Metairie Healthcare Worker Injury Lawyer
A nurse with a torn rotator cuff, a respiratory therapist with a ruptured disc, or a hospital tech with a needlestick exposure all need the same thing: medical treatment approved without a fight and a paycheck that keeps coming while they heal. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that helps injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi get there, and a Metairie healthcare worker injury lawyer from our team can take over the insurer, the paperwork, and the deadlines while you focus on recovery.
Healthcare injuries rarely look like the construction accidents most people picture. They build up over years of lifting patients, standing through twelve-hour shifts, and rushing between rooms, or they happen in a single moment when a patient lunges or a bed shifts. Metairie sits in Jefferson Parish, and workers who live here often commute to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home health agencies across Jefferson, Orleans, and the neighboring parishes. Where you were hurt, where you live, and where your employer is headquartered can all affect where your claim is heard.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Healthcare Worker Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Jefferson Parish and the Metairie area, and workers’ compensation sits at the center of the practice rather than on the edge of it. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off early, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish with clients from the first call through the end of the case.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both Partners, 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, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team.
Results matter most in healthcare cases because so many of them turn on back and shoulder injuries. We secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured in a work vehicle crash. Clients describe attorneys who listened, stayed professional, and fought with the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claims We See Among Healthcare Workers
- Patient-handling back and neck injuries: Lifting, repositioning, and transferring patients is the leading source of lumbar and cervical disc injuries among nurses, CNAs, orderlies, and surgical techs. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, but a job that repeatedly loads the spine can cause or accelerate that very condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears occur when staff catch a falling patient, pull heavy equipment, or kneel and twist during procedures. Employers sometimes label these old sports injuries, which is why medical records and a clear work history matter.
- Slips, falls, and fractures: Wet floors, cords, and crowded hallways in hospitals and nursing facilities lead to broken wrists, ankles, and hips that can require surgery and long recovery periods.
- Patient violence: Confused, medicated, or combative patients can injure the staff caring for them, producing head, neck, and shoulder trauma along with lasting psychological effects.
- Needlesticks and infectious exposure: Exposure to bloodborne pathogens or contagious illness can trigger testing, preventive treatment, and time away from work that the compensation system should cover.
- Cumulative trauma and occupational illness: Conditions that develop over years of repetitive work, long standing, and constant lifting are compensable when the job caused or worsened them, even without a single dramatic accident.
- Third-party claims: A negligent driver who hits you on a home health route, or a company whose defective equipment hurts you, can create a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits.
What to Do After a Healthcare Workplace Injury in Louisiana
Report the injury to your supervisor or employer right away, and in writing if you can. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within thirty days of the injury, and the formal claim generally has to be filed within one year of the accident. If benefits have already been paid, that filing window can stretch to three years from the last payment, but waiting is a gamble you do not need to take. Even if you finish your shift and assume the pain will pass, tell someone the same day and ask that an incident report be created. Hospitals and nursing facilities have internal reporting systems, but a report filed with employee health does not always reach the workers’ compensation carrier, so keep your own copy.
Get medical care and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened at work. Gaps and vague histories in the chart are what insurers use later to argue that something else caused your condition. Keep your discharge papers, work restrictions, and pharmacy receipts. Healthcare workers face a particular trap here: coworkers and supervisors who understand the clinical side may urge you to “walk it off” or use sick leave, and that can quietly weaken the claim.
Louisiana disputes are heard by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. The worker chooses the venue from among the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business.
If the insurer denies a treatment request through utilization review, the clock is short. The aggrieved party has fifteen calendar days from written notice of the denial to file LWC Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation, and the medical director then has thirty calendar days to rule. If you disagree with that decision, you have forty-five days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. A final judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the court of appeal, and appeals that suspend the judgment must be filed within thirty days. Appeals from Jefferson Parish go to the Fifth Circuit, which covers Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes. Missing a deadline can end a good claim, so call us as soon as a denial letter arrives.
How Benefits Work When You Cannot Do Your Old Job
Healthcare work is physically specific, and many injured nurses and technicians cannot return to bedside duties even after they are medically stable. Louisiana benefits cover reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement while you cannot work. Weekly rates are set by a formula tied to your average wage, subject to a maximum that is adjusted each year and fixed by the date of your accident.
When you can return but earn less, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. These pay two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, when your injury keeps you from earning ninety percent or more of what you made before. They continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, and temporary total disability weeks count toward that total. A nurse offered a desk job at lower pay, or a tech sent back on restrictions that cut hours, may fall squarely in this category. Insurers sometimes claim you can earn more than you actually do, and we push back with vocational and medical evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare Worker Injury Claims
Do healthcare workers qualify for workers’ compensation in Louisiana?
Yes. Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry coverage, and hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home health agencies are no exception. Employees hurt by a job-related accident or illness are generally covered regardless of who was at fault.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Notice to your employer should go in as soon as possible and no later than thirty days after the injury. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with a longer window in some cases when benefits have already been paid.
What if my injury built up over time instead of happening in one incident?
Cumulative injuries from repetitive lifting and long hours can be compensable. These claims need careful medical documentation connecting the condition to your duties, and an early evaluation helps pin down when you first reported symptoms.
The insurer says my back problem is degenerative. Is my claim over?
No. A pre-existing or degenerative condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed, and strong medical evidence is how we answer that argument.
Can my employer fire me for filing?
Louisiana and Mississippi both protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were disciplined or let go after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Medical choice rules have specific requirements, and treating with the wrong provider can create problems later. Talk with us before switching physicians or agreeing to see an insurer-selected doctor.
What happens if the insurer denies a surgery or an MRI?
Treatment denials go through utilization review. You have fifteen calendar days from the written denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation, so this is one of the most time-sensitive moments in a claim.
Can I also sue the patient who hurt me?
Workers’ compensation is the main remedy against your employer, and claims against patients are uncommon and fact-specific. Where a different outside party caused the injury, such as a negligent driver or an equipment manufacturer, a separate injury claim may be possible alongside comp benefits.
Will light duty or reduced hours affect my benefits?
It can. If you return at lower pay because of your injury, supplemental earnings benefits may make up part of the difference. Do not accept or refuse a modified position without understanding how it affects your benefits.
I live in Metairie but was hurt at a facility in another parish or in Mississippi. Which state’s law applies?
That depends on where the injury occurred, where you were hired, and where you work. We represent injured workers in both Louisiana and Mississippi and can sort out which system governs. Mississippi requires notice within thirty days and generally allows two years to file with its Workers’ Compensation Commission.
What 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.
Serving Healthcare Workers Across Metairie and Jefferson Parish
We represent injured healthcare workers from Metairie and the neighborhoods around it, including Old Metairie, Lakeview-adjacent areas along the lakefront, Bucktown, and the Veterans Boulevard corridor where so many clinics and medical offices cluster. Our reach extends through Jefferson Parish into Kenner, Harahan, Elmwood, River Ridge, Jefferson, Westwego, Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, Terrytown, and Avondale. Across the line in neighboring Orleans Parish, we help workers from New Orleans, Gentilly, Mid-City, and Algiers, and in St. Tammany Parish across the lake we serve Mandeville, Covington, and Slidell.
Beyond the New Orleans area, we serve injured workers throughout South Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as Shreveport and north Louisiana. Our Mississippi practice covers Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, the Gulf Coast, and north Mississippi, so healthcare workers who cross state lines for travel assignments or multi-state employers are covered too.
Talk to a Metairie Healthcare Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt caring for patients, you should not have to argue with an insurance adjuster about whether your injury is real. A Metairie healthcare injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your claim, explain which deadlines are running, and take over the fight for your medical care and wage benefits. Our phones are answered around the clock, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and tell us what happened.
