Metairie Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
Getting hurt on a job site should lead to two things: your medical care approved without a fight, and a paycheck replacement that arrives while you recover. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that helps injured construction workers in Metairie and across Jefferson Parish pursue both. A Metairie construction worker injury lawyer at our firm handles claims from Louisiana’s building trades and also serves injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Construction injuries rarely look like office injuries. A fall from scaffolding, a crushed hand between equipment, a herniated disc from years of lifting block and rebar: these produce surgeries, long recoveries, and arguments from insurers about whether the work really caused the damage. Metairie sits in the middle of constant commercial and residential building, from renovation work along the Veterans corridor to projects tied to the greater New Orleans industrial base, and the workers who do that building often face the same pushback when they report a claim.
The sections below explain how Louisiana’s system treats a construction injury, where claims tend to go wrong, and what to do in the days after you are hurt.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Metairie Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Jefferson Parish, the rest of South Louisiana, and throughout Mississippi. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your 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 (hablamos español), which matters on job sites where many crews work in more than one language.
Several of our results involve the kinds of injuries construction workers suffer. We secured $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle. We also recovered $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns, a reminder that heavy industrial work produces catastrophic injuries that demand careful medical documentation.
Rob Lunsford, our Founding Partner, 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. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and our clients consistently describe a team that listened, communicated, and fought the insurance company on their behalf.
Construction Injuries and Claim Types We Handle
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, bending, and vibration from tools wear down lumbar and cervical discs, and a single awkward load can herniate one. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, so the medical record has to connect the job to the injury or to the worsening of an existing condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among carpenters, laborers, and ironworkers who work overhead or on uneven ground. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, which is why timing and documentation matter.
- Fractures: Falls from ladders, roofs, and scaffolding frequently break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, and complex repairs can require specialists and extended time away from work.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Electrical contact, hot work, and plant or industrial sites produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for lifelong medical planning, not just a short-term check.
- Struck-By and Caught-In Accidents: Falling materials, swinging loads, and moving equipment cause crush injuries and head trauma, and they often involve more than one company on the site.
- Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Construction workers and project managers drive between sites and supply yards, and a wreck in a work truck can support both a comp claim and a claim against the at-fault driver.
- Denied or Cut-Off Claims: If the carrier disputes that the accident happened at work, blames a prior condition, or stops paying without warning, we take the dispute through the proper channels.
What to Do After a Construction Injury in Louisiana
Report the injury to your employer right away. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless the employer receives notice within 30 days of the injury, so waiting is the single most avoidable way to damage a claim. Tell a supervisor, make the report in writing if you can, and keep a copy. Then get medical attention and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened at work. Gaps and vague histories in medical records are what adjusters use later to argue the injury came from somewhere else.
The deadline for the claim itself is separate. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, though that period can extend to three years from the last payment if compensation has already been paid. Because exceptions depend on what was paid and when, do not assume you have more time than you do.
Disputes over medical treatment run on a tight clock. If the insurer denies a treatment request through utilization review, the aggrieved party has 15 calendar days from receiving written notice to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. A party who disagrees with that decision has 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. Those periods run from the paperwork, not from when you finally get around to reading it.
Workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana are heard by workers’ compensation judges, not in regular civil court. You choose among the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish of your employer’s principal place of business, and the Office of Workers’ Compensation maintains district courts across the state, including one in Harahan and one in New Orleans. If a judge rules against you, a final judgment can be taken to the Louisiana courts of appeal; an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days and one that does not suspend it within sixty. Appeals from cases arising in Jefferson Parish go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.
Avoid a few common mistakes. Do not give a recorded statement to the adjuster before you understand the claim. Do not return to heavy work before your doctor releases you because a supervisor or adjuster pushed. Do not skip medical appointments, which insurers cite as proof you were not really hurt. And do not post about your activity online while a claim is pending.
How Louisiana Pays an Injured Construction Worker
Louisiana workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, plus wage replacement while you cannot work. Temporary total disability replaces part of your wages during recovery. If you return to lighter work at reduced pay, supplemental earnings benefits can cover part of the gap: when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages, the benefit is two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you earn or are able to earn now. Those benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. Additional benefits exist for permanent disability, catastrophic injury, and death.
Weekly benefit amounts are capped, and the cap is set by the date of your accident rather than adjusted later. The limits change from year to year based on the statewide average weekly wage, so the date you were hurt determines your ceiling.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is Responsible
Construction sites are crowded with companies: general contractors, subcontractors, equipment owners, property owners, and delivery drivers. Workers’ compensation generally protects your direct employer from a lawsuit, but a separate company whose negligence hurt you can be a different story. A subcontractor who left a hazard, an equipment maker whose product failed, or a driver who hit your work truck may all be liable in a personal injury claim that runs alongside your comp benefits.
Louisiana now gives two years to file most injury lawsuits for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, while earlier injuries stay under the former one-year period. For injuries from January 1, 2026 forward, a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower fault reduces the award proportionally. Our personal injury lawyers coordinate these claims with your comp case so a settlement in one does not undercut the other.
Frequently Asked Questions About Metairie Construction Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a construction injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests.
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. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Louisiana requires notice to your employer within 30 days of the injury. Report it immediately and in writing whenever possible.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of injury. If compensation has been paid, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment, so confirm your situation with an attorney.
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 us so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury is pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence answering this argument is central to what we do.
What if my employer says I was an independent contractor, or never carried coverage?
Labels do not control the outcome. Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry coverage even for a single employee, and how the work is actually directed and paid matters more than what a paperwork title says. Bring any contracts, pay records, and texts about the job to your consultation.
What happens if my doctor and the insurer’s doctor disagree?
This is common in back and joint cases. A dispute over whether a surgery or treatment is necessary can go through the utilization review process, with its 15-day filing window. We gather the treating physician’s records and opinions so the dispute is decided on a strong medical file.
Can I still collect comp if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so a mistake on your part does not usually defeat the claim. Fault matters more in a separate lawsuit against a third party, where Louisiana’s 51 percent rule can apply to injuries from January 1, 2026 forward.
Will my wages be replaced if I can only do light duty?
If you return at lower pay because of your injury, supplemental earnings benefits may make up part of the difference when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your prior wages. Turning down suitable work or missing job search obligations can affect those benefits, so get guidance before making that decision.
Can I handle a comp claim and a lawsuit against another company at the same time?
Often yes, but the two claims affect each other, especially around reimbursement to the comp carrier. That is why we coordinate both rather than treating them separately.
Serving Injured Construction Workers From Metairie to the Rest of Louisiana
We represent injured construction workers across Metairie and Jefferson Parish, including neighboring communities such as Kenner, Harahan, Gretna, Marrero, Harvey, and River Ridge, along with nearby New Orleans and its surrounding areas. Our reach extends through South Louisiana to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and north to Shreveport and north Louisiana.
We also serve injured workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Wherever on a job site or in whichever state you were hurt, we handle construction injury claims before the workers’ compensation judges and appellate courts that decide them.
Talk With a Metairie Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a construction job, you do not have to take on the insurance company alone. A Metairie construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC can review your claim, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and start working on your medical care and wage benefits. Call us any hour, schedule a free consultation, and pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers. That is what we do.
