Lafayette Burn Injury Lawyer
A burn suffered on the job in Lafayette Parish is usually a workers’ compensation case first, and the hearing that decides it takes place at the Office of Workers’ Compensation district court in Lafayette, not in a civil courtroom with a jury. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Lafayette and across South Louisiana, and a serious Lafayette burn injury lawyer has to understand both the medicine of burn recovery and the way insurers fight over it.
Burns are different from most workplace injuries. Treatment can stretch over months or years, with debridement, skin grafts, wound care, scar management, pain control, and psychological counseling that an adjuster may call optional. The injury also shows up in industries that surround Lafayette: oilfield service and fabrication yards, refineries and chemical plants, welding and pipeline work, commercial kitchens, and electrical utility work. Thermal, chemical, and electrical burns each raise different medical and legal questions.
The firm handles workers’ compensation as the core of its practice, including burns and catastrophic injuries suffered on oil rigs, in plants, and on industrial job sites. What follows explains how these claims work in Louisiana and where they tend to go wrong.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Serious Burn Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lafayette and the surrounding South Louisiana communities. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and it is paid only if it recovers benefits or a settlement. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
Burn cases are where that focus counts. The firm secured a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, and it has recovered larger sums in other catastrophic injury cases, including $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. Those numbers do not predict any other outcome, but they show the firm builds cases around medical proof and takes them to resolution.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford 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. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients describe the same things in their reviews: attorneys who listen, who fight with the insurance company at every step, and who are easy to reach.
Burn Injuries We See in Lafayette Workers’ Compensation Claims
- Oilfield and Rig Burns: Flash fires, pressure releases, and contact with hot equipment on land-based rigs and in service yards can cause deep burns to the legs, hands, and face. These claims often involve contractors and subcontractors, so identifying the correct employer and insurer matters early.
- Chemical Burns: Acids, caustics, and solvents in plants, labs, and cleaning operations injure skin and eyes, sometimes with damage that appears worse days after exposure. Insurers sometimes argue the worker ignored a safety protocol; the claim still turns on whether the injury arose from the job.
- Electrical Burns and Arc Flash: Linemen, electricians, and maintenance crews face burns that can damage tissue well below the visible wound, along with nerve and heart complications that require specialist follow-up.
- Welding and Fabrication Burns: Sparks, molten metal, and ignited clothing cause burns in fabrication shops and on pipeline and construction sites, often to the hands, forearms, and face.
- Steam and Scald Injuries: Pressurized steam lines, boilers, and hot liquids hurt workers in processing facilities, commercial kitchens, and food production.
- Scarring and Disfigurement: Even after wounds close, scar contracture can limit movement and grip, and the physical limits it creates feed directly into disability and wage benefits.
- Burn-Related Psychological Injury: Anxiety, sleep disturbance, and post-traumatic stress after a fire or explosion are common, and treatment for them should be raised with the physician early so it is documented.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Responders can suffer burns on the scene, along with job-related heart, lung, and other conditions that deserve separate evaluation.
What to Do After a Serious Burn at Work in Lafayette
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the burn happened at work. That statement shapes how the bills are routed and how the records read later. If the injury is severe, the treating team may transfer you to a burn center or a specialist, and your employer’s insurer will have its own ideas about who should treat you, so keep a record of who you have seen and why.
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within 30 days of the injury, so a delay can hand the insurer an easy defense. Then protect the longer clock: a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with exceptions when benefits have already been paid, which can extend the deadline to three years from the last payment. Do not rely on the exceptions without advice.
Preserve evidence while it still exists. Photograph the wound at every stage, keep the burned clothing and protective gear if you can, write down who witnessed the incident, and note the equipment, chemical, or conditions involved. Get names of coworkers and supervisors while memories are fresh. Be careful with recorded statements to an adjuster before you have had advice, because early offhand remarks about what you were doing become the foundation of a denial.
If the insurer refuses a treatment your doctor recommends, the clock is very short. A dispute over a denied medical treatment must be filed on Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. Someone who waits to see whether the insurer changes its mind can lose the right to challenge the denial. Claims that proceed to a hearing are heard by a workers’ compensation judge, and in Louisiana you choose among the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A ruling can be appealed to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal. For Lafayette Parish, that is the Third Circuit, and the appeal generally must be filed within 30 days when it suspends the judgment.
How Louisiana Benefits Apply to a Burn Case
Louisiana workers’ compensation pays all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, which in a burn case can include surgery, grafting, dressings, medications, therapy, scar treatment, and psychological care. It also pays wage replacement while you cannot work. Temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages while you are healing, and the weekly figure is capped under a limit set by the date of your accident.
If you return to work but cannot earn what you earned before, supplemental earnings benefits can make up part of the gap. They are available when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages, and they equal two-thirds of the difference between your old average wages and what you earn or are able to earn. They are capped at 520 weeks, and any weeks of total disability benefits count toward that total. Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits apply when the burn leaves lasting limits.
Burns raise a particular fight over work capacity. A worker with healed skin may still be unable to tolerate heat, grip tools, or stand for long shifts, and the insurer may push a release to full duty that the medical record does not support. Our attorneys build the record that answers those arguments, including physician opinions on restrictions and, where needed, vocational evidence about what work you can realistically do.
When a Burn Also Gives Rise to a Third-Party Claim
Workers’ compensation usually bars a lawsuit against your employer, but it does not protect everyone else. If a defective piece of equipment, a negligent contractor on a shared site, or a driver who caused a fire or crash contributed to your burn, you may have a separate personal injury claim against that party. That claim can reach damages comp does not cover, such as pain and suffering and disfigurement.
Timing and strategy matter. For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana gives two years to bring most injury claims, running from the day the injury is sustained. Louisiana also bars recovery for a plaintiff found 51 percent or more at fault in claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, and reduces the award in proportion to lesser fault. The firm coordinates comp and injury claims so a settlement in one does not damage the other, including how any compensation lien is handled.
Burn Injury Questions Lafayette Workers Ask
Do I need a lawyer for a burn injury claim?
If the burn is minor, healed quickly, and the insurer is paying, you may not. If it is serious, your treatment is being questioned, benefits have been reduced or stopped, or you will miss significant time, an attorney can change the result. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone working for you.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and it is paid only if it recovers benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a burn injury to my employer?
Report it right away, and no later than 30 days after the injury. Waiting beyond 30 days can jeopardize the claim, so do not hold off while you see how the wound heals.
How long do I have to file a formal claim in Louisiana?
Generally one year from the date of the accident. If compensation payments have already been made, the deadline can extend to three years from the last payment, but exceptions are easy to misjudge, so talk to an attorney as early as you can.
What if my employer says I caused the fire or ignored safety rules?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system in most respects, so carelessness alone generally does not end a claim. Employers and insurers do raise safety-rule and intoxication defenses, so how the incident is documented matters. Tell your attorney exactly what happened.
What if the insurer denies the surgery or skin graft my doctor recommends?
You have 15 calendar days from receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation. The medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, a further filing on Form 1008 is due within 45 days of the date the decision was issued.
Will workers’ compensation pay for scar treatment and counseling?
Louisiana covers reasonable and necessary treatment related to the injury, which can include scar management and mental health care tied to the incident, when supported by your treating physician. Insurers often resist these items, so documentation from your doctor is important.
Can I be fired for filing a burn injury claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell your attorney in your consultation so your options can be reviewed.
Can I sue a company other than my employer for my burn?
Possibly. If an equipment manufacturer, a separate contractor, or a negligent driver contributed to the injury, a personal injury claim may sit alongside your comp case. Louisiana’s fault rules can reduce or bar recovery based on your own share of fault, so these claims need careful evaluation.
Can a burn case settle, and does settling end my medical care?
Many comp cases resolve by settlement, but a settlement can close out future medical benefits depending on its terms. With burns, where future grafts, revisions, and counseling are real possibilities, those terms deserve close review before you sign anything.
What if my claim was denied because the insurer says my injury is not work-related?
A denial is not the end. Your claim goes before a workers’ compensation judge, and a result can be appealed to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal for Lafayette Parish cases, so strong medical and witness evidence can turn a denial around.
Serving Burn Injury Clients Across Lafayette Parish and Acadiana
Our team represents injured workers in the city of Lafayette and in the surrounding Lafayette Parish communities, including Scott, Youngsville, Broussard, Carencro, and Duson. We also serve workers in neighboring Acadiana parishes, from the towns around Abbeville, New Iberia, Crowley, Opelousas, and Breaux Bridge, and across South Louisiana in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. Hearings can be set in the parish where the injury occurred or where you lived, so we work with clients whose jobs take them to refineries, rigs, and plants throughout the region.
The firm’s reach extends statewide, to Shreveport and north Louisiana, and across the Mississippi line to Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Whether the burn happened at a Lafayette fabrication yard or on an offshore-support site elsewhere in the state, we take the claim wherever it needs to go.
Talk to a Lafayette Burn Injury Attorney Today
If a burn at work has left you in treatment, out of work, or fighting an insurer over your care, speak with a Lafayette burn injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe. Call us any time, day or night, for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you, and we will take the insurance company’s questions off your shoulders while you focus on healing.
