Louisiana Premises Liability Lawyer
A fall on a wet grocery store floor in Lafayette and a collapsed walkway at an apartment complex in New Orleans can both end up in a Louisiana civil court, but the reason the property owner is responsible will be different in each, and that difference decides whether a claim succeeds. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles injury claims for people hurt across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Louisiana premises liability lawyer from our firm can examine who controlled the property, what they knew about the hazard, and what the law allows you to recover.
Premises cases are won on proof of notice. Louisiana does not make a property owner the guarantor of everyone’s safety. The injured person generally has to show that a hazard existed, that the owner or merchant knew about it or should have found it, and that the owner failed to fix it or warn about it in a reasonable time. Photos taken the same day, maintenance logs, surveillance video, and witness names often matter more than the injury itself.
Many of our clients arrive after a fall or a scaffold failure at a job site, and the premises claim is sitting right beside a workers’ compensation claim. That overlap is where this firm’s focus on injured workers becomes useful, and it is why we treat the two claims as one coordinated problem.
What Makes a Louisiana Premises Case Different
The first question is always who had custody of the property. In Louisiana, responsibility can fall on an owner, a tenant who controlled the space, a management company, or a contractor working on the premises. A hotel that leases its parking garage to an operator, or a shopping center that outsources floor cleaning, creates several possible defendants. Part of an attorney’s work is mapping those relationships early, before records are lost and before the responsible party points at someone else.
Fault is the second issue. Louisiana now uses a rule under which a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a lower share of fault reduces the award proportionally. That rule applies to causes of action arising on or after the start of 2026, while earlier ones remain under pure comparative fault. Insurers know this and will argue that you were distracted, wore the wrong shoes, or ignored an obvious hazard. A case can be lost on that argument alone, so how the incident is documented and described from day one carries real weight.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Louisiana Premises Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, with workers’ compensation at the center of the practice and personal injury work, including premises liability, car and truck accidents, and wrongful death, alongside it. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We take cases on a no recovery, no fee basis, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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. 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.
Results show what that experience produces. The firm secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Those cases involved spine injuries, burns, and industrial settings, which are the same kinds of harm that come out of unsafe commercial property. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stays in the fight with the insurance company.
Common Premises Liability Situations in Louisiana
- Slip and Fall on Wet or Slick Floors: Grocery stores, restaurants, big-box retailers, and hospital lobbies produce many of these claims. Louisiana’s merchant liability statute puts the burden on the injured shopper to show the store had actual or constructive notice of the spill and a reasonable chance to clean it, which makes video and incident reports central.
- Trip Hazards and Defective Walkways: Cracked sidewalks, broken curbs, uneven parking lots, and torn carpeting are common around older commercial buildings in New Orleans and in strip centers across Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Hurricane repairs and deferred maintenance can leave hazards in place long enough to prove notice.
- Inadequate Security: Apartment complexes, hotels, parking garages, and bars may owe a duty to take reasonable steps against foreseeable criminal attacks. Prior incidents on the property are often the key evidence.
- Stairway, Railing, and Balcony Failures: Rotted wood, loose handrails, and missing guardrails cause serious fractures and spinal injuries, especially on rental property where a landlord ignored repair requests.
- Dangerous Conditions at Industrial and Construction Sites: Plants, refineries, oil field yards, and building sites along the Gulf Coast corridor can injure workers and visitors alike. When the hazard was created by a company other than your employer, you may have a premises or negligence claim in addition to workers’ compensation.
- Swimming Pool and Hotel Injuries: Missing fencing, slick decks, and poorly maintained fixtures at hotels and apartment pools lead to head injuries and drowning cases, including wrongful death claims.
- Falling Objects and Structural Collapse: Shelving that tips, ceiling materials that give way, and signage that detaches injure customers and employees, and these cases often involve both owners and contractors.
Steps to Take After an Injury on Someone Else’s Property
Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how you were hurt. Records that connect the injury to the fall or collapse are the backbone of the claim, and gaps in treatment give an insurer room to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Then report the incident to the owner, manager, or landlord and ask that a written incident report be made. Ask for a copy, and do not give a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster before talking with a lawyer.
Evidence disappears quickly. Photograph the exact spot, the surrounding conditions, the lighting, any warning signs that were missing, and your footwear. Get names and contact information for witnesses. Write down the date, the time, and what you were doing. Businesses overwrite surveillance footage on a schedule, so a prompt written request to preserve it can decide whether it exists later.
Timing matters in Louisiana. Delictual actions that arise from injuries on or after July 1, 2024 carry a two-year prescriptive period under Civil Code article 3493.1, running from the day the injury is sustained. Earlier injuries remain under the old one-year period. Wrongful death claims allow one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer. If a government body owns the property, such as a public building, park, or roadway, separate notice rules and shorter deadlines can apply, so do not assume the standard period covers you.
If you were hurt while working, report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and know that a workers’ compensation claim has its own one-year filing period in Louisiana. Those compensation claims go before a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, while a premises claim against a third party is filed in civil district court in the parish where the case belongs, or in federal court in limited circumstances. Avoid posting about the accident or your recovery on social media, and do not sign a release or accept a quick check before you know the full extent of the injury.
How Premises Claims and Workers’ Compensation Fit Together
Louisiana workers’ compensation generally prevents you from suing your own employer for a workplace injury, but it does not stop you from pursuing a separate party whose negligence contributed. A delivery driver who falls on a customer’s broken loading dock, an electrician injured by a hazard a general contractor left behind, or a worker hurt at a facility owned by a different company may have both a comp claim and a third-party claim.
The two claims affect each other. The comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, and settlement terms in one case can limit what you can do in the other. Handling both under one roof prevents a settlement in the premises case from accidentally costing you medical benefits or wage benefits in the compensation case. That is the practical value of working with a firm that lives in both worlds.
Questions About Louisiana Premises Liability Claims
What do I have to prove in a Louisiana slip and fall case?
You generally need to show that a hazard existed, that it caused your fall, that the owner or merchant knew about it or should have discovered it, and that they failed to correct or warn about it within a reasonable time. For stores, the notice element is usually the hardest part.
How long do I have to file a premises liability lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the period is two years from the day the injury is sustained. Injuries before that date remain under the former one-year period. Because wrongful death and government-owned property involve different rules, get advice early rather than counting on the longer period.
What if I was partly at fault for my fall?
Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. For causes of action arising on or after the start of 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing. Earlier cases remain under pure comparative fault. Insurers push hard on this point, so the way your fall is documented matters.
Can I sue if I was hurt at work on someone else’s property?
Often yes. You usually cannot sue your own employer, but you may be able to pursue the property owner or a contractor who was not your employer, while also collecting workers’ compensation benefits.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor fall?
Not every case requires one, but insurers frequently undervalue injuries that look minor at first and turn into back, neck, shoulder, or knee problems that need surgery. Speaking with a lawyer before accepting any offer protects you from settling a case that is worth far more.
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 for you.
Can a landlord be responsible for my injury in a rental unit?
Yes, when the injury comes from a defect the landlord knew about or should have repaired, such as a rotted stair, a broken railing, or a failed balcony. Written repair requests and photographs of the defect strengthen these claims considerably.
What if the property is owned by a city, parish, or state agency?
Claims against public bodies can involve special notice requirements and different deadlines. Because missing one can end the case, raise it with an attorney immediately rather than treating it like a private-property claim.
Will my health insurance or workers’ comp cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Your health insurance may pay and then seek reimbursement from any recovery. If you were hurt on the job, workers’ compensation should pay reasonable and necessary medical care, and a comp carrier that refuses can be challenged through the state’s dispute process.
What if the store says it has no video of my fall?
That statement deserves scrutiny. Many businesses keep footage for a limited time, and a prompt written preservation request can matter. If footage was destroyed after the business knew a claim was likely, that fact can become part of the case.
Can family members bring a claim if someone dies from a premises injury?
Louisiana allows wrongful death and survival actions by certain family members. Both follow a rule of one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer, though a wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice stays limited to one year from the date of death.
Do you handle cases outside the larger cities?
Yes. We represent injured people statewide, from the Gulf Coast and south Louisiana to the northern part of the state.
Serving Premises Liability Clients Across Louisiana
Our work for Louisiana clients starts in New Orleans and spreads through the surrounding region, including Jefferson Parish communities along the river and the suburbs on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We represent people hurt in Baton Rouge and the capital region, across Acadiana in Lafayette, and in Lake Charles and the southwest Louisiana industrial corridor. Our reach continues north to Shreveport and across the rest of north Louisiana, and into the oil, port, and plant communities of South Louisiana where industrial premises hazards are a recurring source of serious injuries.
We also serve clients in neighboring Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Whether a case starts in a Louisiana grocery aisle, an apartment stairwell, or a job site that crosses state lines, our team can evaluate it where it arose and pursue it in the right forum.
Talk With a Louisiana Premises Liability Attorney Today
If a dangerous property condition hurt you, a Louisiana premises liability attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, identify who is responsible, and explain how any workers’ compensation claim fits with it. Call us any time, day or night. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you.
