Lake Charles Head & Brain Injury Lawyer
A head or brain injury claim comes down to three things: getting the right specialists to document what happened inside the skull, keeping wage benefits flowing while you cannot work, and making sure an insurer cannot write off a brain injury as a headache. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and our team handles claims for a Lake Charles head and brain injury lawyer to take on, from concussions after a fall to severe traumatic brain injuries from industrial accidents.
Lake Charles sits in Calcasieu Parish, a region built on refineries, petrochemical plants, LNG construction, shipyards, and the heavy trucking that feeds them. Those workplaces produce the injuries that damage the brain: a dropped tool from overhead, a fall from scaffolding or a pipe rack, a struck-by incident on a congested jobsite, a blast or burn event, a truck wreck on the interstate corridor. The injury is often not the one that looks worst on day one. Brain injuries can surface slowly, and that gap is where claims get contested.
Our work centers on one question: can we connect what is happening to your brain and your life to what happened on the job, with medical evidence an insurer and a workers’ compensation judge cannot brush aside?
Why Lake Charles Workers Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Brain Injury Claims
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Lake Charles and the rest of Calcasieu Parish and southwest Louisiana, along with Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. You pay nothing up front: consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover for you. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish.
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 successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Our results show the kind of serious, contested injuries we handle: $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 injured after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients regularly tell us what mattered most was that someone listened, stayed in contact, and fought the insurance company at every step. A brain injury case is built on exactly that kind of sustained attention, because the evidence develops over months, not days.
Types of Head and Brain Injuries We Handle for Injured Workers
- Concussions and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries: A blow to the head from a falling object, a slip on a wet deck, or a vehicle collision can leave normal-looking scans and lasting symptoms: headaches, dizziness, light sensitivity, memory gaps, trouble concentrating. Insurers lean on the clean imaging to argue nothing is wrong, so the symptom history and neuropsychological testing carry the claim.
- Falls from Height: Scaffolds, pipe racks, ladders, and elevated platforms at plants and construction sites are leading sources of serious head trauma. Construction workers and ironworkers face this exposure daily, and the severity can range from skull fractures to bleeding on the brain.
- Struck-By and Caught-Between Incidents: Dropped tools, swinging loads, and shifting equipment cause head injuries on industrial jobsites and offshore-support operations. Even with a hard hat, the force transmitted to the brain can be significant.
- Vehicle and Truck Collisions on the Job: Truck drivers, delivery drivers, and workers traveling between sites can suffer brain injuries when the head strikes the wheel, window, or roof. These cases may also support a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver in addition to workers’ compensation.
- Explosions, Burns, and Catastrophic Industrial Events: Plant incidents and rig accidents can combine blast force, burns, and oxygen deprivation. These are the injuries that most often lead to permanent impairment and need coordinated, long-term medical care.
- Post-Concussive Syndrome and Cognitive Decline: Symptoms that persist well past the expected recovery window, including mood changes, sleep disruption, and difficulty with complex tasks, are real and compensable when tied to the work incident through medical evidence.
- Secondary Conditions After a Head Injury: Seizures, vision and balance problems, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety can follow a brain injury. We make sure these are documented as part of the work injury rather than dismissed as separate issues.
- Firefighter and First Responder Head Trauma: First responders face falls, collapses, and scene hazards. We represent firefighters and first responders in claims tied to the demands of the job.
What to Do After a Head Injury at Work in Southwest Louisiana
Get medical attention first, and tell the provider exactly how the injury happened and that it was at work. Do not accept “you just got your bell rung” as the end of it. If you lose consciousness, feel confused, vomit, or notice worsening headache, that is an emergency. Brain injury symptoms can build over hours or days, and a gap in treatment gives the insurer an opening to argue that something else caused them.
Report the injury to your employer in writing. Louisiana requires notice within 30 days of the injury, and no compensation proceeding is maintained without it. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, though the period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits have been paid. Do not treat those windows as comfortable. Co-workers move, supervisors forget, and records disappear. Write down who saw it, when, and where, and ask a co-worker to put what they saw on paper.
Be careful with the recorded statement. Adjusters often call within days, while you are foggy, in pain, and unable to recall details. Memory problems are part of the injury, and inconsistencies in a statement given in that state get used against you later. You can speak with an attorney before giving one.
Pay close attention to who controls your treatment. If the insurer denies a treatment request, such as a neurologist referral, an MRI, or cognitive therapy, Louisiana’s utilization review process has hard deadlines: Form 1009 must be filed with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the OWC 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. Missing these windows can cost you the treatment itself.
Under Louisiana law, the worker chooses where the hearing is held from among the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where the worker lived when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A final judgment can be appealed to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers Calcasieu Parish. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it within 60 days, running from the later of the signing or the mailing of notice of judgment. A party can then ask the Louisiana Supreme Court for review by writ application.
How Insurers Fight Brain Injury Claims, and What Wins Them
Brain injury claims are harder to prove than a broken bone because the damage is often invisible on a standard CT or MRI. Insurers know this. Their playbook includes arguing the accident was minor, pointing to normal imaging, blaming stress, depression, or a prior head injury, questioning symptoms that come and go, and sending you to a physician of their choosing who spends fifteen minutes with you. A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim; if the work incident caused, worsened, or accelerated a condition, benefits may still be owed.
What answers those arguments is medical evidence built early and kept consistent: treating neurologists, neuropsychological testing that measures memory, attention, and processing speed, specialized imaging where appropriate, and records from therapists who observe your day-to-day function. Statements from family and co-workers about how you changed after the injury matter too, because they show what test scores cannot.
Benefits in Louisiana can include all reasonable and necessary medical treatment, temporary total disability while you cannot work, and supplemental earnings benefits if you return at reduced pay. Supplemental earnings benefits apply when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages, and they are calculated as 66 2/3 percent of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. They continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury wages, or reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. Weekly benefit limits are set each year based on the statewide average weekly wage and are fixed by the date of your accident. Catastrophic injury and death benefits are also available under the law.
Many workers with brain injuries cannot return to the same job, particularly safety-sensitive work around heavy equipment, heights, or chemicals. That is where vocational questions and settlement valuation become critical. Settling too early, before the full picture of cognitive limits is known, can leave you without coverage for care you will need for years.
Sometimes someone other than your employer is responsible, such as a negligent driver, a contractor whose unsafe site caused the fall, or an equipment manufacturer. Workers’ compensation does not prevent a separate claim against that third party. Louisiana’s delictual actions generally carry a two-year prescriptive period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and under the 51 percent fault bar, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing in causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. These claims should be coordinated with your comp case so one does not undermine the other.
Questions About Lake Charles Brain Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a brain injury workers’ compensation claim?
If your benefits are denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you from work for a long time, yes, it can make a major difference. Brain injury claims turn on medical proof that insurers actively contest, and the adjuster and insurer’s lawyers are working for the carrier.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a head injury at work in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer right away and no later than 30 days after the injury. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with a longer window possible if compensation payments have been made.
What if my CT scan or MRI came back normal?
A normal scan does not rule out a brain injury. Concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries often leave standard imaging clean while causing real cognitive and physical symptoms. Neuropsychological testing and a documented symptom history are often the stronger evidence.
Can I still get benefits if I had a prior head injury or concussion?
Possibly. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence separating the old problem from the new one is the key.
What if my symptoms did not show up until days or weeks after the accident?
Delayed symptoms are common with brain injuries, but delay gives insurers room to argue the cause was something else. Report the incident immediately even if you feel fine, see a doctor as soon as symptoms appear, and tell every provider about the work accident.
Will workers’ compensation pay for neuropsychological testing and cognitive therapy?
Louisiana covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the work injury. If the insurer denies a request for testing, therapy, or a specialist, the utilization review process lets you challenge it, but the first step has a 15-calendar-day deadline after you receive the written denial.
Can I be fired for filing a brain injury claim?
Louisiana and Mississippi both 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 my brain injury was caused by a truck accident while I was working?
You may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver or company. The two interact, so they should be handled together, and the deadlines differ.
Can my family recover anything if a head injury at work was fatal?
Louisiana provides death benefits through workers’ compensation. Wrongful death claims against a third party follow a rule of one year from the date of death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. Speak with an attorney quickly because the right path depends on the facts.
My employee handbook says to see the company doctor. Do I have to?
Do not assume you are locked in. Rules on choosing a treating physician exist, and a brain injury often calls for a neurologist or specialist rather than a general clinic. Ask us before you agree to treatment plans that limit your options.
Will I have to go to court?
Many claims resolve through negotiation or settlement. When they do not, your case is heard before a workers’ compensation judge, not a jury, and we handle those hearings as well as appeals.
Serving Brain Injury Clients Across Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish
We represent injured workers in Lake Charles and throughout Calcasieu Parish, including Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, Vinton, DeQuincy, Iowa, and Carlyss, along with the surrounding communities that supply workers to the area’s plants, yards, and construction sites. From the industrial corridors near the Calcasieu Ship Channel to the neighborhoods where refinery and LNG construction crews live, our team works with clients dealing with serious head injuries.
Our reach extends across southwest and south Louisiana, including Lafayette and Baton Rouge, and statewide to New Orleans and Shreveport. We also represent workers in Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, and in north Louisiana and north Mississippi. Wherever the injury happened, the same standard applies: build the medical case, protect the benefits, and answer the insurer’s arguments with evidence.
Talk to a Lake Charles Brain Injury Attorney Today
If a work injury has affected your head, your memory, or your ability to do your job, a Lake Charles brain injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened and explain your options in a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language. Call us today and let us deal with the insurance company while you focus on recovery.
