Louisiana Refinery Worker Injury Lawyer
A refinery injury in Louisiana rarely stays a simple comp claim. The worker may be on the payroll of a contractor, working under a plant owner’s safety rules, standing next to equipment built by a third company, and filing paperwork that has to travel through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Louisiana refinery worker injury lawyer representation matters most when those layers start pointing fingers at each other. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and refinery and plant cases are a natural part of that work.
The injuries tend to be severe and sometimes slow to show themselves: burns from flash fires and steam releases, crush and fall injuries on towers and pipe racks, back and shoulder damage from years of heavy manual work, and exposure to chemicals and fumes. Plant owners, staffing contractors, and insurers often dispute what happened, who was responsible, and whether the work caused the condition at all. A worker who is told to “just file it” and wait is usually the worker whose claim stalls.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Refinery Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation as the center of its practice, not as a side matter. The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for injured clients. It serves workers throughout South Louisiana and the rest of the state, including Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and New Orleans, as well as Mississippi. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and clients owe no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients are served 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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which matters when a refinery claim also involves a negligent third party. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results reflect the kind of injuries refinery workers suffer. The firm secured $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured after being struck in his work vehicle. Those figures are not promises, but they show the firm has built and settled serious back, burn, and industrial injury cases. Clients repeatedly describe attorneys who listened, stayed professional, and fought the insurance company at every step.
Refinery Injuries and Claims We Handle
- Burns and Flash Fire Injuries: Fires, steam releases, and chemical splashes can cause burns that need skin grafts, long recoveries, and permanent restrictions. These claims often carry large medical costs and long wage loss, and insurers closely scrutinize the treatment plan.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, climbing, and working in cramped positions around pumps, vessels, and piping can herniate discs. When the carrier blames degenerative changes, medical evidence tying the work to the injury becomes the heart of the case.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Wrenching on large valves and flanges, pulling hoses, and climbing stairs and ladders tear rotator cuffs, labrums, and menisci. Employers sometimes try to label these old injuries, so a clear work history matters.
- Falls and Crush Injuries: Scaffolds, platforms, and pipe racks create fall risks, and moving equipment and dropped loads cause fractures to feet, ankles, hips, and other bones that can require specialist surgery.
- Chemical and Fume Exposure: Inhalation and skin exposure can produce respiratory and other conditions that develop over time, which raises questions about when the injury occurred and when notice was due.
- Turnaround and Contractor Worker Claims: Many refinery workers are employed by contractors rather than the plant owner, which complicates who pays comp benefits and who may be liable outside of comp.
- Third-Party Injury and Wrongful Death Claims: Defective equipment, a negligent outside contractor, or a driver who hits a work vehicle can create a personal injury claim alongside comp benefits, and a fatal accident can support wrongful death claims.
What to Do After a Refinery Accident in Louisiana
Get medical care first, and tell the provider the injury happened at work. Then report it to your employer. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within thirty days of the injury, so do not wait to see whether the pain fades. Put the report in writing if you can and keep a copy.
The formal claim deadline is separate. In Louisiana a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though payments already made can extend that window to three years from the last payment. Do not assume the extension protects you; an attorney should check the dates early.
Document everything. Write down what happened while it is fresh, who saw it, what equipment or chemical was involved, and which supervisor you told. Photograph the scene if you safely can, and keep pay stubs, schedules, and any incident report you are handed. Do not sign statements or releases from an adjuster until you understand them, and do not accept a return to full duty before your doctor clears you.
If the insurer denies a treatment recommendation, the clock gets short. A utilization review dispute is filed on LWC Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from its issuance to file Form 1008. Missing these windows can cost you the treatment your doctor says you need.
Claims are heard by workers’ compensation judges in the district offices of the OWC Administration, with courts in places like Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Houma, and Shreveport. You choose among the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A final judgment can be appealed to the appropriate Louisiana circuit court of appeal; an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days, and one that does not suspend it within sixty. Refinery parishes fall across several circuits, so the right court depends on where the case was heard.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and Return-to-Work Pressure
Louisiana comp covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and weekly wage replacement while you cannot work. The weekly maximum is set each year from the statewide average weekly wage and is fixed by the date of your accident, so it does not rise later. If you return to work but earn less because of your injury, supplemental earnings benefits pay two-thirds of the gap between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your old pay. Those benefits can run until you are released to full duty, you are earning your old wages again, or you hit the 520-week maximum, and temporary total disability weeks count toward that total.
For refinery workers, this is where claims get contested. A worker with a permanent shoulder restriction may be offered a lighter job at a lower rate, or told there is nothing available. Insurers sometimes use labor market surveys to argue you could earn more than you do. Your own medical restrictions, work history, and the realities of plant employment all matter.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is Responsible
Comp is no-fault, but it does not always capture the full loss. If a negligent contractor, an equipment maker, or an outside driver contributed to your injury, you may also have a civil claim against that party. In Louisiana, delictual actions for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 generally carry a two-year prescriptive period, while earlier injuries stay under the former one-year period. For causes of action 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. Wrongful death claims follow the longer of one year from death or two years from the injury. Coordinating a comp claim with a third-party claim takes care, because settling one can affect the other.
Frequently Asked Questions About Refinery Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a refinery injury claim?
Not every claim needs one, but refinery injuries are often serious and contested. If benefits are denied, delayed, or cut off, or if you expect a long absence from work, an attorney can make a real difference against an insurer with its own lawyers.
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. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How soon must I report a refinery injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer right away. Louisiana requires notice within thirty days of the injury, and a compensation proceeding cannot be maintained without it.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of the accident. If compensation payments were made, the deadline can extend to three years from the last payment, but relying on that exception is risky.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell your attorney during the consultation so the circumstances can be reviewed.
What if the insurer says my condition was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and strong medical evidence is the way to answer the argument.
I work for a contractor, not the plant owner. Who pays my comp?
Generally your direct employer’s insurer handles the comp claim, though the arrangement between the contractor and plant owner can affect responsibility. Tell your attorney exactly who hired you, who paid you, and who directed your work.
Can I sue the refinery or another company on top of comp benefits?
Comp usually limits claims against your own employer, but it may not bar claims against separate parties such as an equipment manufacturer, an outside contractor, or a negligent driver. Each situation depends on who controlled the work and the equipment.
What happens if my doctor’s recommended surgery is denied?
You can dispute the denial through the utilization review process by filing Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial. Missing that deadline can jeopardize the treatment, so contact a lawyer immediately.
Will my claim be affected if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation does not turn on fault, so your own mistake generally does not defeat a comp claim. Fault matters in a separate civil claim against a third party, where Louisiana’s comparative fault rules, including the 51 percent bar for newer causes of action, apply.
Do I have to see the company doctor?
Your choices of treating physician are governed by Louisiana comp rules, and the details can affect your case. Speak with an attorney before settling on a provider or agreeing to a medical examination.
What if I only developed symptoms weeks after a chemical exposure?
Report the exposure and your symptoms as soon as you connect them, and get medical records that tie the condition to the work. Delayed onset makes notice and documentation more important, not less.
Serving Refinery Workers From Baton Rouge to Lake Charles and Beyond
Louisiana’s refining and petrochemical workforce is spread along the river parishes, the Gulf coast, and the southwest corner of the state, and the firm represents injured workers across South Louisiana. That includes workers in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and New Orleans, as well as communities across the rest of the state, from Shreveport in the north to the Gulf-side towns of the south. The firm also represents injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Whether the injury happened at a plant gate in Lake Charles or on a turnaround crew near Baton Rouge, the firm can review the claim and explain where it should be heard.
Talk With a Louisiana Refinery Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt at a refinery, the decisions you make in the first weeks, including what you report, who you see, and what you sign, can shape the entire claim. A Louisiana refinery injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, deal with your employer and its insurer, and pursue the medical care and wage benefits the law provides. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and let us handle the insurance company while you focus on getting well.
