Metairie Car Accident Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in Metairie and across Jefferson Parish, and throughout South Louisiana and Mississippi, in car and truck accident cases as well as workers’ compensation claims. Plenty of Metairie crashes happen to people who were working at the time: a delivery driver rear-ended on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, a contractor whose work truck is clipped near the Clearview Parkway interchange, a sales rep hit while driving between clients. Those cases carry two claims at once, and handling one badly can hurt the other.
If you are searching for a Metairie car accident lawyer, the first thing to know is that Louisiana’s fault rules changed recently, and they matter more than most people realize. Under the current version of Civil Code article 2323, a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and anyone below that line has their award reduced by their share of fault. Insurers know this, and they work to push fault onto the injured driver from the first phone call.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Metairie Crash Case
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm that represents injured people throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, serving Metairie, Kenner, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and communities across both states. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
That focus on injured workers shows up in car and truck accident results too. The firm secured a $385,000 settlement for a project manager who suffered back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck while on the job. Larger results include $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 matter because back, neck, and shoulder injuries are exactly what a rear-end or intersection collision tends to produce, and the firm has spent years proving causation against insurers that blame degeneration or old injuries.
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 successfully 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. Clients repeatedly describe attorneys who listened, stayed professional, and kept pushing against the insurance company at every step.
Types of Metairie Collisions and Who May Be Liable
- Rear-End Collisions on Veterans Memorial Boulevard: Stop-and-go traffic near the shopping corridor produces whiplash, cervical disc herniations, and lumbar injuries. Insurers often call these low-impact crashes and argue the spine was already worn down.
- Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard Crashes: High speeds and heavy merging near Metairie’s interchanges lead to multi-vehicle pileups, where assigning fault among several drivers decides how much each claim can recover.
- Commercial Truck and Delivery Vehicle Accidents: Metairie sits in a busy freight and delivery corridor. Liability can reach the driver, the trucking company, and sometimes a contractor or loader, and the driver’s employer often carries substantial coverage.
- Work-Related Vehicle Crashes: When you are driving for your job, you may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against the at-fault driver. The two have to be coordinated because the comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from your injury recovery.
- Intersection and Left-Turn Collisions: Disputes over who had the light or the right of way are common along Metairie Road, Airline Drive, and Clearview Parkway. Traffic camera footage, business surveillance, and witness statements decide these fights.
- Pedestrian and Cyclist Strikes: Injuries tend to be fractures, shoulder and knee tears, and head trauma, and fault arguments often center on visibility and crosswalk use.
- Wrongful Death Crashes: When a collision kills someone, surviving family members may bring claims for the loss, on a deadline that depends on both the date of death and the date of injury.
What to Do After a Crash in Metairie
Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly fine. Disc injuries and soft-tissue tears often announce themselves hours or days later, and a gap between the crash and your first treatment gives the insurer room to argue something else caused the pain. Jefferson Parish crashes are generally documented by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Louisiana State Police if you were on the interstate, and Kenner or Gretna police handle crashes within their own limits. Ask for the report number before you leave the scene.
Photograph the vehicles, the road, any skid marks, the traffic signals, and the other driver’s insurance card and plate. Get names and numbers from witnesses. Do not apologize, do not guess at speeds, and do not agree to a recorded statement for the other driver’s insurer. Adjusters are trained to collect phrases that can be turned into fault, and in a state where 51 percent fault ends a claim, a careless sentence can be expensive. Your own insurer has duties under your policy, so report to them, but keep the conversation factual.
If you were driving for work, tell your employer right away. In Louisiana, notice of a work injury should go to the employer within 30 days, and a formal workers’ compensation claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. Those deadlines run separately from the deadline on your claim against the at-fault driver.
For the injury claim itself, Louisiana’s two-year prescriptive period for most injury lawsuits applies to injuries on or after July 1, 2024; older injuries stay under the former one-year period. Wrongful death claims follow a rule giving the longer of one year from death or two years from the injury. Collisions that happened before 2026 are generally measured under the earlier pure comparative fault system rather than the 51 percent bar, so the date of your crash affects the rules that apply to you. Keep every medical record, bill, pay stub, and repair estimate, and write down missed work as it happens.
How Comparative Fault Changes a Metairie Injury Claim
Fault is the center of most contested car accident claims, and insurers use it as a discount tool. If a jury finds you 20 percent responsible for a collision, your award drops by 20 percent. If it finds you 51 percent responsible, you recover nothing, and for qualifying cases jurors are told exactly that. That makes early evidence preservation more important than it used to be: dashcam video, intersection camera footage, vehicle data, and independent witnesses can be the difference between a reduced claim and no claim.
Typical fault arguments include claims that you braked suddenly, were speeding, were distracted, or failed to wear a seat belt. Each can be answered with evidence, but only if someone is building that answer from the start. Medical causation is the other front. When an insurer says your herniated disc is degenerative, the response is treating physician testimony and imaging that tie the symptoms to the crash or show the crash aggravated a condition that was previously manageable.
When a Car Accident Is Also a Workers’ Compensation Claim
A crash during a work errand is not only an auto claim. Workers’ compensation can pay reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement regardless of who caused the accident, while the claim against the at-fault driver can recover damages comp does not, such as pain and suffering. Louisiana workers’ compensation hearings are handled by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, with district offices that include New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and a worker can choose to file in the parish where the injury occurred, the parish of residence at the time, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. Appeals go to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal; for Jefferson Parish that is the Fifth Circuit.
If treatment is denied in a comp claim, the dispute process has hard deadlines: 15 calendar days after written notice of the denial to file a request with the OWC medical director, and then 45 days from the date that decision issues to ask for a hearing. Missing either one can end the dispute. Coordinating both claims also affects settlement, since a comp carrier’s repayment interest can shrink what you keep from the injury recovery if no one negotiates it.
Metairie Car Accident Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer after a minor accident in Metairie?
Not always. If no one was hurt and the damage is small, you may not. But soft-tissue and spinal injuries often surface after the first week, and once you settle you cannot reopen the claim. If you have ongoing pain, missed work, or an insurer disputing fault, a lawyer is worth the free consultation.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are collected only if there is a recovery.
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the period is two years from the day the injury was sustained. Earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Wrongful death follows the longer of one year from death or two years from the injury.
What if I was partly at fault?
For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and below that threshold the award is reduced by your percentage. Earlier crashes remain under pure comparative fault, where recovery is reduced but not barred.
Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company?
You can give basic identifying information, but decline a recorded statement and do not discuss fault or your injuries in detail. Adjusters use those statements to lower or deny claims.
What if I was hit in a work vehicle while on the job?
You may have both a workers’ compensation claim and an injury claim against the at-fault driver. Report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and speak with an attorney before settling either claim because the two interact.
Can I still recover if I had a pre-existing back or neck problem?
Yes. If the crash caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to compensation. Strong medical evidence comparing your condition before and after the collision is the core of these claims.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often, yes, though the health insurer may later seek repayment from a settlement. If the crash was work-related, workers’ compensation should cover reasonable and necessary treatment, so you should not rely on health insurance for a work injury.
What if the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little?
Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply, depending on your policy. It is worth reviewing your policy early and notifying your insurer on time.
How long does a Metairie car accident case take to resolve?
It depends on your recovery. Responsible settlement usually waits until you reach maximum medical improvement so the full cost of your injuries is known. Cases involving surgery, disputed fault, or commercial trucking carriers take longer than a simple property-damage-plus-whiplash claim.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the other driver admitted fault?
Often yes. Admission at the scene is not the same as the insurer accepting liability, and insurers still dispute the extent of injuries, the need for surgery, and the value of lost earning capacity.
Serving Metairie Car Accident Clients Across Jefferson Parish and Beyond
We represent injured drivers and passengers from the Old Metairie and Metairie Club Gardens areas through Bonnabel, Fat City, and Lakeside, and into Bucktown and the Lake Pontchartrain lakefront. Our reach continues through Harahan, River Ridge, Elmwood, and Jefferson, and into Kenner, Gretna, Westwego, Marrero, Harvey, and Terrytown. We also serve clients in neighboring New Orleans, Chalmette, and Arabi, across the Northshore in Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell, and in Houma, Thibodaux, and the River Parishes. Beyond the New Orleans area, the firm works for injured people in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and throughout South Louisiana, and in Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta in Mississippi.
Speak With a Metairie Car Accident Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a collision in Jefferson Parish, the insurer is already building its version of events. A Metairie car accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review the crash, your medical records, and any work-injury angle at no cost. Consultations are free, you pay nothing unless there is a recovery, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call to talk through what happened and what your claim may be worth.
