Lake Charles Oilfield Injury Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Lake Charles and across Calcasieu Parish, along with clients throughout South Louisiana and Mississippi, and a large share of those clients are people hurt in the oil and gas trades. If you work on a rig, a drilling site, a refinery turnaround, a pipeline crew, or a petrochemical plant and you were hurt on the job, you need a Lake Charles oilfield injury lawyer who handles workers’ compensation as the core of a practice, not as a side matter.
Oilfield injuries rarely look like office injuries. They are crushed hands from pipe handling, burns from flash fires, falls from derricks and platforms, torn shoulders from hauling heavy tubulars, and spinal damage from years of lifting and vibration. Insurers know that. They also know the standard arguments: the injury was old, the injury was degenerative, the injury didn’t happen at work, or the worker should be back on the rig next week.
The answer to those arguments is medical evidence, witness accounts, and a clear record of what the job actually demanded.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Oilfield Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm representing injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lake Charles, the rest of Calcasieu Parish, and the surrounding communities of southwest Louisiana. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish with clients from the first call through the end of the case.
Our results include oilfield and industrial cases. We secured $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 pipe. We also recovered $135,000 for a diesel mechanic with a SLAP tear, and larger settlements in serious back injury cases, including $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury.
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, 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. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients tell us in their reviews that we listened, took the time to understand their situation, and fought with the insurance company at every step.
Common Oilfield Injuries and Claims We Handle
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Flash fires, steam, chemical exposure, and equipment failures on rigs, in plants, and on industrial job sites cause burns that need specialized treatment and long recovery. These claims often involve extended time away from work and permanent scarring or functional loss.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims from roughnecks, derrickhands, and pipe crews. When an insurer blames degenerative disc disease, we show how years of heavy physical work, or a single incident, caused or worsened the injury.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from pulling large pipe, climbing, slipping on wet platforms, and repetitive overhead work. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and we answer that with medical records and job history.
- Fractures: Feet, ankles, hips, and other bones are broken in falls, struck-by incidents, and caught-between accidents. These often require specialists and complex surgical repair, which makes authorization of treatment a frequent fight.
- Truck and Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Oilfield work involves constant driving between sites. A wreck in a work truck can support a workers’ compensation claim and, when another driver was at fault, a separate personal injury claim.
- Third-Party Liability Claims: When a contractor other than your employer, an equipment maker, or a negligent site operator contributed to your injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. We coordinate the two so they work together.
- Wrongful Death: When an oilfield accident takes a worker’s life, the family may have claims for death benefits under workers’ compensation and, depending on the facts, a wrongful death action against a responsible third party.
What to Do After an Oilfield Injury in Southwest Louisiana
Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how the injury happened and that it was work-related. Then report it to your employer. In Louisiana you should give notice within 30 days of the injury, and the law bars a compensation proceeding if notice is not given in that window. Do it in writing if you can, and keep a copy. Do not wait to see whether the pain improves.
Write down what you remember while it is fresh: the equipment, the crew, who saw it, what the supervisor said, and whether safety procedures were followed. Photograph the area and your injuries if it is safe to do so. Keep every medical record, work restriction note, and piece of correspondence from the employer or insurer. Be careful about recorded statements to an adjuster. Insurers use them to lock in a version of events that minimizes the claim, and you are not required to give one without understanding what is at stake.
The formal claim has its own deadline. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though the period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. Claims are heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Lake Charles has its own district office, and you elect where to bring the case: the parish where you were hurt, 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, the clock gets short. A dispute over a medical treatment denial is started by filing a utilization review form with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. The 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, and that period runs from issuance, not from when you read it. Missing these windows can cost you the treatment you need, which is one of the strongest reasons to call a lawyer as soon as a denial letter arrives.
If a workers’ compensation judge issues a final judgment you believe is wrong, an appeal goes to the Louisiana 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 time running from the day after the judgment was signed or the day after notice was mailed, whichever is later. Calcasieu Parish falls within the Third Circuit.
What Benefits an Injured Oilfield Worker Can Receive
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, including surgery, physical therapy, and prescriptions. It also pays weekly wage-replacement benefits while you cannot work. The weekly maximum and minimum are set each year from the statewide average weekly wage and are fixed by the date of your accident, so the rate that applies to you depends on when you were hurt.
If you can return to work but at lower pay, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. When you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages, the benefit is two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average monthly wage and what you earn or are able to earn. These benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and temporary total disability weeks count toward that 520. For oilfield workers, whose pre-injury pay often included overtime and hitch pay, getting the average wage calculation right matters enormously.
Permanent injuries can bring additional benefits for permanent partial or permanent total disability, and catastrophic injuries and death carry their own benefit structures. A lawyer who knows how the oilfield pays can make sure the wage figure used for your claim reflects what you actually earned.
Oilfield Injury Questions, Answered
Do I need a lawyer for an oilfield injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests. You should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report an oilfield injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the injury. A workers’ compensation proceeding cannot be maintained without timely notice, so do not let this deadline slip while you hope the injury heals.
How long do I have to file the claim itself?
Generally one year from the date of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, the deadline can extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions depend on the facts, speak with an attorney as early as you can.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury is from a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Oilfield workers often have years of wear on their backs, shoulders, and knees, which is exactly why insurers raise this argument, and why strong medical evidence matters.
I was hurt offshore or on a vessel. Is this the same kind of claim?
Not necessarily. Some maritime and offshore workers fall under different federal systems rather than state workers’ compensation. Whether your claim belongs in the Louisiana comp system depends on where you were working and what you were doing. Tell us the full facts of your job in your consultation so that can be sorted out before any deadline is missed.
Can I sue someone other than my employer after an oilfield accident?
Often, yes. If a contractor, equipment manufacturer, site operator, or negligent driver contributed to your injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. Louisiana now gives two years from the day of injury for most injury lawsuits arising after the 2024 change, but a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising in 2026 or later recovers nothing, so how fault is assigned matters a great deal.
What happens if my doctor releases me but I still cannot do my job?
Insurers sometimes push workers back before they are ready. A release with restrictions does not necessarily end your benefits. If you cannot return to your old job or cannot earn at least 90 percent of your prior wages, supplemental earnings benefits may apply, and we can challenge an early cutoff.
Will my claim be heard in Lake Charles?
You elect the venue from among the parish where you were injured, the parish where you lived, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Lake Charles has a district office of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, so if any of those parishes is Calcasieu, your claim can be heard there.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?
Smaller injuries can turn into bigger ones, and early mistakes in reporting or medical records are hard to fix later. A free consultation costs nothing and will tell you whether your claim is straightforward or at risk.
Serving Oilfield Workers Across Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana
We represent oilfield workers in Lake Charles and throughout Calcasieu Parish, including Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, Vinton, Carlyss, Iowa, DeQuincy, and Starks, as well as the industrial corridor that supports refineries, plants, and drilling operations along the Calcasieu Ship Channel. We also work with injured clients in neighboring parishes and communities, including Jennings, Welsh, Kinder, DeRidder, and Cameron, along with Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport.
Our work extends across South Louisiana and north Louisiana, and into Mississippi from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. Wherever the injury happened, the claim follows the same pattern: prompt reporting, solid medical evidence, and a lawyer who knows how insurers contest oilfield claims.
Talk With a Lake Charles Oilfield Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a rig, at a plant, or on any oilfield job site, a Lake Charles oilfield injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and take on the insurance company so you can focus on getting well. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
Call us or send your case details and let us tell you where your claim stands. We help injured workers. That is what we do.
