Houma Truck Driver Injury Lawyer
Truckers who live and work around Houma face an odd problem after a wreck or a strained back: three different legal tracks may open at once, and choices made in the first few weeks can shape all of them. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, and for people in Terrebonne Parish and the surrounding bayou communities, a Houma truck driver injury lawyer often needs to work the comp claim and the accident claim side by side.
Terrebonne Parish drivers haul for the oil and gas service industry, seafood and sugarcane operations, and the long-haul carriers that run Highway 90 and Interstate 10. Each of those jobs carries its own injury patterns, its own insurer playbook, and its own question of who is actually responsible when something goes wrong on the road or at the dock.
What Separates a Trucker’s Injury Claim From an Ordinary Work Injury
A driver hurt on the job is usually covered by workers’ compensation no matter who caused the crash. That is the trade the system makes: benefits come without proving fault, but they are capped by statute. If a negligent motorist rear-ends your rig on Highway 90, though, you may also have a separate injury claim against that driver, and in Louisiana that claim is not subject to the comp caps. Understanding which claim pays what, and how the two interact, is where a lawyer earns the fee.
Two other wrinkles come up constantly with drivers. First, employer classification: some carriers label drivers as independent contractors to dodge comp coverage, and whether that label holds up depends on how much control the company actually exercises over routes, schedules, and equipment. Second, injuries that build slowly, like a lumbar disc that gives out after years of vibration and loading, often draw a pre-existing condition defense. We build the medical and work history to show the job caused or accelerated the damage.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Houma Trucker’s Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, including Houma, the rest of Terrebonne Parish, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and South Louisiana generally. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who see them occasionally. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and it works on a no recovery, no fee basis with free consultations. The firm advances case costs, answers its phones around the clock, and offers Spanish-speaking service.
The results that matter most for drivers are the ones involving vehicles and backs. The firm secured $385,000 for a project manager who suffered back injuries when he was struck in his work vehicle, $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck on the job, and $150,000 for a truck driver with a meniscus tear. Larger back-injury results include $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns reflects the kind of industrial injuries common in this region’s energy economy.
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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, experience that matters when a third-party accident claim has to be pushed toward a courtroom. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients consistently describe the same things in their reviews: lawyers who listened, who stood up to the insurance company, and who stayed reachable through a hard stretch.
Injuries and Claim Types That Drivers Bring Us
- Highway Collisions in a Work Vehicle: Rear-end and sideswipe crashes on Highway 90, Highway 24, and the interstates feeding Houma often support both a comp claim and a claim against the at-fault driver or their insurer.
- Lumbar and Cervical Disc Injuries: Herniations from vibration, hard impacts, and repeated lifting are the most common serious injuries for drivers, and insurers routinely blame degenerative disc disease.
- Shoulder and Knee Tears: Rotator cuff, SLAP, and meniscus tears from loading, tarping, climbing in and out of cabs, and falls from trailers or dock edges, often met with an “old sports injury” argument.
- Fractures From Falls: Ankles, feet, hips, and wrists broken stepping down from equipment or slipping on wet lots at ports, yards, and dock facilities.
- Burns and Industrial Injuries: Drivers hauling to oil field and plant sites can be hurt by fires, chemical exposure, or equipment failure while on the job site.
- Independent Contractor Misclassification: Carriers that treat drivers as contractors to avoid comp coverage, leaving injured drivers without wage benefits or medical care until the classification is challenged.
- Third-Party Liability Claims: Negligent drivers, unsafe job sites, defective equipment, and negligent contractors can all create a claim separate from comp, including wrongful death claims when a driver is killed.
What to Do in the Days After a Trucker Is Hurt
Get medical care first, and tell the provider the injury happened at work so the records say so from day one. Report the injury to your employer promptly. Louisiana requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the injury, though the deadline can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were being paid. Missing the notice window is one of the cheapest ways for an insurer to avoid paying, so do not wait for symptoms to worsen before speaking up.
If there was a crash, document it before the scene clears: photographs of the vehicles and road, the other driver’s insurance information, the police report, and names of witnesses. Keep your dash camera footage and any electronic logging data, and do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Adjusters are collecting facts to reduce their exposure, not to help you.
Injury claims against a negligent third party now carry a two-year filing period in Louisiana for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and fault matters more than it used to. 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. That makes early evidence preservation critical.
Comp disputes in Terrebonne Parish are heard by workers’ compensation judges at the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which has a district court in Houma. The worker chooses the venue from the parish where the injury happened, the parish where they lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Federal court in Houma and New Orleans handles some injury cases across state lines or involving federal claims. If treatment is denied, you have just 15 calendar days from the written denial to file a utilization review dispute using Form 1009, and 45 days after the medical director’s decision to take the next step. Those windows are short and unforgiving.
How Insurers Fight Driver Claims, and How We Answer
The familiar defenses show up in driver cases with some local flavor. The insurer says the accident was not work-related, that the back was already degenerating, that you could have returned to light duty, or that you were an independent contractor all along. Each argument has an answer, and the answer is usually medical evidence, work history, and records the carrier itself created.
Louisiana’s wage benefits are tied to the severity and permanence of the injury. Temporary total disability replaces a share of wages while you cannot work at all. If you can work but earn less, supplemental earnings benefits cover two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wage and what you can earn, provided you are not earning 90 percent or more of your old pay, and they run up to 520 weeks with total disability weeks counting toward that limit. Weekly rates are capped by a figure set annually from the statewide average wage and fixed by the date of the accident.
If a workers’ compensation judge rules against you, the decision is final unless appealed to the circuit court of appeal. A suspensive appeal must be filed within 30 days, a devolutive appeal within 60, and the clock runs from the day after the judgment was signed or notice was mailed, whichever is later. A Terrebonne Parish claim is reviewed by the First Circuit, which covers Terrebonne along with Lafourche, Assumption, and other parishes.
Houma Trucker Injury Questions, Answered
Do I need a lawyer if my employer’s insurer is already paying my medical bills?
Not always, but payments can stop without warning, and insurers sometimes steer treatment toward doctors who return you to work early. If your injury is serious, if you are out of work for a long stretch, or if a third party caused the accident, early representation protects both your benefits and any separate injury claim.
What happens if the truck company says I am an independent contractor?
The label in a contract does not settle the question. Courts look at who controls the work, including routes, schedules, equipment, and pay structure. If you were treated like an employee in practice, you may still be entitled to comp benefits.
Can I get workers’ comp and also sue the driver who hit me?
Yes. Workers’ compensation covers you regardless of fault, and a separate claim against a negligent third party can recover damages that comp does not. The two claims must be coordinated because the comp insurer may have a right to be reimbursed from your third-party recovery.
How long do I have to report my injury and file a claim in Louisiana?
Report to your employer within 30 days. A formal 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.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Comp benefits are not reduced by your share of fault. In a separate injury claim for a cause of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, being 51 percent or more at fault bars recovery in Louisiana, while a lower share reduces what you collect proportionally.
The insurer says my back problem is pre-existing. Is my claim over?
No. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still qualify for benefits. Medical opinions from your treating physician and imaging comparing before and after are central to this fight.
What if the insurer denies the treatment my doctor recommended?
Louisiana has a specific review process. You have 15 calendar days from the written denial to file a Form 1009 dispute with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director has 30 days to rule. Missing that window can leave you without surgery or therapy your doctor says you need.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Louisiana law protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation.
What if my family member was killed in a trucking accident?
Louisiana wrongful death claims follow the longer of one year from the death or two years from the date of injury. Dependents may also qualify for death benefits under comp if the death was work-related. Consult an attorney promptly so deadlines are not lost.
Do you charge anything up front for a Houma driver’s case?
No. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
Can you help if I am a Spanish-speaking driver?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Terrebonne Parish and the Surrounding Bayou Communities
Our work for injured drivers starts in Houma and extends across Terrebonne Parish, including Gray, Bourg, Chauvin, Montegut, Schriever, Dulac, Theriot, and the Presquille and Bayou Black communities. We also serve workers in neighboring Lafourche Parish, including Thibodaux, Raceland, and Larose, and in the nearby parishes of Assumption and St. Mary. Drivers working the ports and yards of Gibson and Morgan City, and those hauling along Highway 90 to Lafayette and New Orleans, are within the reach of our practice.
Beyond South Louisiana, we represent injured workers across the state, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as north Louisiana. We also serve Mississippi, from the Gulf Coast and Hattiesburg to Madison, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, for drivers whose routes cross state lines.
Talk to a Houma Truck Driver Injury Attorney About Your Claim
If you are a driver in Terrebonne Parish who was hurt on the job, a Houma truck driver injury attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation at no cost, explain how workers’ compensation and any accident claim fit together, and tell you where the deadlines fall. You pay nothing unless we recover benefits for you, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call today to schedule your consultation.
