Lake Charles Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
A construction worker hurt in Calcasieu Parish is not filing a claim in a courtroom the way a car crash victim would. The case goes to a workers’ compensation judge at the district office of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration in Lake Charles, and everything from medical approvals to wage benefits is decided in that system. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for injured workers across South Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Lake Charles construction worker injury lawyer from our team can take over the insurer, the paperwork, and the hearings while you recover.
Lake Charles is an unusual market for construction injuries. Industrial plant expansions, refinery and LNG-related turnarounds, bridge and road work, and storm rebuilding keep scaffolds, cranes, and heavy equipment busy around the parish. That means falls from height, struck-by incidents, crushed hands and feet, back and shoulder injuries from heavy lifting, and burns around industrial work. Many of those workers are on jobsites where a general contractor, a subcontractor, and a staffing company all touch the same payroll, which makes the question of who owes benefits less obvious than it sounds.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, and the rest of South Louisiana. 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, which matters on jobsites where crews work in more than one language.
Results tell you more than slogans. We secured $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck. For a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns, the settlement was $221,000. Those cases share a pattern with construction claims: serious spine, shoulder, or burn injuries, and an insurer looking for a reason to pay less.
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, 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 team, and clients consistently describe a firm that listens, stays professional, and fights the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We See From Lake Charles Jobsites
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are common among laborers, ironworkers, and equipment operators. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical record has to show how repetitive heavy work or one lifting incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Falls from scaffolds, ladders, and structural steel: Falls at industrial and commercial sites often produce fractures of the ankles, feet, hips, and wrists that need specialist surgery and long rehabilitation.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from pulling, lifting, climbing, and awkward footing. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and the answer is a clear medical link to the job.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Plant and industrial sites carry electrical, flash fire, and hot-work risks. Severe burns and crush injuries can mean permanent disability benefits and long-term care questions.
- Struck-by and caught-between incidents: Moving equipment, falling materials, and trench or excavation work cause traumatic injuries that often involve more than one company on site.
- Vehicle crashes during the workday: Foremen, project managers, and drivers hauling materials can be hurt on the road. A negligent outside driver can create a personal injury claim alongside the comp claim.
- Disputes with staffing companies and subcontractors: When several employers share a site, the fight over who is responsible for coverage can delay treatment and checks.
What to Do After a Construction Injury in Calcasieu Parish
Get medical care first, then report the injury to your employer. Louisiana requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and a missed notice can sink a claim that would otherwise be strong, so tell a supervisor right away and, if you can, put it in writing. A formal claim generally has to be filed within one year of the date of injury, with a possible extension to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were being paid. Because those deadlines can interact, do not wait to see whether the pain fades.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the task, the equipment, who saw it, and which companies were on site. Photograph the area and any defective equipment if you can do so safely. Keep copies of every medical record, work restriction note, and piece of insurer correspondence. When describing the injury to doctors and adjusters, be accurate and complete about every body part that hurts, because gaps in early records are later used to argue that something happened elsewhere.
If the insurer denies a recommended treatment, there is a fast and strict process. A dispute over medical treatment goes to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration on Form 1009, which must be filed within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. The medical director then has 30 calendar days to issue a decision. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. These windows run from specific events, and missing one can cost you the treatment, so bring denial letters to a lawyer immediately.
Claims in Louisiana are heard by workers’ compensation judges, and the Lake Charles district office handles matters for this region. You choose among the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when you were hurt, or the parish where the employer’s principal place of business sits. A judge’s final decision can be appealed to the Louisiana courts of appeal within 30 days when seeking a suspensive appeal, and within 60 days for a devolutive appeal. Calcasieu Parish falls within the Third Circuit.
How Wage Benefits and Settlements Work for Construction Workers
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement. While you cannot work at all, temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages, set at a percentage of your average weekly wage and capped by a maximum that is set each year and fixed by the date of your accident. If you return to lighter duty at lower pay, supplemental earnings benefits can make up part of the difference. Those benefits are calculated at two-thirds of the gap between your pre-injury earnings and what you earn or are able to earn, and they apply when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your old wages. They can continue until you are released to full duty, you are back to pre-injury earnings, or you hit the 520-week limit, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total.
Construction pay is where insurers cut corners. Overtime, per diem, and multiple-employer earnings can all affect your average weekly wage, and a low calculation shortchanges every check. We review wage records carefully, challenge return-to-work offers that do not fit your restrictions, and push back when an adjuster wants to move you to “light duty” you cannot actually do. When a settlement makes sense, we negotiate it with future medical care in view, rather than letting the insurer close the file cheaply.
Many construction injuries also involve someone other than your employer, such as an equipment manufacturer, a negligent driver, or a different contractor on the site. A third-party claim can recover damages that comp does not pay, and we coordinate it with the comp case so one does not undercut the other. The tort deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years from the day the injury occurred, and Louisiana now bars recovery for a person found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, so these claims need early attention.
Questions Lake Charles Construction Workers Ask
Do I need a lawyer for a construction injury claim in Louisiana?
Not every claim needs one, but if benefits are denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long stretch, a lawyer makes a real difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its side.
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 long do I have to report my injury?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the accident. Louisiana will not maintain a compensation proceeding without timely notice, so a late report puts the claim at risk.
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 deadline may extend to three years from the last payment, but do not rely on that without talking to a lawyer.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my back problem is pre-existing?
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 strong medical evidence is what answers that argument.
The insurer denied my surgery. What now?
You have 15 calendar days from receiving written notice to file a Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. The medical director then has 30 days to rule. Bring us the denial immediately so the deadline is not missed.
I was injured on a site with several contractors. Who pays?
Usually your direct employer or its insurer owes compensation, but a general contractor or staffing company may share responsibility. We sort out who is on the hook, and whether an outside party can also be sued separately.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Workers’ compensation is supposed to cover work-related treatment, and health insurers often resist paying for injuries that belong in comp. If treatment is stalled, tell us, because we can press the comp carrier to authorize it.
Can I still get benefits if I am a subcontractor or day laborer?
Misclassification is a common issue on jobsites. Whether you were truly an employee depends on how the work was controlled, not just what paperwork you signed, and we examine that closely.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Fault generally does not defeat a workers’ compensation claim. In a separate third-party injury suit, however, Louisiana’s fault rules matter, including the 51 percent bar for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Construction Workers From Lake Charles Across Calcasieu Parish and Beyond
We represent injured workers in Lake Charles and across Calcasieu Parish, including Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, Vinton, DeQuincy, Iowa, and the communities around them. We also help workers hurt at jobsites in neighboring parishes such as Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Beauregard, and Allen, and across Southwest Louisiana toward Lafayette. Our reach covers South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport, and we represent workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. If your injury happened on a plant expansion, a bridge job, or a commercial build, we can help you wherever you were hurt in either state.
Talk With a Lake Charles Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a construction site, you do not have to argue with the insurance company yourself. A Lake Charles construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain your deadlines, and take over the fight for your medical care and wage benefits. Call us any time, day or night; consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
