Houma Jones Act Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Houma, throughout Terrebonne Parish, and across South Louisiana and Mississippi, and the firm’s practice has been built around workplace injury claims. A Houma Jones Act lawyer matters here because so much of the local economy runs on water: offshore supply boats, crew boats, tugs and barges working the bayous and intracoastal waterways, and vessels serving the Gulf. A worker hurt on one of those vessels is often not under the state workers’ compensation system at all, and that difference changes who you sue, what you can recover, and which rules govern your case.
The Jones Act is a federal maritime law that lets a seaman bring a negligence claim against an employer, which is a different kind of case from a no-fault comp claim. Proving the employer’s fault can open the door to damages that comp benefits never reach. Whether you qualify as a seaman, rather than a land-based or platform worker covered by comp, is often the first and hardest fight in the case, and insurers on both sides of that line will argue it to their advantage.
Seaman Status: The Question That Decides Which System Applies
Louisiana workers’ compensation is built around medical care and wage replacement without regard to fault. The Jones Act works differently. It gives a qualifying seaman the right to sue an employer for negligence, and maritime law separately requires a vessel owner to provide maintenance and cure, meaning a daily living allowance and payment of medical care while the seaman recovers. Which of these systems covers you depends on your relationship to a vessel in navigation: how much of your work is aboard it, and whether that work is tied to the vessel’s mission.
This is why two workers on the same Gulf project can end up in different legal places. A deckhand on a crew boat and a worker on a fixed land-based rig may both be hurt in the same industry, yet one belongs in a negligence suit and the other in the comp system. Getting the classification wrong early can cost months. A Houma Jones Act attorney will look at your job duties, the vessel, how much time you spent aboard, and how the employer is structured before deciding where your claim belongs. The firm handles the workers’ compensation side of that line every day, including claims for burns and catastrophic injuries on oil rigs, plants, and industrial sites, so it can evaluate the boundary from both directions.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Jones Act and Maritime-Adjacent Injury
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm for injured workers serving Houma, Terrebonne Parish, and communities across Mississippi and South Louisiana. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, works on a no recovery, no fee basis, advances the costs of the case, offers free consultations, answers its phones 24 hours a day, and speaks Spanish with clients who want to work in their own language.
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 and has argued before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results that matter most for an offshore or marine-industry worker are the serious-injury outcomes: $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, $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 he was struck in his work vehicle. The firm has also recovered $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex left shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes. Clients describe the team as easy to work with and thorough in listening to their situation, and one client credited Brad Baskin with fighting the insurance company at every step.
Injuries That Commonly Lead to Maritime and Offshore-Industry Claims
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting lines, handling gear on a pitching deck, or a hard fall aboard a vessel can herniate a lumbar or cervical disc. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, so medical evidence tying the injury to the work is central.
- Shoulder injuries: Pulling pipe, hauling rigging, and working winches produce torn rotator cuffs and SLAP tears, the kind of injury behind the firm’s recovery for a derrickhand with a complex left shoulder.
- Knee and lower-extremity injuries: Slick decks, ladders, and uneven work surfaces lead to meniscus and ACL tears that can end a physically demanding career.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Fires, explosions, and equipment failures on rigs, in plants, and on industrial sites can cause severe burns and permanent disability that call for long-term benefits planning.
- Fractures: Feet, ankles, hips, and other bones broken in falls or crush incidents may require specialists and complex surgical repair, with long stretches away from work.
- Vehicle and transport accidents on the job: Travel to a dock, a yard, or a job site in a work truck can lead to a crash. When another driver is at fault, a separate injury claim may exist alongside benefits.
- Wrongful death: When a worker is killed, surviving family members may have claims that depend on how the death occurred and who was responsible.
What to Do in the Days After an Offshore or Vessel Injury
Report the injury to your employer right away and in writing if you can. Under Louisiana workers’ compensation law, notice to the employer must be given within thirty days of the injury or the claim can be lost, and a formal comp claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that period can stretch to three years from the last payment if benefits have been paid. Maritime claims run on their own clocks, which is a strong reason to speak with a lawyer before assuming any one deadline applies to you. Do not wait for the company to tell you which system you are in; sort that out with counsel.
Get medical treatment immediately and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened and that it happened at work. Gaps in treatment and vague histories are what insurers use to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Keep copies of everything: incident reports, photographs of the equipment or deck conditions, names of crew members who saw what happened, your pay records, and your work schedule showing how much time you spent aboard a vessel. Do not give a recorded statement to an adjuster before you have talked to a lawyer, and be careful about signing releases or accepting a quick payment that may close off other rights.
If your claim falls under Louisiana workers’ compensation, it is heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Louisiana has a district workers’ compensation court sitting in Houma, and the worker elects where to file among the parish where the injury occurred, the parish of residence when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. If treatment is denied, the dispute goes through a utilization review process that requires filing a form within fifteen calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. A final judgment by a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal within thirty days of notice for a suspensive appeal. Cases arising in Terrebonne Parish are appealed to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. Federal maritime lawsuits, by contrast, can be filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where court is held in Houma as well as New Orleans, or in state court.
When a Third Party, Not Just Your Employer, Caused the Injury
Offshore and waterfront work involves many companies on one site: vessel owners, contractors, operators, equipment suppliers. If a company other than your employer caused your injury, you may have an additional claim against it. Our personal injury lawyers handle these cases alongside comp claims so the two do not work against each other. Louisiana’s rules on shared fault matter here: for claims arising on or after the start of 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower percentages reduce the award proportionally. Louisiana’s tort deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years from the day the injury is sustained, while earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Because maritime claims against an employer follow federal rules, the right deadline for each claim should be confirmed with an attorney early.
Jones Act and Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
What is the difference between a Jones Act claim and workers’ compensation?
Workers’ compensation pays medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault but limits what you can recover. A Jones Act claim requires showing the employer’s negligence but can allow broader damages. Which one applies turns mainly on whether you qualify as a seaman.
Do I automatically qualify as a seaman if I work offshore?
No. Working in the Gulf does not by itself make you a seaman. The analysis looks at your connection to a vessel in navigation and how much of your work is performed aboard it. Land-based rig workers and many platform workers are covered by state comp instead.
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and it is paid only if it recovers benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How soon must I report my injury?
Report it to your employer right away, and within thirty days at the latest. In Louisiana, failing to give notice within that window can bar a comp proceeding.
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 compensation payments have been made, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell the firm at your consultation so your options can be reviewed.
What if the company says my injury was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence is the answer to this argument.
What happens if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Comp benefits are generally not reduced by your own carelessness. In a negligence case against a third party, fault matters: Louisiana reduces your recovery by your share of fault, and for newer claims bars recovery entirely at 51 percent or more.
If I can return to work at lower pay, am I still entitled to benefits?
Possibly. Louisiana supplemental earnings benefits are based on the gap between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your prior wages. They can continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum.
Can I sue if a coworker’s or contractor’s negligence hurt me?
You generally cannot sue your own employer outside the comp or maritime systems, but you may be able to bring a separate claim against a negligent outside company or driver. The firm coordinates those claims with your benefits.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Injured Workers From Houma Across Terrebonne Parish and South Louisiana
Our team represents injured workers in Houma and throughout Terrebonne Parish, including the communities along the bayous that feed the Gulf’s marine and offshore industries. From Houma we serve workers in the surrounding South Louisiana parishes, including neighboring Lafourche and the communities of Thibodaux and Raceland, and in Assumption, St. Mary, and St. Charles parishes. We also represent clients in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and in Shreveport and communities across north Louisiana.
The firm’s reach continues into Mississippi, where it represents injured workers in Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether your injury happened on a vessel working out of a Terrebonne Parish dock, on an industrial site, or on the road, the firm can look at whether your claim belongs in the comp system, in a maritime action, or in both a comp and an injury claim.
Talk With a Houma Jones Act Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a vessel or in the offshore and marine industry, a Houma Jones Act attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your job duties, your injury, and your employer’s response and tell you which system applies and what your claim may be worth. Call the firm any hour; phones are answered around the clock, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless the firm recovers benefits or a settlement for you.
