Houma Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
The Louisiana comp system does not treat your hometown courthouse as the place your claim lives; it treats the claim as an administrative matter with its own judges, its own forms, and deadlines that start running before most injured workers have even seen a specialist. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation claims for injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and for anyone looking for a Houma workers’ compensation lawyer, the firm represents injured workers throughout Terrebonne Parish and the surrounding bayou communities of South Louisiana.
Houma sits at the center of an economy built on physically punishing, high-risk work: offshore support and marine vessels, shipyards and fabrication shops, oilfield service companies, pipeline and plant work, commercial fishing and seafood processing, and the trucking that moves it all. Those are the jobs where a shoulder gets torn pulling pipe, a back gives out lifting under load, or a burn happens at a facility where safety equipment failed. They are also the kinds of claims insurance carriers like to dispute, blaming an old sports injury, a degenerative spine, or an accident they say never happened at work.
A claim that starts in Houma is not decided in a faraway civil courtroom before a jury. It goes before a workers’ compensation judge in the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the state has a district court within that system sitting in Houma itself. Knowing how that forum works, and what the carrier is likely to argue in it, shapes everything from the first report of injury to the final settlement.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Houma Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, including Houma and the rest of South Louisiana. Most attorneys who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one happens to come through the door. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for its clients.
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 in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, and the team also includes Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher.
The results reflect the kind of injuries Houma workers actually suffer. The firm secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. It recovered $385,000 for a project manager injured when he was struck in his work vehicle, $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, and $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes. Clients describe attorneys who listen, stay involved, and fight the insurance company at every step. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you pay nothing unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients are served in their own language.
Injuries and Claims Common Among Houma Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most frequent claims from workers who lift, haul, and climb on vessels, rigs, and fabrication floors. When the carrier points to degenerative disc disease, the answer is medical evidence showing that the job caused or accelerated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from repetitive pulling, pipe handling, and awkward footing on decks and platforms. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and the claim turns on proving the work-related event or aggravation.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Oilfield sites, plants, and industrial facilities produce severe burns and life-altering trauma. These claims often involve long recoveries, specialists, and questions about permanent disability benefits.
- Fractures and Crush Injuries: Feet, ankles, hips, and other bones broken in falls, equipment accidents, and dock or vessel work frequently require surgical repair and extended time away from the job.
- Truck and Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Delivery drivers, truckers, and crews traveling between sites are exposed on the highways around Houma. A wreck in a work vehicle can support both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Firefighter and First Responder Conditions: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job can qualify for benefits even when they develop over time rather than from a single incident.
- Denied, Delayed, and Terminated Benefits: Carriers stop paying checks, refuse authorized treatment, or push workers back before a doctor clears them. Each of these has its own dispute process in Louisiana.
What to Do After a Work Injury Near Houma
Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as it happens. Louisiana requires notice within thirty days of the accident or the compensation proceeding can be barred, and a vague verbal mention to a coworker is not the same as documented notice to a supervisor. Get medical attention immediately, tell the provider that the injury happened at work, and describe every symptom, because carriers comb early records for gaps and inconsistencies. Keep copies of everything: incident reports, work restrictions, pay stubs, and the names of anyone who saw what happened.
Separate from notice, a formal claim generally has to be filed within one year of the date of injury, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were actually paid. Waiting because the adjuster seems cooperative is one of the costliest mistakes injured workers make, since cooperation often ends once the payments become expensive.
Disputes over medical treatment have much shorter clocks. If the carrier denies a recommended treatment through utilization review, the aggrieved party has fifteen 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 thirty calendar days to rule. If you disagree with that decision, Form 1008 must be filed within forty-five days of the date the decision was issued. These are the deadlines that quietly end otherwise strong claims.
Louisiana lets the worker choose where the case is heard: the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when you were hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. For many Terrebonne Parish workers, that means the district workers’ compensation court in Houma, and a lawyer can help weigh which venue serves the claim best. Do not sign a settlement, a recorded statement, or a return-to-work release without having it reviewed, and do not assume that a light-duty offer you cannot physically perform is something you must accept.
How Louisiana Wage Benefits Work for Injured Workers
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces a portion of lost wages. Temporary total disability benefits cover the period when you cannot work at all. If you return to work at reduced pay or cannot earn at least ninety percent of your pre-injury wages, supplemental earnings benefits come into play, calculated at two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. Those benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages again, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that total.
Weekly compensation is capped, and the cap is set annually based on the statewide average weekly wage and fixed by the date of your accident. That means the rate you are entitled to depends on when you were hurt, not when the claim is resolved. Additional benefits exist for permanent disability, catastrophic injury, and death. Many oilfield and marine workers earn well above the maximum, so the cap, not the paycheck, often sets the real ceiling on weekly benefits, which makes protecting medical care and settlement value all the more important.
Appealing a Denial or an Unfavorable Ruling
When a workers’ compensation judge rules against you, the decision is final unless appealed. A final judgment can be appealed to the Louisiana court of appeal within thirty days of notice of judgment, and the delay runs from the day after the judgment was signed or the day after notice was mailed, whichever is later. Terrebonne Parish falls within the First Circuit Court of Appeal, and a party seeking further review can apply to the Louisiana Supreme Court for a writ within thirty days of notice of the First Circuit’s judgment. Because appeals are decided largely on the record built in the hearing below, the evidence assembled at the first level matters enormously.
Houma Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Houma?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers 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, the firm advances the costs of your case, and fees are paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Louisiana?
You should report it right away, and no later than thirty days after the accident. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the injury, with a possible extension to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid.
Where is my claim actually heard?
Before a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, not before a jury. Louisiana has ten district workers’ compensation courts, including one in Houma, and the worker elects among the parish of injury, the parish of residence, and the parish of the employer’s principal place of business.
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 central part of most contested back, shoulder, and knee claims.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, raise it in your consultation so your options can be reviewed.
The insurer denied my surgery. What can I do?
Treatment denials go through a defined process. You have fifteen calendar days from receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director then has thirty calendar days to decide. Missing that fifteen-day window can be fatal to the request, so act quickly.
I was hurt offshore or on a vessel. Is this still a Louisiana comp claim?
Not always. Some maritime and offshore workers fall under federal law rather than the state system, and the right path depends on your job duties, where you work, and who employs you. Because choosing the wrong framework can cost you a claim, this is worth reviewing with a lawyer early.
Can I also sue someone other than my employer?
Often yes. If a negligent driver hit your work truck or a contractor’s unsafe site caused your fall, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. The firm handles both and makes sure they work together instead of against each other. Louisiana’s period for most injury lawsuits is two years for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, while earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period.
Does fault matter if I was partly to blame for a third-party accident?
It does in the separate injury claim, not in comp, which generally does not turn on fault. For third-party claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found fifty-one percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lesser fault reduces the award proportionally. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault.
Will I be paid while my claim is pending?
If the carrier accepts the claim, wage benefits and medical care begin without waiting for a final resolution. If it disputes the claim, payments may be withheld until a judge rules, which is one reason early legal help matters for workers who cannot cover rent while out of work.
Does the firm speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Houma and the Terrebonne Parish Area
From Houma at the center of Terrebonne Parish, Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe represents injured workers in the surrounding communities of Gray, Bayou Cane, Schriever, Chauvin, Cocodrie, Montegut, Dulac, Bourg, Gibson, Mandalay, Presquille, and Pointe-aux-Chenes. The firm also serves workers from neighboring Lafourche Parish, including Thibodaux, Raceland, Lockport, Larose, and Golden Meadow, as well as Assumption, St. Mary, and St. Charles parishes, where shipyard, marine, and oilfield work puts people at risk every day.
Across South Louisiana, the firm’s reach extends to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and up to Shreveport and north Louisiana. The same attorneys also represent injured workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, which matters for crews whose work crosses the state line.
Talk With a Houma Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt on the job, the insurance company is already building its position, and the deadlines are already running. Speaking with a Houma workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe costs nothing, you pay no fee unless benefits are recovered, and the team’s phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call to talk through what happened, what the carrier is saying, and what comes next. We help injured workers. That’s all we do.
