Construction Site Injury in Lafayette
Get medical care first and tell every provider that the injury happened at work, so the records connect the condition to the job from the start. Then report the injury to your employer, preferably in writing. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within 30 days of the injury, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, that deadline may extend to three years from the last payment, but do not count on an exception. Waiting is the single most common way workers weaken otherwise valid claims.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the date, the location on the site, the task you were doing, the equipment involved, and the names of coworkers who saw it. Photograph the area and any defective equipment if you can do so safely, and keep copies of pay stubs, your work schedule, and any incident report you are asked to sign. Be careful with recorded statements to the adjuster. Carriers use them to lock in language about prior injuries and the cause of the accident, and a casual remark about an old back problem can become the centerpiece of a denial.
Construction claims in Lafayette Parish are heard in District 4 of the Office of Workers’ Compensation, in Lafayette, before a workers’ compensation judge. Under Louisiana law the worker elects the venue: the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where the worker lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. That choice matters on projects where the job site, the contractor’s headquarters, and your home are in different parishes.
Disputes over medical treatment have their own short clock. If the carrier denies a recommended surgery or other treatment through utilization review, the aggrieved party has 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. A party who disagrees with that decision has 45 days from its issuance to file Form 1008. Missing these windows can cost you treatment your surgeon has already recommended.
How Construction Claims Typically Unfold
Claims usually begin with an accepted-or-denied decision from the carrier, and for a construction worker the early weeks decide a great deal. If benefits are accepted, you should receive indemnity payments while you cannot work and payment for reasonable and necessary medical treatment. Louisiana wage benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum rate fixed by the date of your accident and never adjusted afterward. Because construction pay is often irregular, with overtime, per diem, and gaps between projects, the average weekly wage calculation is itself a point of dispute worth checking.
When you can work again but not at your old pay, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. They apply when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages, and they pay two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you earn or are able to earn now. They can continue until you are released to full duty, return to your pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. For a laborer or ironworker released with permanent lifting restrictions, this benefit often becomes the heart of the long-term claim, and the fight is usually over what work you are realistically able to do.
Insurers push in predictable directions on construction claims: that the accident did not happen at work, that a degenerative or old injury is the real cause, that you can return to work before your doctor clears you, or that payments should simply stop. The answer in each case is medical evidence, consistent witness accounts, and a documented work history. Many claims resolve through settlement after the medical picture is clear. If a judge’s final ruling goes against you, it can be appealed to the Louisiana courts of appeal. Lafayette Parish falls within the Third Circuit, and a notice of appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, while one that does not suspend it has 60.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is Responsible
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your own employer, but construction sites are full of other parties. A negligent driver who strikes your work truck, an equipment manufacturer whose machine failed, or an unrelated contractor whose unsafe work caused your fall may face a separate personal injury claim. Those claims can recover damages that compensation does not, but they come with their own rules and their own clock. In Louisiana, injuries on or after July 1, 2024 carry a two-year period to sue, while earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. 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.
Coordinating the two claims matters because the comp carrier typically has a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, and a careless settlement of one can damage the other. The firm handles both workers’ compensation and personal injury claims, including car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, so the claims are built to work together instead of against each other.
Frequently Asked Questions About Construction Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a construction injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer makes a real difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests, and construction claims add multiple employers and policies to the mix.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and you pay only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a construction injury in Louisiana?
Tell your employer right away and no later than 30 days after the injury. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with a possible extension to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits have been paid.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Louisiana and Mississippi both protect workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, raise it during your consultation so your options can be reviewed.
What if my employer says my injury is from an old condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of the work.
What if I was working for a subcontractor or through a staffing agency?
You can still have a claim. Determining the correct employer and which insurer is responsible is often the first task, and the general contractor, subcontractor, or agency may each carry coverage. Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry compensation insurance, even for one employee.
Can I sue the general contractor or equipment manufacturer too?
Possibly. If a party other than your employer caused your injury, you may have a separate personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits. Louisiana’s current two-year period applies to injuries on or after July 1, 2024, so the timing should be reviewed early.
What happens if I was partly at fault for my own fall?
Fault generally does not defeat a workers’ compensation claim. It matters in a third-party injury suit, where Louisiana bars recovery at 51 percent fault or more for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, and otherwise reduces the award by your percentage of fault.
What can I do if the insurer denies my surgery?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to rule. A further dispute is filed on Form 1008 within 45 days of that decision, so acting fast is critical.
Will I be paid while my claim is pending?
If the carrier accepts the claim, wage benefits and medical care should begin without waiting for a settlement. If it denies or stops payments, an attorney can pursue the claim before the workers’ compensation judge to get benefits reinstated.
If I return to lighter work at lower pay, am I still covered?
Yes, possibly. Supplemental earnings benefits exist for workers who come back at reduced earnings, and they can last up to 520 weeks, with temporary total disability weeks counted toward that limit.
Do you represent workers who do not speak English?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Construction Workers Across Lafayette Parish and Acadiana
The firm represents injured workers throughout Lafayette Parish, from the city of Lafayette itself through Scott, Broussard, Youngsville, Carencro, Duson, and Milton, and across the broader Acadiana region of South Louisiana. It also serves workers in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Shreveport, New Orleans, and communities throughout Louisiana, whether the job was a downtown commercial build, a plant turnaround, a road project, or a residential crew.
Across the Gulf, the same team represents workers in Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether you were hurt on a Lafayette job site or traveled for a project and were injured elsewhere in either state, the firm can review where your claim should be filed and which state’s rules apply.
Speak With a Lafayette Construction Injury Attorney
If you were hurt on a construction job, you do not have to manage the carrier, the deadlines, and your recovery at the same time. A Lafayette construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your accident, identify every party and policy that may be involved, and start pushing for the medical care and wage benefits the law provides. Call the firm any time, day or night, for a free consultation. There is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered for you.
