Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer
A Louisiana injury claim now runs on a different clock and a different fault rule than it did just a few years ago, and many people searching for a Louisiana personal injury lawyer are still working from the old assumptions. The filing window for most injury suits is longer than it used to be, but the rule that can wipe out a claim entirely is harsher. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people across Louisiana and Mississippi, handling car and truck accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, and the on-the-job injuries that grow out of our workers’ compensation practice.
Those two changes matter because they reach into nearly every case. Whether you were hit by a delivery truck in Jefferson Parish, injured on a contractor’s unsafe site, or lost a family member in a crash on I-10, the questions of when you must file and how much of the blame lands on you can decide the outcome before anyone discusses a dollar figure. The sections below explain how those rules work and what a lawyer actually does with them.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Louisiana Injury Claim
The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and it serves injured workers and accident victims throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as across Mississippi. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are paid only if there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
That background shows up in the personal injury work in a way that is easy to miss. A large share of serious injuries happen to people who were working at the time: a project manager struck in his work vehicle, a truck driver hurt in a wreck on the job, a delivery driver on the road. In those cases a comp claim and a claim against a negligent third party run side by side, and they have to be coordinated or one can undercut the other. The firm recovered $385,000 for a project manager who suffered back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and its 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 $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Attorneys 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Trial experience matters because insurers price a claim partly on whether the other side is willing and able to try it. Clients describe the same things in their reviews: a lawyer who listened, who stayed professional, and who stood up to the insurance company at every step.
Louisiana Injury Claims We Handle
- Car Accidents: Collisions on I-10, I-12, I-49, the Causeway approaches, and city streets from New Orleans to Shreveport produce claims against at-fault drivers and, often, against the underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy. The fault allocation rule discussed below is most heavily contested in these cases.
- Commercial Truck Accidents: Port traffic, refinery corridors, and long hauls across the state put tractor-trailers on the same roads as everyone else. These claims can reach the driver, the trucking company, and a loading or maintenance contractor, and the evidence, including logs and electronic data, has to be preserved quickly.
- Work Vehicle and On-the-Job Third-Party Claims: When a negligent driver hits your work truck or a subcontractor’s unsafe site causes a fall, you may have both workers’ compensation benefits and a separate injury claim against the outside party. Handling them together keeps one from damaging the other.
- Premises Liability: Falls from inadequate lighting, wet floors, broken stairs, or neglected walkways can support a claim against the property owner or operator. The question is usually what the owner knew or should have known and how long the hazard existed.
- Wrongful Death: Families who lose someone to a crash, a workplace incident, or another party’s negligence can bring claims for the loss. The filing periods here are different from ordinary injury claims and are covered in detail below.
- Industrial and Oilfield Injuries: Plants, rigs, and industrial job sites along the Gulf Coast corridor generate severe burns, crush injuries, and falls. When someone other than the employer shares responsibility, such as an equipment owner or site contractor, that party can face a separate claim.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Disc herniations and similar injuries often follow a collision or fall, and insurers frequently blame degenerative changes. Medical evidence tying the injury to the event is what answers that argument.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Injuries that require surgery, long rehabilitation, or permanent care turn on a well-documented picture of future medical needs and lost earning capacity, not only the bills to date.
The Two Rules That Shape Every Louisiana Injury Case
The first is the filing deadline. For injuries that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana gives a two-year period to file a delictual action, which is the civil-law term for a tort claim, running from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Injuries before that date stay under the old one-year period. That distinction trips people up, because plenty of online information still says one year, and for an older injury it can be correct. A lawyer first fixes the exact date your injury occurred and applies the period that belongs to it.
The second is the fault bar. Louisiana long allowed an injured person to recover even if mostly responsible, with the award reduced by their share of fault. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a claimant below that line has the award reduced in proportion to their share. Juries are told about that consequence. The practical effect is that fault percentages, which used to move the number, can now decide whether there is a number at all. Insurers know it, and they push hard to move a claimant’s share toward the line. Defending against that push is a major part of the work: reconstructing the scene, locating video, obtaining vehicle data, and interviewing witnesses before memories fade.
What to Do After an Injury in Louisiana
Start with medical care, and be complete about it. Tell the treating provider about every symptom, even ones that seem minor, because records written in the first days become the baseline an insurer measures everything against. Gaps in treatment and vague early notes are exactly what adjusters use to argue that an injury came from somewhere else. Follow the treatment plan, keep your appointments, and keep copies of bills and records.
Preserve evidence while it still exists. Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the hazard, and your injuries; collect names and numbers for witnesses; and file a police report for any crash. Ask a business whether it has surveillance footage and tell the lawyer about it right away, because many systems overwrite themselves within days. Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer, and be careful about what you post online, since defense lawyers read it.
If you were hurt while working, report the injury to your employer promptly, within 30 days at the latest, because that notice requirement governs the workers’ compensation side of the case. A formal comp claim in Louisiana generally has to be filed within one year of the accident, and if comp payments have been made the period can extend to three years from the last payment. Those deadlines are separate from the injury suit against a third party, so one clock does not stop the other. Workers’ compensation disputes in Louisiana go before a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, with appeals going to the proper circuit court of appeal, while injury suits against outside parties are filed in the state district courts or, where the facts support it, in the federal district courts for the Eastern, Middle, or Western District of Louisiana.
Finally, call a lawyer before accepting any settlement offer or signing a release. Early offers tend to arrive before the full extent of the injury is known, and a signed release ends the claim for good.
Wrongful Death Deadlines and Who Can Bring the Claim
When someone dies because of another party’s negligence, Louisiana law lets certain family members bring a wrongful death action, and the estate may bring a survival action for what the person suffered before dying. For wrongful death, the claim must be filed within one year of the death or within two years of the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. Recent legislation applies that same longer-of-the-two rule to survival actions. A wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice is the exception and remains limited to one year from the date of death.
Those periods are shorter than families expect, and grief is not a reason the law pauses them. If a death followed a crash, a workplace incident, or an unsafe property, speaking with a lawyer early protects the claim and the evidence. Where the death was work related, there may also be death benefits under workers’ compensation, and the firm coordinates those with any claim against an outside party.
Questions About Louisiana Personal Injury Claims
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries that occurred on or after July 1, 2024, the period is two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Injuries before that date remain under the earlier one-year period. Because the right deadline depends on your exact injury date, confirm it with a lawyer rather than relying on a general rule.
What does the 51 percent rule mean for my case?
If you are found 51 percent or more at fault for the accident, you recover nothing. If your share is lower, your award is reduced by that percentage. The rule applies to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026; earlier cases stay under the former rule, where fault only reduced the recovery.
Do I need a lawyer for a car accident claim?
Not every minor fender bender calls for one, but if you were hurt, if fault is disputed, or if the insurer is offering a quick payment, a lawyer can change the result. With the fault bar now in place, how blame is assigned matters more than it ever has.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are paid only if there is a recovery.
Can I bring an injury claim if I was hurt at work?
Often yes, if someone other than your employer contributed, such as a negligent driver, an equipment owner, or a contractor. You would generally pursue workers’ compensation benefits from your employer and a separate claim against that outside party, and the two need to be handled together.
What if the other driver has no insurance or too little?
Your own policy may include uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage that fills the gap. A lawyer reviews your policy, notifies the right carriers, and pursues that coverage alongside any claim against the at-fault driver.
What if I was partly to blame for the accident?
You can still recover if your share of fault is below 51 percent, though your award is reduced by that share. Disputes over percentages are common, and evidence like video, vehicle data, and witness accounts is how they get resolved.
How long does a Louisiana injury case take?
It depends on how serious the injury is and whether liability is contested. Insurers generally will not value a claim fully until you reach maximum medical improvement, so cases involving surgery or long recovery take longer than those with a quick, complete recovery. Filing suit does not mean going to trial; most cases resolve before one.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
You can generally use your health insurance and carry the claim at the same time, though the insurer may later seek reimbursement from a settlement. For a work injury, comp should cover reasonable and necessary treatment, so a denial there is worth challenging promptly.
Can I still file if the injury only showed up later?
The two-year period runs from when the injury or damage is sustained, so waiting to see whether symptoms improve carries risk. Get evaluated promptly, and have a lawyer assess whether any later-developing condition affects the timing of your claim.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking clients?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Injury Clients Across South and North Louisiana
The firm represents injured people from the greater New Orleans area, including Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, Gretna, Slidell, and Covington, to the Baton Rouge region and Lafayette, Lake Charles, and the surrounding communities of South Louisiana. Clients come from the refinery and port corridors, from Houma and Thibodaux, and from north Louisiana, including Shreveport and Bossier City. Whether a crash happened on a rural parish road or a busy interstate interchange, or an injury occurred at a plant, job site, or business, the team handles claims statewide.
The same reach extends into Mississippi, where the firm serves Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, so a case that crosses the state line, such as a crash involving a truck headed east on I-10, can be handled by one team.
Speak With a Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been hurt in Louisiana, a conversation with a Louisiana personal injury attorney now costs nothing and can keep a deadline or a fault dispute from costing you the claim. Call to schedule a free consultation. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, we advance the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you.
