Houma Burn Injury Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Houma and across Terrebonne Parish, handling workers’ compensation claims and related injury cases for people hurt on the job in South Louisiana. A Houma burn injury lawyer matters in this part of the state because the industries that anchor the local economy, including oilfield services, marine and offshore support, fabrication yards, and industrial plants, are the same ones where thermal, chemical, and electrical burns happen.
A burn claim is not a back claim with a different body part. Burns carry grafting, infection risk, scar management, contracture, nerve damage, and psychological injury, and the treatment can stretch across years. Insurers tend to approve the emergency care and then resist the follow-up: the plastic surgeon, the scar revision, the pain management, the mental health counseling. How a burn is classified, where it is on the body, and whether it limits a worker’s grip, mobility, or tolerance for heat all shape what benefits are owed and for how long.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Burn Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm. Its attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients across Louisiana and Mississippi. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and clients owe nothing unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
The people behind that record include Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers, and Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which matters when a burn case also involves a negligent third party. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. The firm was ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Relevant results include a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities. The firm has also secured larger settlements for serious back injuries, including $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker, which reflects the same ability to build medical evidence and press a carrier past its first offer. Clients consistently describe a team that listened, communicated, and stood up to the insurance company.
Burn Injuries and Work Settings That Produce Louisiana Comp Claims
- Thermal Burns from Fires and Flash Events: Hydrocarbon fires, flash fires, and equipment ignition at plants, rigs, and fabrication facilities can cause deep partial-thickness and full-thickness burns that require debridement, skin grafts, and long rehabilitation.
- Chemical Burns: Caustics, acids, solvents, and drilling or cleaning chemicals can injure skin and eyes and cause damage that continues after exposure ends, which is why early decontamination records matter.
- Electrical Burns: Contact with energized lines or equipment can leave small entry wounds while causing deeper tissue, nerve, and cardiac injury. These claims often involve ongoing neurological symptoms that insurers underestimate.
- Steam and Scalding Injuries: Pressurized steam, hot water, and hot oil injuries happen in industrial plants, commercial kitchens, and maintenance work, and often hit the hands, arms, and face.
- Burns to the Lower Extremities: Burns to the legs and feet from hot surfaces, spills, and fires can limit standing, walking, and climbing, which affects whether a worker can return to the same job.
- Scarring, Contracture, and Disfigurement: Healed burns can restrict joint motion and leave visible scars. Revision surgery and therapy are part of the medical care the law can require the insurer to pay for when reasonable and necessary.
- Psychological Injury After a Burn Event: Anxiety, sleep disruption, and posttraumatic stress commonly follow a serious fire or explosion, and treatment for them should be documented alongside the physical care.
- Burns Caused by a Non-Employer Party: A defective piece of equipment, a negligent contractor, or an unsafe third-party site can support a separate injury claim on top of workers’ compensation.
What to Do After a Burn at Work in Houma
Get medical treatment first, and tell every provider the burn happened at work so the record ties it to your job from day one. For anything beyond a minor burn, that means an emergency department or burn-capable facility, not a walk-in visit that produces a thin chart. Photograph the injury early and keep photographing as it heals, because burns change in appearance over days and weeks. Save the clothing, gloves, and protective gear you were wearing if you can, and write down what you were doing, what failed, who saw it, and what chemicals or equipment were involved.
Report the injury to your employer promptly, in writing if possible. In Louisiana, notice to the employer must be given within 30 days of the injury or compensation can be lost. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and if the insurer has paid benefits, the filing window can extend to three years from the last payment. These are not deadlines to test. Waiting hands the insurer an argument.
Workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana are heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which operates a district court in Houma. Under the venue rules, you can choose to proceed in the parish where you were injured, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Decisions from Terrebonne Parish are reviewed by the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, and a party can then ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to take the case by applying for a writ within 30 days of notice of the judgment.
Two deadlines catch people off guard. If the insurer denies a specific medical treatment, such as a skin graft, scar revision, or specialist referral, the dispute goes through utilization review: the aggrieved party has 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009, and the medical director then has 30 days to decide. After that decision, you have 45 days from its issuance to file Form 1008. A judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed within 30 days to suspend it, or within 60 days if the appeal will not suspend it. Missing these windows can end a treatment request that your doctor considers necessary.
Be careful with recorded statements and with returning to work early. Adjusters sometimes push for a statement before the full medical picture is known, and a release to light duty is not the same as a release to full duty. Do not sign settlement paperwork or accept a lump sum without understanding what future surgeries and scar care are worth.
How Burn Claims Are Valued and Where Insurers Push Back
Burn cases are won on medical documentation. The depth of the burn, the percentage of body surface affected, the number of procedures, and the functional limits left behind all drive value, and each needs to be written into the treating physician’s records, not left to memory. Insurers commonly argue that a worker was not following safety procedures, that a pre-existing skin or circulatory condition explains the slow healing, or that the injury has healed enough to return to normal duties when contracture or nerve pain says otherwise. Those arguments are answered with specialist opinions, work history, and consistent treatment records.
Wage benefits depend on what you can actually earn. While you are unable to work, temporary total disability benefits apply. If you return but cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages, supplemental earnings benefits pay two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you earn or are able to earn now. Those benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. Weekly compensation rates are capped by a figure that is updated each year and fixed by the date of the accident.
When someone other than your employer helped cause the burn, a separate delictual claim may exist. In Louisiana, injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024 generally carry a two-year period to sue. 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 comp claim and the third-party claim carefully protects the benefits you are already receiving.
Common Questions About Burn Injury Claims in Houma
Do I need a lawyer for a burn injury workers’ comp claim?
Not every claim requires one, but burn injuries are among the cases where help matters most. The treatment is long, the costs are high, and insurers often resist the follow-up care. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or you will be out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a real difference.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the 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 a burn to my employer?
Report it immediately, and no later than 30 days after the injury in Louisiana. Late notice is one of the easiest ways for an insurer to challenge a claim.
How long do I have to file a Louisiana workers’ compensation claim?
A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If the insurer has paid benefits, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions are narrow, speaking with an attorney early is the safer course.
Does workers’ comp cover skin grafts and scar treatment?
Louisiana workers’ compensation covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, which can include surgery, grafting, therapy, medication, and follow-up care. The fight is usually over whether a particular procedure is necessary, and that is where the utilization review process and strong physician support come in.
What if the insurer denies the surgery my burn doctor recommends?
You can challenge it. The aggrieved party has 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. The medical director then has 30 calendar days to rule, and a further appeal requires Form 1008 within 45 days of the decision being issued.
What if I was partly at fault for the burn?
Fault generally does not defeat a workers’ compensation claim, which is a no-fault system. It matters more in a separate third-party injury claim, where Louisiana’s comparative fault rules can reduce a recovery and, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, bar it if you are found 51 percent or more at fault.
Can I sue someone besides my employer for a workplace burn?
Often, yes. A defective product, a negligent contractor, or an unsafe site controlled by another company can support a separate injury claim alongside comp benefits. The firm handles both and makes sure they work together.
Will I lose my job if I file a claim for a burn?
Louisiana protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting a burn, tell the firm during your consultation so your options can be reviewed.
Does a pre-existing skin or circulation condition ruin my claim?
No. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this argument often, and answering it with solid medical evidence is a core part of what the firm does.
What if the burn happened offshore or on a vessel?
Some maritime and offshore workers fall under different federal or maritime remedies instead of, or in addition to, state workers’ compensation. Which system applies depends on the worker’s job and where the injury occurred, so get a review early before assuming a claim is limited to state comp.
How long will a burn injury claim take?
It depends on how long treatment lasts. Cases are rarely worth settling until you have reached maximum medical improvement and the long-term needs, including scar revision and functional limits, are understood. Settling early can leave future care unpaid.
Serving Burn Injury Clients Across Houma and Terrebonne Parish
The firm represents burn victims from Houma and throughout Terrebonne Parish, including the communities of Gray, Bayou Cane, Schriever, Chauvin, Montegut, Dulac, and Gibson. It also serves neighboring Lafourche Parish and its communities, as well as workers from the surrounding bayou country who commute into Houma’s industrial and marine employers. Across the rest of South Louisiana, the firm serves clients in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and it represents injured workers in Shreveport and communities in north Louisiana. In Mississippi, the firm serves Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether the burn happened on a rig, in a plant, at a shipyard, or on a job site, the team handles it.
Talk to a Houma Burn Injury Attorney Today
If you were burned on the job, the sooner a Houma burn injury attorney reviews your claim, the easier it is to secure the medical care and wage benefits the law provides. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe offers free consultations, advances the costs of your case, and charges no fee unless it recovers benefits for you. Call the firm any hour of the day to talk through what happened and what comes next. Hablamos español.
