Cameron LNG Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Working at a liquefied natural gas export terminal means your injury claim sits in a place where state lines, parish lines, and contractor layers all blur together. A Cameron LNG workers’ compensation lawyer has to sort out who actually employed you, which state’s comp system applies, and whether someone other than your employer shares the blame. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and the Cameron Parish coast and the Lake Charles industrial corridor are squarely within the South Louisiana territory we serve.
Large LNG facilities rarely run on one payroll. Plant operators, engineering and construction contractors, subcontracted trades, staffing agencies, and specialty vendors all work the same site, often on rotating schedules. A pipefitter, scaffold builder, crane rigger, or insulator hurt inside the fence may be employed by a company the terminal owner never directly hired. That structure shapes who pays comp benefits, who the insurer is, and whether a separate injury claim exists against a different company on the site.
Those questions are not academic. They determine how fast your medical care is authorized, whether your weekly checks arrive, and how an adjuster frames the accident. Getting the employment relationship documented early is often the difference between a smooth claim and months of finger-pointing between contractors and carriers.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an LNG Plant Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, with clients in Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, and the rest of South Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a side matter taken when it happens to walk in. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We work on a no recovery, no fee basis, consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language.
The people behind that work matter. 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 in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which matters when an insurer will not move without pressure. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results line up with the kind of injuries industrial workers suffer. We secured $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns, and $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, a case that involved both comp benefits and another party’s fault. Clients regularly describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stands up to the insurance company, and that is the standard we hold ourselves to on every industrial claim.
Injuries That Come Out of LNG Terminal Work
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, pulling, climbing, and working in cramped positions around piping, pumps, and structural steel produce lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, so the medical record has to show how the work caused or aggravated the condition.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Hot work, process equipment, electrical systems, and fire or flash events can cause severe burns and life-altering trauma. These claims involve long treatment, specialists, and permanent disability questions that call for careful valuation.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, meniscus tears, and ACL tears are common among craft workers who haul tools, handle heavy pipe, and work on uneven surfaces. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and we answer with imaging and treating-physician opinions.
- Fractures: Falls from scaffolding, elevated platforms, and ladders, along with crush injuries from moving loads, break feet, ankles, hips, wrists, and other bones, often requiring surgical repair and extended time away from work.
- Inhalation and Exposure Injuries: Gas releases, chemical exposure, and confined-space incidents can cause respiratory and other illnesses. Comp covers conditions that result from the work environment, not only sudden accidents.
- Struck-By and Vehicle Incidents: Work trucks moving between laydown yards, gates, and the Cameron Parish roads leading to the site create crash risk. When another driver or company is at fault, a separate injury claim may exist alongside comp.
- Repetitive Strain and Cumulative Trauma: Years of overhead work, vibration, and heavy lifting wear joints and spines. A gradual injury is still a work injury, and the record should show the job history behind it.
What to Do Right After an Injury at the Terminal
Report the injury to your supervisor immediately, and put it in writing if you can. Both Louisiana and Mississippi expect notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and in Louisiana a compensation proceeding generally cannot be maintained without it. On a multi-contractor site, report to your own employer and to the site safety contact, and keep a copy or a text confirming you did. Ask for the name of the comp carrier and the claim number.
Get medical care and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened and that it happened at work. Vague histories get used against you later. If the company clinic sends you back to work before your own symptoms support it, tell the provider what you are experiencing and do not minimize pain to keep the peace. Photograph the area, write down who saw it, and note equipment, crew members, and the time of day while memories are fresh.
Which state’s system governs depends on facts such as where you were hired and where the injury occurred. For a Louisiana claim, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment when benefits have been paid. Where you file also matters: Louisiana lets the worker elect a hearing location, the parish where the injury happened, the parish of residence at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Claims are decided by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which operates a district court in Lake Charles. Cameron Parish appeals go to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.
Treat any recorded statement request carefully. Adjusters ask for them early, and an innocent comment about a sore back last year can become a pre-existing condition defense. You can speak to a lawyer first. If a treatment request is denied, the clock is short: in Louisiana, a utilization review dispute is initiated by filing a form with the OWC within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the OWC medical director then has 30 days to decide. Missing that window can cost you the treatment.
Who Pays When More Than One Company Is Involved
Comp is a no-fault system, which means you generally cannot sue your own employer for a workplace injury. But comp is not the only path. If a company that was not your employer caused the accident, such as a different contractor whose crew dropped a load, left a hazard, or ran you off the road, you may have a third-party personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits. Those claims can recover losses comp does not, and they run on their own deadlines.
Louisiana now applies a two-year period to most injury lawsuits arising from incidents on or after July 1, 2024, and a stricter fault rule applies to claims arising on or after January 1, 2026: a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, while lesser fault reduces the award. Because the comp claim and the injury claim interact, including reimbursement to the comp carrier from a third-party recovery, they should be handled together. Our personal injury work across both states exists for exactly this overlap.
How Insurers Fight Industrial Claims
The carrier’s playbook on plant injuries is familiar. They argue the accident did not happen at work, blame a pre-existing or degenerative condition, push you back to duty before your doctor clears you, or stop paying without warning. On contractor-heavy sites there is an added tactic: each employer and insurer suggests the injury belongs to someone else. We answer with medical records, witness accounts, incident reports, and your actual work history.
If you can work again but only at lower pay, Louisiana provides supplemental earnings benefits, set at two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average wage and what you can earn, available when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your prior wages. Those benefits run until you are released to full duty, return to your pre-injury earnings, or reach 520 weeks, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that limit. Weekly benefit rates are capped by formula and fixed by the date of your accident. If a judge rules against you, a final judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal within 30 days of notice of judgment, or 60 days where the appeal does not suspend the judgment.
Questions About Cameron LNG Workers’ Compensation Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim after an LNG plant injury?
Not every claim needs one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
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 my injury and file a claim?
Report to your employer right away and within 30 days at the latest in both Louisiana and Mississippi. In Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with an extension to three years from the last payment if benefits were paid. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the injury or last payment to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
I work for a subcontractor, not the terminal owner. Can I still get comp?
Yes. Your subcontractor or staffing company is generally your employer for comp purposes, and its carrier owes the benefits. Sorting out the chain of contractors can be complicated, which is why documenting who directed your work matters early on.
What if my employer says my injury was a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence tying the work to the injury is the heart of answering this defense.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Louisiana and Mississippi both protect workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can I pursue a claim against someone other than my employer?
Sometimes. If a different contractor, a negligent driver, or another third party caused the accident, you may have an injury claim on top of comp. The two claims affect each other, so they should be coordinated from the start.
My doctor wants surgery but the insurer denied it. What now?
In Louisiana you have 15 calendar days from receiving the written denial to file a dispute form with the OWC, and the medical director then has 30 days to rule. Treat that deadline as firm, and call us before it passes.
What happens if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation does not turn on fault, so carelessness on your part generally does not defeat a comp claim. Fault does matter in a separate injury lawsuit against a third party, where Louisiana’s rules can reduce or, at 51 percent or more, bar recovery for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, and Mississippi reduces recovery by your share of fault.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the comp claim is pending?
Comp is supposed to pay for reasonable and necessary treatment of a work injury, so health insurers often resist paying for it. If the comp carrier denies care, talk with us about options before running up bills, because how treatment is billed can affect your claim.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos español, and clients can work with our team in Spanish from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Injured Workers From Cameron Parish Across South Louisiana and Mississippi
Our work for LNG and industrial workers begins on the Cameron Parish coast and extends through the Lake Charles area and the communities that feed the region’s plants, including Sulphur, Westlake, Vinton, and Hackberry. We also represent injured workers in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and across South Louisiana, as well as Shreveport and north Louisiana. Many industrial workers travel for jobs, so we serve clients in Mississippi as well, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether you were hurt at a terminal, a refinery, a fabrication yard, or on the road to a job site, our workers’ compensation team handles claims throughout both states.
Talk With a Cameron LNG Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt at an LNG facility or any industrial site in Cameron Parish or the surrounding region, a Cameron LNG workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, identify every party who may owe you benefits, and take the insurer on. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today and tell us what happened. We help injured workers, and that is all we do.
