Lake Charles Burn Injury Lawyer
A burn injury claim that starts in Calcasieu Parish usually begins at a refinery, chemical plant, LNG facility, or fabrication yard, and it is usually a workers’ compensation claim before it is anything else. Those claims are heard by the district workers’ compensation court sitting in Lake Charles, and the question of what the insurer owes often turns on how well the burns are documented in the first weeks. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lake Charles and the surrounding Calcasieu Parish communities, and a Lake Charles burn injury lawyer from our team can step in when a claim has been denied, delayed, or cut off.
Burns are different from most workplace injuries because the damage does not end when the wound closes. Deep burns can require skin grafts, repeated debridement, scar management, and months of therapy to restore movement across a joint. Workers who handle heat, steam, chemicals, or electricity for a living often find that the scarring itself limits what jobs they can physically do. That gap between the injury and the paycheck is where most of the real disputes with insurers happen.
Where Burn Injuries Happen on the Job Around Lake Charles
Southwest Louisiana’s industrial base shapes the kind of burn cases that arise. Petrochemical and refining operations, gas processing, shipyards, and the industrial contractors that service them all create exposure to flash fires, steam release, hot process fluids, and arc flash. Contract workers brought in for turnarounds and shutdowns are often the ones closest to the equipment when something goes wrong, and they are also the workers whose employment status gets argued about afterward.
Our firm has handled burn cases in exactly this kind of setting. We recovered a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker who suffered severe burns to the lower extremities. We also represent oil field workers, ironworkers, construction workers, and industrial laborers whose jobs put them around the same hazards, and firefighters and first responders whose work carries its own exposure risks.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Burn Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, and our service area includes Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, and communities across south and north Louisiana. We built the practice around workers’ compensation rather than treating it as a side matter. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied or cut off too early, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish with clients from the first call through the end of the case.
Rob Lunsford, our 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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Our results include a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, a $600,000 settlement for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and a $385,000 settlement for a project manager who was struck in his work vehicle. Clients consistently describe our team as responsive, easy to work with, and willing to take on the insurance company directly on their behalf.
Types of Burn Claims We Handle for Southwest Louisiana Workers
- Thermal Burns from Fires and Flash Events: Flash fires and equipment ignitions at refineries, plants, and rigs produce deep burns to the hands, face, arms, and legs that often need grafting and long-term wound care.
- Chemical Burns: Exposure to caustics, acids, and process chemicals can injure skin and eyes and may also cause inhalation injuries that require separate treatment and documentation.
- Electrical Burns and Arc Flash: Electricians, linemen, and maintenance crews can suffer entry and exit wounds plus hidden internal damage to muscle, nerves, and the heart that does not show on the skin.
- Steam and Hot Liquid Scalds: Pressurized steam lines and hot process fluids cause scald injuries that are often worse than they first appear, and they are common in plant and shipyard work.
- Burns Suffered by Firefighters and First Responders: Responders can face acute burn injuries on a call as well as job-related conditions such as heart and lung disease, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the work.
- Catastrophic Burn Injuries: Extensive burns can leave a worker permanently unable to return to their trade, which raises questions about permanent disability benefits and ongoing medical care.
- Third-Party Burn Claims: When a negligent contractor, equipment manufacturer, or site owner caused the fire or explosion, a separate injury claim may exist alongside the comp case.
What to Do After a Serious Burn at Work
Get medical treatment first, and make sure the treating provider records that the injury happened at work and how. Burn patients sometimes minimize their injuries in the first hours because of adrenaline or because a supervisor is pressing them to keep it quiet. Do not do that. Report the injury to your employer promptly. In Louisiana, notice of the injury must be given to your employer within thirty days, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If the insurer has already paid benefits, the filing deadline can extend to three years from the last payment, but waiting is a gamble that rarely helps you.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the equipment involved, who was nearby, what safety gear you had, and what supervisors said afterward. Photograph the wounds at each stage of healing, because burn injuries change dramatically over weeks and months. Keep every medical record, prescription receipt, and pay stub. Avoid giving recorded statements to the adjuster before you have spoken with a lawyer, and do not sign anything that releases the employer or insurer.
If your claim is disputed, it is heard by a workers’ compensation judge at the district court of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration located in Lake Charles. Louisiana lets the worker choose where to file: the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when you were hurt, or the parish where the employer has its principal place of business. Cases from Calcasieu Parish are appealed to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, and a further review can be sought from the Louisiana Supreme Court through a writ application. A judgment can be appealed within thirty days if the appeal is to suspend the judgment, or within sixty days if it is not.
When the Insurer Denies or Cuts Off Treatment
Burn care is expensive and long, which makes it a frequent target for denial. If the insurer refuses a surgery, a graft, a scar revision, or therapy, Louisiana has a specific dispute process. The aggrieved party has 15 calendar days from receiving written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to issue a decision. After that decision, a further challenge must be filed on Form 1008 within 45 days of the date the decision was issued. These windows run from fixed events, so missing one can cost you the treatment.
Wage benefits are also contested. If you recover enough to work but cannot earn what you made before the burns, you may qualify for supplemental earnings benefits. In general terms, these are two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you can earn, and they are available when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your earlier pay. They can last until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that limit. Weekly benefit amounts are capped, and the cap is set by the date of your accident.
Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Claims After a Burn
Workers’ compensation covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement, and additional benefits for permanent disability, but it generally does not pay for pain and suffering. If someone other than your employer helped cause the burn, such as a contractor who created the hazard or a manufacturer of defective equipment, you may have a separate personal injury claim. Louisiana’s delictual prescriptive period is two years for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024, and earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Fault is also weighed differently now: for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lesser fault reduces the award proportionally. Because the third-party and comp timelines run on different clocks, it is worth having one firm coordinate both.
Burn Injury Questions from Lake Charles Workers
Do I need a lawyer for a burn injury workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but burn cases often involve long treatment, permanent scarring, and disputes over what care is necessary. If benefits have been denied, delayed, or reduced, or if you will be out of work for an extended period, a lawyer can make a substantial difference.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover 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?
In Louisiana, notice should go to your employer as soon as possible and no later than thirty days after the injury. Mississippi has the same thirty-day reporting rule.
How long do I have to file a Louisiana workers’ compensation claim?
A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If compensation payments were made, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment, so do not assume you have more time without checking.
What benefits can I receive after a serious burn?
Louisiana workers’ compensation covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you cannot work, supplemental earnings benefits if you return at reduced pay, and additional benefits for permanent disability or catastrophic injury.
Will the insurer pay for skin grafts, scar treatment, and long-term therapy?
Treatment that is reasonable and necessary for the work injury is generally covered, but insurers often resist surgeries and extended care. If a request is denied, you have 15 calendar days from written notice to file Form 1009, so act quickly.
What if the employer says I caused the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally not a fault-based system, so carelessness on your part usually does not erase your right to benefits. Insurers still raise the argument, and we answer it with witness accounts, safety records, and medical evidence.
I was a contract worker during a plant turnaround. Can I still claim?
Often yes. Contract and subcontract arrangements can make it unclear who the responsible employer or insurer is, and sometimes more than one party is involved. Bring any pay records, badges, work orders, and the names of the companies on site to your consultation.
Can I also sue someone besides my employer for my burns?
If a third party such as a negligent contractor or an equipment manufacturer contributed to the accident, a separate injury claim may be available alongside your comp benefits. Louisiana’s two-year period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 governs that claim, and it runs separately from your comp deadlines.
Can I be fired for filing a burn injury claim?
Both Louisiana and Mississippi protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us at your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury was pre-existing or unrelated to work?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the problem, benefits may still be owed, and strong medical evidence is how that argument is won.
If my wife or husband died in a work-related fire, what claims exist?
Louisiana workers’ compensation provides death benefits to qualifying dependents, and a separate wrongful death action may exist against a third party. A wrongful death claim in Louisiana prescribes one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer.
Serving Burn Injury Clients Across Calcasieu Parish and Beyond
We represent injured workers throughout Calcasieu Parish, including Lake Charles, Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, Vinton, DeQuincy, Carlyss, Iowa, and Starks, along with the industrial corridor workers who commute in from neighboring parishes such as Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Allen, and Beauregard. From the plants and yards along the Calcasieu Ship Channel to job sites in the neighboring communities, our team works with burn victims whose jobs expose them to heat, chemicals, and electricity.
Our reach extends across south Louisiana to Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, north to Shreveport, and throughout Louisiana. We also serve injured workers in Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi.
Talk With a Lake Charles Burn Injury Attorney
If you were burned on the job, the insurer’s timeline is not your timeline, and the deadlines that protect your claim are already running. A Lake Charles burn injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which benefits apply, and deal with the insurer so you can focus on healing. Call us any hour to schedule a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
