Lafayette Oilfield Injury Lawyer
Hurt on a rig, a well site, a pipe yard, or a supply boat out of Acadiana, and suddenly you are deciding who to call, what to tell the adjuster, and whether to sign anything. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Lafayette oilfield injury lawyer from our team can take over those decisions while you focus on treatment.
Oilfield claims rarely look like ordinary office-injury claims. The work is physical, the crews are often tied to contractors and subcontractors, and the paperwork trail can lead to an operator, a service company, a staffing agency, and an insurer who each point at someone else. Lafayette Parish sits in the middle of Acadiana’s energy corridor, so a large share of the people we hear from work offshore support, land rigs, fabrication shops, and the service companies that keep them running.
The sections below walk through how these claims usually unfold, what the law gives you, where insurers push back, and what to do in the first days after an injury.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Oilfield Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana, along with Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Shreveport, New Orleans, South Louisiana, and communities across Mississippi. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in; we built the firm the other way around. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that were denied, delayed, or cut off too early, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We work on a no recovery, no fee basis, consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
Several of our results involve the kind of injuries oilfield crews suffer. We obtained $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities and $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex left shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes. Back injuries drive many of the largest claims in this industry, and our results include $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 when his work vehicle was struck.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, Partners, have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Clients who have reviewed us describe attorneys who listened, stayed professional, and stood up to the insurance company at every step.
Oilfield Injuries and Claims We Handle in Lafayette
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Flash fires, hot-oil exposure, and chemical contact on land rigs and at plants can cause deep burns that need grafting, long recovery, and permanent restrictions. These claims often support the highest benefit levels and need careful medical documentation.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting pipe, wrestling tongs, and working in awkward positions lead to herniated lumbar and cervical discs. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, so the case turns on showing how the work caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Derrickhands and floorhands who pull large pipe tear rotator cuffs and SLAP tears, and slips on greasy decks and steel stairs produce meniscus and ACL tears. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries.
- Fractures: Crush injuries, falls from platforms, and equipment incidents break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, often requiring specialists and complex surgical repair.
- Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Crew members and truck drivers run long hauls to well sites and yards. A wreck during the workday can support a comp claim and, if another driver was at fault, a separate injury claim.
- Injuries Involving Another Company: When a contractor, equipment maker, or site operator other than your employer caused the harm, you may have a third-party claim in addition to comp benefits.
- Death Claims: When a worker is killed, dependents may pursue death benefits and, where another party was at fault, a wrongful death action.
- Cumulative and Repetitive Injuries: Years of heavy labor can wear down joints and spine. These claims face hard questions about when the injury happened and what caused it.
What to Do After an Oilfield Injury in Lafayette
Start with treatment. Get medical care, tell the provider the injury happened at work, and describe every symptom, even the ones that seem minor. Gaps and vague first reports become the insurer’s best exhibits later.
Report the injury to your employer right away. Louisiana requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury. If the carrier has already paid benefits, that deadline can stretch to three years from the last payment, but do not count on an exception. Put the report in writing if you can, and keep a copy.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the task, the equipment, who was nearby, who you told, and what the supervisor said. Photograph the scene and your injuries when possible. Save pay stubs, work orders, and any texts about the incident. Be careful with recorded statements to the adjuster; you are allowed to speak with a lawyer first.
Lafayette claims that cannot be resolved informally go to the Office of Workers’ Compensation district office for Lafayette. In Louisiana you choose where to file: the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish where your employer’s principal place of business sits. That choice can matter, and it is one reason to talk to a lawyer before filing.
Common mistakes are predictable. Workers wait to report because they hope the pain fades. They return to duty before a doctor clears them. They accept a company-arranged doctor’s opinion as the last word. And they sign a settlement or release before anyone has calculated what future surgery will cost.
How Oilfield Comp Claims Typically Unfold
Most cases begin with a report and a first medical visit. The insurer then investigates, takes statements, and decides whether to accept the claim. If it accepts, it starts paying medical bills and weekly wage benefits. If it denies, delays, or stops payment, the dispute moves to a workers’ compensation judge.
Louisiana benefits include reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you are temporarily unable to work, and additional benefits for permanent disability. If you can work again but earn less than 90 percent of what you made before, supplemental earnings benefits cover two-thirds of the difference. Those benefits can continue until you return to full duty, earn your pre-injury wages, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. Weekly rates are capped, and the cap is set by the date of your accident, so it does not change later.
Medical disputes have their own track. When the insurer denies a treatment request, the clock is short: you have 15 calendar days after written notice of the denial to file the form that triggers medical director review, and the director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from its issuance to take the next step. Missing these windows can cost you a surgery recommendation, which is why we ask clients to send denial letters the day they arrive.
If a workers’ compensation judge issues a final judgment, either side can appeal to the Louisiana court of appeal that covers the parish. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it within 60. Lafayette Parish falls within the Third Circuit. Further review is possible through a writ application to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Where Insurers Push Back on Oilfield Claims
The arguments are familiar. The injury was not work related. It was a pre-existing condition. You were off the clock, or violating a rule. The worker is really a contractor, not an employee. Or the doctor says you can go back to light duty that your employer cannot actually offer.
A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. The answer is medical evidence, treating-physician opinions, and a clear history of the physical demands of the work.
Oilfield structure adds its own wrinkles. Multiple companies may share a site, and the question of who is your statutory employer can affect who owes benefits and whether you can also sue someone. A negligent third party can open a separate tort claim. In Louisiana, injuries on or after July 1, 2024 generally carry a two-year period to file such a claim, and for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a plaintiff found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, while lower fault reduces the award. Coordinating that claim with your comp benefits is part of the work.
Oilfield Injury Questions Lafayette Workers Ask
Do I need an oilfield injury attorney if my employer is already paying benefits?
Not always, but benefits that start can stop without warning. If you have a serious injury, a long recovery, or a surgery recommendation, having a lawyer involved early helps keep treatment approved and wages flowing.
How long do I have to report an oilfield injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the injury, though payments already made can extend that period. Report immediately, in writing if possible.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Louisiana gives injured workers a right to choose a treating physician in a field of practice, with limits. Which doctor you see shapes your case, so ask before accepting a referral from the insurer.
What if my employer says I am an independent contractor?
Labels do not control. What matters is how the work is actually directed and paid. Many oilfield workers called contractors are legally employees, and we review the real working relationship.
Can I sue someone besides my employer?
Often yes, when a different company, equipment manufacturer, or negligent driver contributed to the injury. That claim can run alongside your comp claim, and the two need to be coordinated.
What happens if the insurer denies my surgery?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file for review by the Office of Workers’ Compensation medical director, who has 30 calendar days to rule. Further steps follow, with a 45-day window after that decision.
Will I be paid while I am out of work?
Wage replacement is two-thirds of your average wage while you are temporarily totally disabled, subject to a weekly maximum fixed by your accident date. Delays in first payment are common, and we push back on them.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting, tell us at your consultation so we can review it.
I was partly at fault for the accident. Does that kill my claim?
Workers’ compensation does not generally turn on fault, so your own mistake does not usually bar benefits. Fault matters more in a separate claim against a third party, where Louisiana’s 51 percent bar can apply to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
What if my injury developed over time rather than in one accident?
Repetitive trauma from years of heavy lifting can be compensable. These claims depend on medical opinions linking the condition to the work, and on pinning down when you first knew the cause, so documentation of symptoms matters.
How much 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 comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos español, and clients can work with our team in Spanish from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Oilfield Workers From Lafayette Across Acadiana and Beyond
We start with Lafayette Parish and the working communities around it, including Carencro, Scott, Broussard, Youngsville, Duson, and Milton, and we represent workers who live in one place and report to a yard or rig in another. Neighboring Acadiana parishes are part of the same industrial network, so we also help workers in New Iberia, Abbeville, Crowley, Opelousas, Eunice, Morgan City, and St. Martinville.
Across South Louisiana, we serve workers in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Houma, New Orleans, and the Gulf-facing communities where offshore support and refinery work concentrate. Farther north, we help injured workers in Shreveport and throughout north Louisiana. In Mississippi, we represent oil field workers, truck drivers, ironworkers, and laborers in Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi.
Talk to a Lafayette Oilfield Injury Attorney Today
An oilfield injury can stall your paycheck, your treatment, and your plans all at once, and the insurer is already building its file. A Lafayette oilfield injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain what you are owed, and handle the employer and the insurer while you recover. Call us any hour, schedule a free consultation, and pay nothing unless we recover benefits for you.
