Galliano Personal Injury Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims in Galliano and across Lafourche Parish, from the bayou communities along Bayou Lafourche down to the Gulf-facing edge of South Louisiana. If you need a Galliano personal injury lawyer, the first thing worth knowing is how much of the injury work in this part of the state happens at the intersection of a job and a third party: a supply boat crew member hurt at the dock, a truck driver struck on Louisiana Highway 1, a laborer injured on a site run by a contractor who is not his employer.
Galliano sits in the middle of the oilfield service economy that runs through Golden Meadow, Leeville, and Port Fourchon. Offshore support vessels, fabrication yards, trucking operations, and marine service companies all generate injury claims, and many of them have two tracks running at once: a workers’ compensation claim against the employer and its insurer, and a separate injury claim against someone whose negligence contributed to the harm. Handling those two tracks so they do not undercut each other is a large part of what a personal injury attorney in this region actually does.
Louisiana changed several rules recently that affect timing and fault, and they matter to anyone hurt in Galliano. The deadlines below are firm, and missing one can end a claim regardless of how serious the injury was.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Galliano Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Louisiana and Mississippi firm that serves injured people in Galliano, Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and communities throughout South Louisiana. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are collected only if there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
That focus matters when a work injury and a third-party claim overlap. 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 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 results reflect the kind of injuries seen in industrial and transportation work: a $685,000 settlement 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 injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, stays in contact, and fights the insurance company at every stage.
Injury Situations We See Around Galliano and Lower Lafourche
- Truck and Work-Vehicle Collisions: Highway 1 carries heavy commercial traffic between Thibodaux, Golden Meadow, and Port Fourchon. A worker hit by another driver while on the job usually has a comp claim and a negligence claim against the at-fault driver and potentially that driver’s employer.
- Burns and Industrial Injuries: Yard, plant, and rig work produces serious thermal and chemical burns. When equipment fails or a contractor controls the site, someone other than the employer may be legally responsible.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are common among laborers, drivers, and heavy equipment operators. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, so medical records and work history carry the case.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears follow repetitive pipe handling, lifting, and falls. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries.
- Fractures: Falls from decks, ladders, and equipment cause foot, ankle, hip, and other fractures that may require specialist surgery and long recovery.
- Premises Liability: Unsafe walkways, poorly maintained commercial property, and hazards created by a contractor can support a claim against the property owner or operator.
- Wrongful Death: When a fatal accident at work or on the road results from someone’s negligence, surviving family members may have both death benefits and a civil claim.
What to Do After an Injury in Galliano
Get medical care first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work or in a crash, so the records tie the condition to the event. Then report the injury to your employer. In Louisiana, written or oral notice to the employer is required within thirty days of the accident, and a formal workers’ compensation claim generally must be filed within one year of the injury, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. Do not wait to see whether the pain improves.
If someone other than your employer caused the injury, the civil clock is separate. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana’s general injury claims carry a two-year prescriptive period running from the day the damage is sustained; earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Wrongful death claims allow one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer, except that a death claim based on medical malpractice stays at one year from the date of death.
Gather what disappears quickly: photographs of the scene and equipment, names of coworkers and witnesses, the other driver’s insurance information, and any incident report. Avoid giving a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster before you understand how it will be used. Adjusters look for statements that suggest the injury was old, minor, or unrelated to the job.
Workers’ compensation disputes in Louisiana go before a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Under the hearing-location rules, you choose the parish where the injury happened, where you lived when hurt, or where the employer is principally based. Medical treatment denials follow a short path: a dispute form must be filed within 15 calendar days of written notice of the denial, the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide, and a further request must be filed within 45 days of the decision’s issuance. A judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the court of appeal within 30 days where the appeal suspends the judgment, or 60 days where it does not. Lafourche Parish falls within the First Circuit.
Civil injury suits arising here would be filed in the state district court for the parish or, in cases that qualify, in federal court. Because the Eastern District of Louisiana covers Lafourche, Terrebonne, and neighboring parishes, some maritime-adjacent or diversity cases land there.
How Fault and Comp Interact in a Third-Party Case
Workers’ compensation does not require proof of fault. A third-party claim does. Louisiana now bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026; below that threshold, the award is reduced by the claimant’s share. Juries are told about that bar. That makes early evidence preservation more important than it used to be, because the other side will work to push your share of blame upward.
The two claims also affect each other financially. The comp insurer that paid your medical bills and wage benefits may assert a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, and settlement terms in one claim can affect the other. A lawyer who handles both can sequence them, value them together, and avoid agreeing to a comp settlement that undermines the injury case. An attorney also builds the medical causation proof that answers pre-existing condition arguments, which show up in nearly every back, neck, and shoulder case.
Common Questions About Galliano Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a personal injury claim after a work accident?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if the injury will keep you out of work for a long time, representation makes a real difference. Insurers have adjusters and lawyers protecting their interests from day one.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. In workers’ compensation cases, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer within thirty days of the accident. Without timely notice, a compensation proceeding generally cannot be maintained.
What is the deadline to file a workers’ compensation claim in Louisiana?
A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury. If compensation payments were made, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment.
What is the deadline for a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, the period is two years from the day the injury or damage is sustained. Injuries before that date are governed by the older one-year period.
Can I sue my employer if I was hurt on the job?
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer, but a separate claim may exist against a negligent third party such as another driver, a contractor, or a property owner.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
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 share reduces the award proportionally. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault. Workers’ compensation benefits do not depend on fault.
My treatment was denied by the insurer. What now?
Act quickly. You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file the utilization review dispute form with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director has 30 calendar days to rule. A further request must be filed within 45 days of the decision being issued.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Often the comp insurer should pay for authorized treatment, but when it denies or stalls, patients sometimes use health coverage as a bridge. Tell your attorney before doing so, because reimbursement rights can follow in either direction.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, raise it during your consultation.
What if a family member died in a work or road accident?
Surviving family members may have death benefits under comp and a wrongful death claim against a negligent party. The wrongful death deadline is one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer, unless the claim is based on medical malpractice.
What if I was hurt years ago under the old rules?
The date of injury controls which deadline and fault rule applies, so older injuries may be subject to the former one-year period and pure comparative fault. Bring the date to your consultation so it can be checked right away.
Serving Injury Clients Across Galliano and Lafourche Parish
The firm represents injured people in Galliano and throughout lower Lafourche Parish, including Golden Meadow, Cut Off, Larose, Leeville, and Port Fourchon, and up the bayou through Raceland, Lockport, Mathews, and Thibodaux. We also serve clients in neighboring Terrebonne Parish, including Houma, Gray, Bourg, and Chauvin, and communities across South Louisiana such as Morgan City, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lake Charles, as well as Shreveport and north Louisiana.
Many of these clients work in marine support, fabrication, trucking, and industrial service, and the firm’s work reaches from the Gulf-side worksites of Lafourche to job sites across Louisiana and Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta.
Talk With a Galliano Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job or in a crash near Galliano, a Galliano personal injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your workers’ compensation claim and any third-party claim together, explain which deadlines apply to you, and take on the insurance company so you can focus on recovery. Calls are answered around the clock, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call today to talk through what happened.
