Edison Chouest Offshore Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Getting medical care approved, keeping a paycheck coming while you heal, and learning which legal system actually governs your injury are the three things that matter first after an accident connected to Edison Chouest Offshore. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and it takes on the kind of claims where the first question is not “how much” but “which law applies.”
That question is the heart of any Edison Chouest Offshore workers’ compensation lawyer search. Edison Chouest is a marine and offshore support company, so its people work on vessels, at shore-side facilities, and in the supply chain that feeds offshore energy operations along the Gulf. A deckhand injured on a boat in open water may fall under a completely different body of law than a welder hurt in a shipyard or a dock worker hurt loading supplies. Getting that classification right early can decide whether you have a state compensation claim, a federal maritime claim, or more than one path.
Our firm works the Louisiana side of this industry and the Mississippi Gulf Coast side, and we handle the medical, wage, and denial fights that follow a serious injury in the offshore and marine trades.
The Threshold Question: State Comp, Longshore Act, or Maritime Claim
Before anyone can talk about benefits, someone has to decide what kind of worker you were at the moment you were hurt. Offshore employers and their insurers know that the answer controls the remedy, and they sometimes lean on it to slow a claim down or reduce what they owe.
Broadly, a worker who spends meaningful time aboard a vessel in navigation and contributes to its mission is often treated under maritime law, where remedies are different from state comp and can involve negligence-based claims and maintenance and cure. Workers injured on land, in fabrication yards, in warehouses, or on shore-side facilities are more likely to fall under a compensation system, which may be state workers’ compensation or a federal program for certain maritime-adjacent employment. Many real jobs straddle those lines. A rotating crew member, a yard employee who sometimes boards vessels, and a contract worker placed by a staffing company can each raise a different answer.
We do not guess at this on a first phone call. We look at where you were, what you were doing, how much of your work is tied to a vessel, and who actually paid and directed you. If your situation points toward state workers’ compensation in Louisiana or Mississippi, we handle it. If it points toward a maritime or federal claim, or toward a third party who caused the harm, we will tell you what we see and how those pieces fit together.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Offshore Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including the Gulf Coast communities and south Louisiana parishes where the offshore industry lives. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers handling a work injury when one happens to walk in. We built our practice the other way around.
Our results reflect the heavy-industry injuries that come out of this kind of work. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, including $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex left shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes, $135,000 for a diesel mechanic with a SLAP tear, and larger back injury recoveries such as $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker. Those are the injuries that offshore and marine work produces: backs, shoulders, burns, and crushed or broken limbs.
Rob Lunsford, our Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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 Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out a team that handles these claims at every level. Clients consistently describe a firm that listens, answers questions, and stays in the fight with the insurance company.
There is no fee unless we recover for you. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and hablamos español for clients who prefer to work in Spanish. Fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
Injuries We See From Marine and Offshore Support Work
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting, hauling line, working hatches, and long shifts on steel decks wear on discs. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease; we answer that with medical evidence showing how repetitive physical work or a single incident caused or worsened the injury.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears are common among crew who handle heavy lines, pipe, and equipment. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and we build the record to show otherwise.
- Fractures: Slips on wet decks, falls from ladders and platforms, and being caught between equipment can break feet, ankles, hips, and arms, often needing specialists and surgical repair.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Fires, flash events, and contact with hot surfaces or chemicals on industrial and energy-related sites can cause severe burns and life-altering harm.
- Crush and struck-by injuries: Cranes, cargo, winches, and moving vessels at the dock create pinch points and falling-object hazards that cause serious trauma.
- Vehicle accidents on the job: Workers driving between shore bases, yards, and job sites can be hurt by negligent drivers, which may support a separate injury claim alongside comp.
- Repetitive strain and occupational illness: Hearing loss, cumulative joint damage, and exposure-related conditions can develop over years and still qualify when the job caused or worsened them.
What to Do After an Injury Tied to Edison Chouest Offshore
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. In both Louisiana and Mississippi you have 30 days from the accident to give notice, and waiting makes the insurer’s job easier. If you are offshore, report to the captain or supervisor on board and ask that it be logged, then follow up once you reach shore.
Get medical care and be specific about how and where you were hurt. Describe the mechanism: what you were lifting, where you slipped, what moved. Vague histories get turned into “pre-existing condition” denials. Keep copies of every document you are handed, take photographs of the scene and your injury when it is safe to do so, and write down the names of anyone who saw it happen. Avoid signing statements or releases for an adjuster without reviewing them, and do not agree to return to work before your treating doctor releases you.
The filing clock depends on the state. In Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though the deadline can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. Those claims go before a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which has district courts in places like New Orleans, Houma, Lafayette, and Lake Charles. You choose among the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. If treatment is denied, a utilization review dispute must be filed on Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of the written denial, and the medical director then has 30 days to decide.
In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which hears claims through evidentiary hearings before an Administrative Judge and reviews appeals before the Full Commission in Jackson. Coverage begins on your first day of work with no waiting period.
If a claim is denied, deadlines to challenge a ruling are short. A Louisiana judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal within 30 days where the appeal suspends the judgment, and within 60 days where it does not. A final Mississippi Commission award can be appealed within 30 days. Call us before those windows close.
Benefits Available When You Cannot Work
Workers’ compensation pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment, including doctor visits, surgery, therapy, and medication. It also replaces part of your lost wages. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to the statutory weekly maximum and capped at 450 weeks. In Louisiana, temporary total benefits cover time out of work, and supplemental earnings benefits apply if you return at reduced pay and cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages; they run until release to full duty, a return to pre-injury earnings, or the 520-week maximum, with temporary total weeks counting toward that limit. The weekly maximums are set annually in Louisiana and adjusted periodically in Mississippi, and they are fixed by your accident date in Louisiana.
Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits apply when an injury leaves lasting limits, and vocational rehabilitation may be available when you cannot return to your old job. These are the benefits insurers most often argue about, and they are where documentation and medical opinions matter most.
Third-Party Claims and Employer Liability Beyond Comp
Offshore and marine worksites involve many companies: vessel owners, contractors, equipment manufacturers, and drivers sharing the road. When someone other than your employer causes your injury, you may have a separate injury claim in addition to your compensation benefits. A negligent contractor, a defective piece of equipment, or a driver who hits your work vehicle can all open that door.
Louisiana now gives two years for most injury lawsuits arising from incidents on or after July 1, 2024, and a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault is barred from recovery for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. Our personal injury lawyers make sure the comp claim and the injury claim work together instead of against each other, since settlement of one can affect the other.
Questions Offshore Workers Ask About Their Claims
Is an Edison Chouest Offshore injury covered by workers’ compensation?
It depends on your job and where you were hurt. Land-based and shore-side workers are often covered by state workers’ compensation, while crew members serving aboard a vessel may fall under maritime law with different remedies. We review your duties and the circumstances before advising you.
How long do I have to report an injury?
Report it as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after the accident in both Louisiana and Mississippi. Written notice is safest.
How long do I have to file a claim?
In Louisiana, a 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 Commission.
What if my treatment is denied?
In Louisiana, you have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file a utilization review dispute with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Do not wait to call a lawyer after a denial letter arrives.
Can the company say my injury was pre-existing?
They can try, but a pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed, and strong medical evidence is how we answer that argument.
Do I have to see the company’s doctor?
Rules on choosing a physician differ between Louisiana and Mississippi and depend on your situation. Ask us before agreeing to a particular doctor, because treatment records drive the entire claim.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Both states protect workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally not based on fault, so carelessness on your part usually does not defeat a comp claim. Fault matters more in a separate lawsuit against a third party, where Louisiana’s 51 percent bar and Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule can affect recovery.
Will I have to go to court?
Comp claims are decided by a workers’ compensation judge in Louisiana or by the Commission in Mississippi rather than by a jury. Many claims resolve through negotiation or settlement, and we prepare each one as if it could be tried.
If I am hurt offshore, can I still file in Louisiana or Mississippi?
Often the claim can be pursued where it is connected to you, but the right forum depends on your classification and the facts. We evaluate whether state comp, a federal program, or a maritime claim applies before anything is filed.
What does hiring your firm cost?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Fees are limited and approved under state law.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Offshore and Marine Workers Across the Gulf
The offshore support industry touches communities across the Gulf, and we represent injured workers throughout South Louisiana and Mississippi. In Louisiana, that includes New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as the bayou and coastal communities of the region and north Louisiana as far as Shreveport. In Mississippi, our clients come from the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta, and from communities across north Mississippi.
Whether you work on the water, at a dock or yard, or on the road moving crews and supplies, the same principle holds: your injury needs to be documented correctly, classified correctly, and presented to the right decision-maker. We handle claims before the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration and the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and we take appeals to the Louisiana courts of appeal and the Mississippi appellate courts when a ruling needs to be challenged.
Talk With an Edison Chouest Offshore Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt working for or alongside Edison Chouest Offshore, you do not have to sort out the legal classification, the deadlines, and the insurance company on your own. An Edison Chouest Offshore workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which system applies to you, and start protecting your medical care and wage benefits right away.
Call us any time of day. Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
