Louisiana 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people across Louisiana, from South Louisiana and the New Orleans area to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and the north of the state.
If you are searching for a Louisiana 18-wheeler accident lawyer, you are probably dealing with injuries far worse than a typical fender bender. A fully loaded tractor-trailer carries enormous weight and needs a long distance to stop, so the people on the receiving end often face spinal injuries, crushed limbs, burns, and sometimes a death in the family. Behind the truck there is usually a driver, a motor carrier, a trucking company’s insurer, and sometimes a shipper or maintenance contractor, all with their own lawyers and every reason to point at someone else.
Louisiana is one of the busiest freight states in the country. Interstate 10 runs the full length of South Louisiana carrying port and petrochemical traffic, I-12 and I-55 feed the Northshore, I-49 and I-20 move cargo through Lafayette and Shreveport, and the river parishes between Baton Rouge and New Orleans are lined with plants that generate constant truck traffic. Crashes happen on those corridors, and they also happen at plant gates, on service roads, and at oilfield sites where heavy trucks mix with local traffic.
When the Truck Driver or the Victim Was Working: Where Comp and Injury Claims Overlap
Here is something most trucking pages skip. Plenty of people hurt by an 18-wheeler were themselves on the job: a delivery driver, a project manager in a company truck, a utility or pipeline worker pulling off a highway shoulder, or another trucker hit by a different carrier’s rig. In those situations, Louisiana workers’ compensation pays your medical care and a portion of your lost wages no matter who caused the crash. Separately, you may have a claim against the at-fault trucking company, because that company is not your employer and is not shielded by the comp system.
The two claims affect each other, and handling them separately can cost you money. A settlement with the trucking insurer can interfere with the comp carrier’s reimbursement rights, and a comp settlement can complicate the injury case if it is signed carelessly. Our firm has recovered a $385,000 settlement for a project manager who suffered back injuries when he was struck in his work vehicle, and a $190,000 settlement for a truck driver who injured his lower back in a wreck while on the job. Coordinating both tracks is a routine part of our work.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Louisiana Truck Crash Case
Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We handle personal injury matters including car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, and we serve clients throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. You pay nothing up front, consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish with clients who prefer it.
The team includes founding partner Rob Lunsford, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers, and partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. The firm was also ranked by Best Law Firms in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
Our results show the kind of serious injury work we do: $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. Clients describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stays in the fight with the insurance company. Those are the same qualities a trucking case demands, because the other side will not move quickly or generously on its own.
Types of 18-Wheeler Crashes and Claims We Handle in Louisiana
- Rear-End and Underride Collisions: A tired or distracted driver who fails to slow for traffic can drive a trailer over the back of a passenger car. Congestion on I-10 through Metairie and across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, and on I-12 near Hammond, creates sudden stops that heavy trucks cannot match.
- Jackknife and Rollover Crashes: Wet pavement, sharp braking, or unsecured and shifting cargo can send a trailer swinging across lanes or tipping over. Ramps and curves around the Mississippi River bridges and the Baton Rouge interchanges are common trouble spots.
- Wide-Turn and Lane-Change Crashes: Blind spots on a tractor-trailer are large, and drivers who merge or swing wide at industrial entrances, port facilities, and plant gates can crush vehicles beside them.
- Tire Blowouts and Equipment Failure: Worn tires, bad brakes, and skipped inspections can cause a driver to lose control. These cases often point past the driver to the carrier or a maintenance contractor.
- Crashes Involving Workers on the Job: Delivery drivers, oilfield and pipeline workers, and company-truck drivers hit by a tractor-trailer can pursue comp benefits and a separate injury claim at the same time.
- Catastrophic Injury and Burn Cases: Spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, amputations, and fuel or chemical fires from hauled loads, common near the petrochemical corridor and oil and gas work sites.
- Wrongful Death: When a family loses someone to a truck crash, Louisiana law lets certain relatives bring claims for the death and for the suffering the person endured before dying.
What to Do After a Big-Rig Crash in Louisiana
Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and herniated discs, concussions, and internal bleeding often show up hours or days later. Emergency room records created right after the crash are the strongest proof that the truck caused your injuries. Call 911 so a police report is created, and if you can, photograph the scene, the position of the vehicles, the trailer, any visible damage, skid marks, and the truck’s markings, including the USDOT number and company name on the cab door.
Preservation of evidence is where trucking cases are won or lost. Motor carriers hold data that passenger car cases never have: driver logs, electronic logging records, dispatch messages, the truck’s onboard data, maintenance and inspection files, and driver qualification records. Some of that material can be overwritten or discarded in the ordinary course of business. A prompt preservation letter to the carrier is one of the first things we send after we are retained.
Be careful with the insurance adjusters. A trucking insurer often calls quickly, sounds sympathetic, and asks for a recorded statement. You are not obligated to give one, and anything you say about how the crash happened or how you feel can be used to cut your claim. Louisiana now has a fault rule that makes this more serious: for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower percentages reduce the award proportionally. Insurers know this and look for any reason to push blame onto you, so do not speculate about fault, and do not apologize at the scene.
Mind the deadlines. For ordinary injury claims from crashes on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana’s prescriptive period is two years from the day the injury is sustained; older crashes remain under the former one-year period. Wrongful death follows the longer of one year from the death or two years from the injury. If you were hurt while working, the comp deadlines run on a separate and much tighter clock: report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. Those comp claims are heard by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation, in the district offices that include New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and others. Injury lawsuits against a trucking company go to the state district courts or, where the facts support it, the federal courts in Louisiana. Do not wait to find out which deadline applies to you.
Finally, keep treating and keep records. Follow your doctors’ instructions, attend every appointment, and save pay stubs, medical bills, and out-of-pocket receipts. Gaps in treatment are one of the first things a trucking insurer will point to when arguing that you were not really hurt.
Who Can Be Held Responsible Beyond the Driver
The person behind the wheel is only the start. Federal safety rules govern how many hours a trucker may drive, how loads must be secured, and how trucks must be inspected and maintained. When those rules are broken, responsibility can reach the motor carrier that pressured a driver to run past legal limits, the company that hired an unqualified driver, the shipper or loader that overloaded or poorly secured cargo, or a maintenance shop that missed a brake defect. Each of those parties may carry its own insurance, and a serious injury case often needs every layer of coverage to be fully compensated.
Damages in a serious truck case can include past and future medical care, lost income and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and the cost of long-term care for catastrophic injuries. The size of the claim is exactly why carriers defend these cases hard, and why early investigation matters so much.
Questions People Ask About 18-Wheeler Accident Claims in Louisiana
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a truck accident in Louisiana?
For crashes on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana gives two years from the day the injury is sustained to bring an ordinary injury claim. Crashes before that date fall under the earlier one-year period. Wrongful death claims run the longer of one year from the death or two years from the injury. Because the right deadline depends on the crash date and the type of claim, get a lawyer to confirm it early.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
It depends on when your claim arose. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a lower percentage reduces the award by that share. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault. Either way, the trucking company will try to assign you as much blame as possible, which is why independent evidence matters.
Do I need a lawyer for an 18-wheeler accident, or can I handle it with the insurance company?
Trucking claims involve federal safety regulations, multiple possible defendants, and insurers that send investigators to the scene quickly. A lawyer can preserve the carrier’s records, bring in accident reconstruction and medical experts, and deal with the insurer so you can focus on recovering. If your injuries are serious or fault is disputed, going alone is risky.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover for you.
I was working when the truck hit me. Can I get workers’ compensation and sue the trucking company?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation covers your medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, and a separate injury claim against the at-fault trucking company may be available because that company is not your employer. The claims have to be coordinated so one does not undercut the other.
What records does the trucking company have that could prove what happened?
Carriers keep driver logs and electronic logging data, dispatch records, inspection and maintenance files, driver qualification and training records, and onboard vehicle data. Because some of it can be lost or overwritten, a preservation demand sent early is critical.
The trucking company’s insurer wants a recorded statement. Should I give one?
You are not required to, and you should talk to a lawyer first. Recorded statements are used to lock in details and to find inconsistencies that reduce or deny a claim.
Can I recover if my family member was killed in a truck crash?
Louisiana allows certain family members to bring a wrongful death claim, along with a survival claim for what the person suffered before dying. Under recent changes, both generally follow the longer of one year from the death or two years from the injury. Which relatives may sue, and in what order, is set by statute, so speak with a lawyer promptly.
Will my health insurance or comp carrier be repaid out of my settlement?
Often there are reimbursement rights, especially from a workers’ compensation carrier that paid benefits for a crash caused by a third party. How those rights are handled can change what you actually take home, so they need to be dealt with before any settlement is signed.
How long does a trucking case take?
There is no fixed timeline. Cases with clear fault and a full recovery can resolve in months, while cases involving catastrophic injuries, disputed fault, or several defendants and insurers can take years. We do not rush a settlement before your medical picture is clear, because future care is part of what the claim must cover.
Can you help if the crash happened somewhere other than New Orleans?
Yes. We represent injured people statewide in Louisiana, whether the crash happened on I-10, I-20, I-49, a parish road, or a work site.
Serving 18-Wheeler Accident Clients Across Louisiana
From the Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish corridor along I-10 and the river parishes up toward Baton Rouge, our team represents people hurt in truck crashes throughout South Louisiana. We also serve clients in Baton Rouge and the Capital Region, Lafayette and Acadiana, Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana, and Houma and the surrounding bayou communities. On the Northshore, we assist clients in Slidell, Covington, Mandeville, and Hammond, and farther north we represent people in Alexandria, Monroe, and Shreveport along the I-20 and I-49 freight routes. Wherever the crash occurred, from a plant entrance in the petrochemical corridor to a rural highway in north Louisiana, we handle the claim.
Because many of our clients were hurt while working, we also stay connected to the workers’ compensation system that runs through the state’s district offices, and we handle personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from the same crash. We serve clients across Mississippi as well, including the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Jackson, and the Delta.
Talk With a Louisiana 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney Today
If a tractor-trailer changed your life or took someone you love, you do not have to take on the carrier and its insurer alone. Our Louisiana 18-wheeler accident attorney team will review what happened, explain how any workers’ compensation benefits and injury claim fit together, and tell you plainly what the case may require. Call us any time, day or night, for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover for you.
