Baton Rouge Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, and communities across South Louisiana and the rest of the state, and the firm treats a Baton Rouge forklift and crane accident lawyer search as a sign that something serious has already gone wrong. Forklift and crane injuries are rarely minor. A load that drops, a lift truck that tips, or a boom that contacts something it should not have can leave a worker with crushed limbs, spinal damage, or worse.
Baton Rouge is a working industrial city. Chemical plants and refineries along the river corridor, warehouses and distribution yards, port-related operations, and a steady stream of commercial and industrial construction all depend on powered equipment moving heavy loads. Where there is that much lifting, there are workers on the ground beside it, and they are usually the ones hurt when something fails.
Most of these injuries happen on the job, which means the workers’ compensation system is the first place your claim lives. But equipment accidents often involve more than one company on the same site, and that opens a second door that many injured workers never learn about until it is too late to walk through it.
How Forklift and Crane Accidents Actually Happen on Baton Rouge Job Sites
Forklift injuries tend to come from a handful of repeated causes. Lift trucks tip over when they turn too sharply with a raised load or travel on uneven pavement. Pedestrian workers get pinned between a truck and a rack, a dock, or a wall. Loads shift or fall from forks that were not properly set. Operators with thin training run into people they never saw. Floors slick with product or rain at an open loading dock make every one of these worse.
Crane accidents are less frequent but usually more devastating. Rigging fails, a load swings into a worker, a boom touches an energized power line, ground conditions give way under outriggers, or an operator lifts beyond the rated capacity. Mobile cranes on construction sites, overhead cranes in plants and fabrication shops, and cranes mounted on trucks all carry their own risks. When a crane event happens, the injuries often include fractures, crush injuries, burns, and traumatic back and head trauma.
In our experience, the first thing an insurer does after one of these accidents is look for a way to shift the story. They suggest the worker was not following procedure, that a prior back problem explains the pain, or that the injury is not as serious as the doctors say. Knowing the equipment, the site, and the paper trail matters from day one.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Equipment Accident Claims
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers in Baton Rouge and throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for its clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
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 a related injury claim against a third party needs a trial lawyer. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results reflect the kind of injuries equipment accidents cause. 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. Clients consistently describe a team that listened, communicated, and pushed back hard against the insurance company on their behalf. Past results do not guarantee any particular outcome, but they show what this firm does with serious injury claims.
Injuries and Claim Types We See After Forklift and Crane Accidents
- Crush and Pinning Injuries: Workers caught between a forklift and a rack, dock edge, or trailer often suffer fractured pelvises, legs, and feet that need specialist surgical repair and long recovery.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Tip-overs, falling loads, and sudden impacts cause disc herniations and spinal damage, and insurers frequently respond by blaming degenerative disc disease or an older condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears come from grabbing for a falling load, being struck by a swinging one, or twisting while trying to get clear.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Crane contact with power lines, and equipment accidents near industrial processes, can cause severe burns and life-altering trauma on plant and industrial sites.
- Struck-By Injuries From Dropped or Swinging Loads: Rigging failures and overloaded lifts send steel, pipe, and materials into workers below, often on busy construction and fabrication sites.
- Fatal Equipment Accidents: When a worker dies, surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits through workers’ compensation and may also have a wrongful death claim against a negligent third party.
- Third-Party Equipment Claims: A defective forklift, a poorly maintained crane, a negligent rigging contractor, or an unsafe site controlled by someone other than your employer can support a separate personal injury claim.
What to Do After a Forklift or Crane Accident in Baton Rouge
Get medical care first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and how. That sounds obvious, but gaps and vague descriptions in the early medical records are exactly what insurers use later. If you can, report the injury to your employer right away and put it in writing. In Louisiana, notice to your employer must be given within 30 days of the injury, and a formal claim generally has to be filed within one year of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, that window can stretch to three years from the last payment, but do not count on an exception. Mississippi workers have the same 30-day reporting rule and generally two years to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
If you can safely do it, or if a coworker can, preserve what the scene looked like. Photographs of the equipment, the load, the floor or ground, and any missing guards or warnings are valuable. Write down who was operating the machine, who was supervising the lift, and who saw it happen. Note the equipment make, unit number, and any signs of maintenance problems. Ask whether the employer or a contractor has inspection logs, operator certifications, or incident reports, but do not sign statements or recorded interviews for the insurer before talking to a lawyer.
You can choose to have your case heard in the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when you were hurt, or the parish where your employer’s principal place of business is located. A workers’ compensation judge decides the case. If a judge’s ruling goes against you, appeals from the Baton Rouge district go to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, and an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days, while one that does not suspend it has sixty days. A further request for review by the Louisiana Supreme Court is due within 30 days of notice of the judgment.
If your doctor’s recommended treatment is denied by the insurer through utilization review, the clock is short. You have 15 calendar days after receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. After that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008 for review by a workers’ compensation judge. Missing these windows can cost you treatment you need, so do not sit on a denial letter.
The most common mistakes are waiting to report, downplaying symptoms to a supervisor, returning to work before a doctor clears you, and giving the adjuster a recorded statement without guidance. Another common mistake is assuming that workers’ compensation is the end of the story when a third party may also be responsible.
When a Forklift or Crane Accident Also Supports a Separate Injury Claim
Workers’ compensation generally prevents you from suing your own employer for a work injury, but it does not stop you from pursuing others whose negligence contributed. Industrial sites often have multiple companies working side by side: a general contractor, a crane rental company, a rigging crew, an equipment manufacturer, a maintenance contractor. If one of them caused the accident, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. That claim can reach damages that workers’ compensation does not, including pain and suffering.
The deadlines are different. For Louisiana injuries on or after July 1, 2024, delictual actions generally carry a two-year prescriptive period running from the day the injury is sustained, and earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. If a worker dies, a wrongful death claim runs one year from the date of death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer. Louisiana also now bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, with lesser fault reducing the award proportionally, so how fault is documented from the beginning matters. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
Coordinating the two claims takes care. A settlement of one can affect the other, and the comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery. Because the firm handles both workers’ compensation and personal injury matters, it can make sure the claims work together instead of against each other.
Common Questions About Forklift and Crane Accident Claims
Do I need a lawyer after a forklift injury at work?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if the injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. Equipment accidents often involve multiple companies and disputed fault, which makes them harder to handle alone.
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 collected only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
In workers’ compensation, fault generally does not decide whether you receive benefits. In a separate third-party claim, fault matters. Louisiana’s 51 percent bar applies to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, and lesser fault reduces recovery proportionally. Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage of fault.
What if I only reported the injury a few weeks later?
You still may have a claim, but the 30-day notice rule in Louisiana and Mississippi is strict, and late notice invites an insurer to question what happened. Report as soon as you can and speak with a lawyer quickly.
Can I be fired for filing a claim after a crane accident?
Both Louisiana and Mississippi protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my back problem was already there?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence tying the incident to your current symptoms is the key.
What wage benefits can I receive while I recover?
Louisiana provides wage replacement while you cannot work, and supplemental earnings benefits if you return at reduced pay. Supplemental earnings benefits can run until you are released to full duty, you earn your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. The weekly maximum is set by the date of your accident and does not change later.
Can the equipment manufacturer or a rental company be held responsible?
Possibly. If a defective forklift or crane, or a poorly maintained rented machine, contributed to the accident, a third-party claim may exist. Preserving the equipment and its maintenance records early is important, so tell your lawyer about the machine as soon as you can.
How long does a forklift or crane injury case take?
It depends on how serious the injury is and how long you need treatment. Many cases do not resolve until you reach maximum medical improvement, because the full extent of the injury must be known. Disputed claims that go before an OWC judge take longer than those the insurer accepts.
My family member died in a crane accident. What can we do?
Surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits under workers’ compensation and may also have a wrongful death claim against a negligent third party. Louisiana wrongful death claims run one year from the date of death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer, so speak with a lawyer promptly.
Do you help Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Equipment Accident Clients Across East Baton Rouge Parish and Beyond
The firm represents injured workers throughout Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, including the industrial corridor along the river, the warehouse and distribution areas, and job sites throughout the metro. We also serve workers in neighboring Ascension, Livingston, Iberville, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, and Pointe Coupee parishes, covering communities such as Zachary, Baker, Central, Denham Springs, Gonzales, Prairieville, Port Allen, and Plaquemine.
Beyond the capital region, we handle claims across South Louisiana and statewide, including New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as north Louisiana. In Mississippi, we represent workers in Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Wherever a forklift or crane injury happened, the same principles apply: report promptly, document everything, and get the right lawyer involved early.
Talk With a Baton Rouge Forklift and Crane Accident Attorney
If you were hurt by a forklift or crane at work, a Baton Rouge forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain your comp benefits, and tell you whether a separate claim against another company is worth pursuing. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Call us to talk through your situation before the insurance company decides how your story gets told.
