Houma Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
A fall from a scaffold, a crushed hand on a pile-driving crew, or a back that gave out after months of hauling material on a Terrebonne Parish job site can end your paycheck overnight while the medical bills keep coming. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, including construction workers hurt in Houma and the surrounding bayou communities.
If you are looking for a Houma construction worker injury lawyer, the first thing to know is that construction claims rarely look like office-job claims. The work is physical, the crews are layered with subcontractors, and the insurer’s playbook is predictable: the accident was not work-related, the injury was already there, or you can go back to work sooner than your doctor says. Houma’s mix of marine fabrication, industrial plant work, levee and drainage projects, and commercial building tied to the energy economy means a lot of injured workers here are employed by someone other than the company whose site they were standing on. That detail changes what claims you have.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Houma Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is built around one thing: injured workers. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients and serves injured workers in Houma, South Louisiana, and across Mississippi. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
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 Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team.
The results speak to the kinds of injuries construction crews suffer: $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listens, communicates, and stays with the insurance company through every step. One client wrote that her attorney “fought with the insurance company” the entire way.
Common Construction Injuries and Claim Types We Handle
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, bending, and vibration from heavy equipment lead to lumbar and cervical disc herniations. When an insurer blames degenerative disc disease, the answer is medical evidence showing how years of physical labor or a single incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among carpenters, pipefitters, and laborers. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and that argument has to be met with treating-physician records and work history.
- Falls and Fractures: Falls from ladders, scaffolds, and roofs produce broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, often needing specialists and surgical repair that stretch recovery over many months.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Plant turnarounds, welding, and energized-line work in the industrial and energy sector can cause severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for lifelong medical and wage benefits.
- Vehicle Collisions on the Job: Crews drive between sites, haul equipment, and run supply errands. A crash in a work truck can support both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Injuries Caused by Another Contractor: On multi-employer sites, an unsafe condition created by a different company can open a third-party claim in addition to your comp benefits.
- Repetitive Strain and Occupational Illness: Hearing loss, joint wear, and cumulative back damage develop over time rather than in one event, and the reporting clock and proof requirements work differently than for a sudden accident.
- Wrongful Death: When a construction accident takes a worker’s life, the family may be entitled to death benefits and may also have a separate wrongful death claim.
What to Do After a Construction Injury in Terrebonne Parish
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the injury happened at work and how. Then report it to your employer right away. Louisiana law requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury, and no compensation proceeding can go forward without it. Do not wait to see whether it “gets better.” Report it in writing if you can, name the date, place, and what you were doing, and keep a copy. If a supervisor tells you to use your health insurance instead, that is a red flag, not a shortcut.
A formal claim in Louisiana generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury. If comp payments have been made, that deadline may stretch to three years from the last payment, but do not count on an exception. Claims are filed with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which runs ten district courts around the state, including one in Houma. You choose the venue: the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish where your employer has its principal place of business. Where the claim is heard also determines which appeals court reviews it. Terrebonne Parish sits in the First Circuit.
If the insurer denies a treatment your doctor recommends, a short clock starts. A dispute over medical treatment goes through utilization review, and the request for review must be filed within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. The OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to take the next step. These windows run from issuance and receipt, not from when you get around to reading the letter, which is why denial notices should reach an attorney the day they arrive.
If a workers’ compensation judge rules against you, a final judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it within 60 days, with the delay running from the later of the signing of the judgment or the mailing of notice. Beyond the First Circuit, a party can ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review by applying for a writ within 30 days of notice of the judgment.
A few practical mistakes cost people dearly. Giving a recorded statement to the adjuster before you have spoken to anyone on your side is one. Returning to full duty before your doctor releases you is another, because it hands the insurer proof that you are fine. Posting about weekend activity online is a third. Keep your own file: the incident report, photos of the scene, names of coworkers who saw what happened, every medical record, and a log of missed shifts.
Benefits Available When You Cannot Work on a Construction Site
Louisiana workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, including surgery, therapy, and prescriptions. While you cannot work, wage replacement is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory maximum that is set by the date of your accident and does not change afterward. The maximum is adjusted periodically, so the figure that applies to you depends on when you were hurt.
Construction injuries often leave a worker able to do something but not their old job. That is where supplemental earnings benefits come in. If you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages, SEB pays two-thirds of the difference between what you used to earn and what you earn or are able to earn. These benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. Insurers frequently try to cut SEB by pointing to jobs a worker supposedly could do, so the medical restrictions and vocational evidence matter.
Permanent disability, catastrophic injury, and death carry additional benefits. A worker who loses the use of a limb, an eye, or hearing, or who is left permanently unable to do labor, is in a different benefit category than someone expected to recover in a few months, and settlement value tracks that difference.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is Responsible
Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your own employer, but it does not shield everyone else. If a negligent driver, an equipment manufacturer, or a different contractor on the site caused your injury, you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp case. Those claims can recover pain and suffering and full lost earning capacity, things comp does not pay. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana’s general deadline for injury lawsuits is two years from the day the injury is sustained. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower fault percentages reduce the award proportionally, so how fault is documented from day one matters. The comp carrier may also have a right of reimbursement from a third-party recovery, which is why the two claims need to be coordinated rather than run separately.
Houma Construction Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a construction injury claim in Houma?
Not every claim needs one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be 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 collected 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 my injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the injury at the latest, and do it as soon as you can. In Louisiana, 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 were paid.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Louisiana and Mississippi both protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, mention it in your consultation so the circumstances can be reviewed.
What if the insurer says my injury was already there?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Construction workers often have prior wear on their backs and joints, and answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of the work.
I was hurt on a job site but work for a subcontractor. Who pays my benefits?
Your own employer’s comp carrier is generally responsible, but the general contractor or site owner can also be involved depending on the contract structure. Sorting out who the statutory employer is, and whether a separate negligent party exists, should be done early because it affects both coverage and any outside claim.
Where will my case be heard?
Workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana go before a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, not a jury. You pick among the parish of injury, your parish of residence at the time, or the employer’s principal parish, and Houma has its own district court for these claims.
What if my doctor recommends surgery and the insurer refuses?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file for review with the OWC. The medical director then has 30 calendar days to rule. Missing the 15-day window can seriously weaken your position, so get the denial letter to counsel immediately.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Health plans often refuse work-related injuries, and using one can complicate the comp claim and trigger reimbursement demands. If the comp carrier is disputing treatment, tell your attorney before you route bills elsewhere so the issue can be handled without damaging your claim.
Can I still get benefits if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so carelessness on your part does not by itself bar benefits. Fault matters more in a separate third-party injury claim, where Louisiana’s 51 percent bar applies to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
What if I am a Mississippi resident hurt on a job in Louisiana, or the reverse?
The state whose law applies depends on where you were hired, where you were hurt, and where the employer is based. Mississippi requires injury notice within 30 days and a claim filed within two years; Louisiana’s filing deadline is generally one year. Because the deadlines differ, it is worth speaking with an attorney quickly rather than guessing which state’s clock is running.
Serving Houma Construction Workers and Communities Across South Louisiana
Our work for injured construction workers starts in Houma and Terrebonne Parish and reaches the communities around it, including Gray, Bourg, Chauvin, Montegut, Dulac, Schriever, Gibson, and Bayou Cane. Crews working in the neighboring parishes also turn to us, including Thibodaux and Raceland in Lafourche Parish, and workers hurt on jobs in Morgan City and Amelia in St. Mary Parish. From there the firm serves injured workers throughout South Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as New Orleans, Shreveport, and north Louisiana. We also represent workers across Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether the injury happened at a marine fabrication yard, a refinery expansion, a bridge job, or a residential build, the same questions apply: what the law entitles you to, and what it takes to get it paid.
Talk to a Houma Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a construction site, the insurer already has its version of events, and the deadlines are already running. A Houma construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, tell you which benefits and claims apply, and deal with the employer and insurer so you can focus on recovery. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and tell us what happened.
