Metairie Personal Injury Lawyer
Louisiana’s rules on fault changed recently, and a Metairie car wreck claim now looks different than it did a couple of years ago. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana law firm that handles workers’ compensation and personal injury claims for injured people, and as a Metairie personal injury lawyer team we represent clients from Jefferson Parish and across South Louisiana. The two biggest shifts: the window to file a lawsuit for most injuries is now longer than it used to be, and a person found mostly at fault can lose the claim entirely.
Metairie sits in the middle of some of the busiest traffic in the state. Veterans Memorial Boulevard, Airline Drive, Causeway Boulevard, and the stretch of Interstate 10 running through Jefferson Parish generate a steady stream of rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, and truck wrecks. Add shopping centers, office parks, and the commuters who cross the parish line every day, and you get the kind of claims where the insurance company has a lot of room to argue about who did what.
This area of law rewards early attention. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and the insurer’s adjuster is already building a version of events by the time most people are home from the hospital. What follows is a practical walk through how these claims work in Louisiana and what we would tell you across the table.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Metairie Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people throughout Jefferson Parish, the greater New Orleans area, and the rest of Louisiana and Mississippi. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. We also handle car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases, and we work on a no recovery, no fee basis. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
That workers’ compensation focus matters in personal injury because so many Metairie injury cases overlap with a job. A delivery driver hit by a negligent motorist, a project manager struck in a work vehicle, a worker hurt on someone else’s unsafe job site: these people often have a comp claim and an injury claim at once, and the two have to be handled so they do not undercut each other. We secured $385,000 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. Our larger back injury results include $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury.
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 successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts, which matters because insurers settle differently when they know the other side will try the case. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients tell us what they value most: someone who listened, explained the process, and went toe to toe with the insurance company.
Types of Injury Claims We Handle for Metairie Residents
- Car Accidents: Rear-end crashes on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, left-turn collisions on Airline Drive, and merging wrecks near the Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard interchanges are the usual pattern. Fault is rarely tidy, and the new 51 percent rule makes the fault argument the center of the claim.
- Truck and Commercial Vehicle Accidents: Metairie’s roads carry delivery vehicles, tractor-trailers moving along the interstate corridor, and work trucks. These claims can involve the driver, the trucking company, and a cargo or maintenance contractor, each with its own insurer.
- Work Vehicle and On-the-Job Crashes: When a negligent driver hits someone who is on the clock, there can be a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver. Coordinating them protects your benefits and your recovery.
- Premises Liability: Slip and fall injuries in stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, parking lots, and office buildings, along with injuries from poor security or unsafe maintenance. The question is what the owner knew or should have known and how long a hazard sat there.
- Construction Site Injuries Involving Third Parties: A worker hurt because of a contractor or equipment supplier other than their own employer may have a claim beyond comp. Falls, struck-by incidents, and equipment failures are typical.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Herniated discs and cervical injuries are common after impact, and insurers often blame degenerative disc disease. Medical evidence tying the injury to the event is what answers that argument.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial incidents, fires, and severe crashes can leave lasting disability and require long-term care planning that affects the value of the claim.
- Wrongful Death: When a family loses someone because of another party’s negligence, Louisiana law gives them a right to pursue a claim, with its own filing deadline.
What to Do After an Injury in Metairie
Get medical care first, even if you think you walked away fine. Adrenaline hides pain, and soft tissue and spine injuries often declare themselves a day or two later. A gap between the accident and your first treatment is something insurers love to point to. Go to an emergency room or your own doctor, describe every symptom, and follow the treatment plan. If a police agency responded, such as the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, get the report number.
Document the scene while you can. Photograph vehicles, the roadway, signs, signals, spills, broken steps, and your injuries. Collect names and contact details for witnesses. Keep your own account short and factual. Do not post about the accident on social media, and be careful with recorded statements. The other driver’s insurer will call quickly and sound friendly. You are not required to give them a recorded statement, and what you say off the cuff can be used to shrink your claim.
If the injury happened at work, report it to your employer right away. Louisiana requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury, and a formal workers’ compensation claim generally has to be filed within one year of the accident, though payments already made can extend that. If a third party was also responsible, the injury claim runs on its own clock.
For most injury lawsuits, Louisiana now allows two years from the day the injury or damage is sustained. That longer period applies to injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and earlier injuries stay under the old one-year period. Wrongful death follows the longer of one year from the death or two years from the injury, except a death claim based on medical malpractice, which is limited to one year from the death. Do not treat those outer limits as a target date; the best evidence is gathered in the first weeks.
Most injury lawsuits arising in Metairie are filed in Jefferson Parish district court, and appeals from that parish go to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes. A case that qualifies for federal court would go to the Eastern District of Louisiana, which sits in New Orleans. Workers’ compensation claims are different: they go before a workers’ compensation judge, and the worker chooses among the parish where the injury happened, the parish where they lived at the time, or the parish of the employer’s main place of business.
How Louisiana’s 51 Percent Fault Rule Changes the Fight
Louisiana used to let an injured person recover something even if they were mostly to blame, with the award reduced by their share of fault. That changed for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026. Now a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a person found less than 51 percent at fault has the award reduced by their percentage. Juries are told about the bar, which can make them cautious.
In practice, this makes every fault argument more valuable to the insurer. Adjusters will look for any reason to push your share toward the line: you were speeding slightly, you braked late, you were on your phone, you stepped where you should not have. We build the liability case early with scene evidence, witness accounts, vehicle data, and surveillance video before it is overwritten. Injuries that happened before 2026 stay under the older pure comparative fault system, so the date of the accident matters.
Work Injuries That Also Involve a Third Party
Workers’ compensation pays medical care and wage benefits regardless of who caused the accident, but it does not pay for pain and suffering and it does not cover everything. When someone other than your employer caused the injury, you may have a separate claim against them. A negligent driver who strikes your work truck, a general contractor whose unsafe site caused a fall, or a manufacturer of defective equipment can all be responsible.
The two claims interact. The comp insurer often has a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, and settling one claim carelessly can jeopardize the other. Because workers’ compensation is what we do every day, we are used to making these pieces fit together so that you keep as much as the law allows.
Metairie Personal Injury Questions, Answered
How much does it cost to hire a Metairie injury lawyer?
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. In workers’ compensation cases, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana?
For most injuries on or after July 1, 2024, you have two years from the day the injury or damage is sustained. Earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Some claims, such as those against government bodies, carry special notice rules, so get advice early.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
It depends on when the accident happened. For claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, you recover nothing if you are found 51 percent or more at fault, and your award is reduced by your percentage if you are below that. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault, where your recovery is reduced but not barred.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident?
Not always. If you have no injuries and only minor property damage, you may be able to handle it yourself. If you have pain, missed work, ongoing treatment, or the insurer is disputing fault, a lawyer can make a real difference, because the insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its side.
What is my claim worth?
It depends on the medical bills, future treatment, lost income, the lasting effects of the injury, and how fault is allocated. Anyone who quotes a number before seeing your medical records is guessing. We evaluate the whole picture, including how the injury affects your ability to do your job.
Will my health insurance pay while my claim is pending?
Often yes, and using it is usually better than going untreated. Your health insurer may seek reimbursement from a settlement, and we deal with those liens as part of resolving the case. If the injury happened at work, workers’ compensation should pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment.
What if I was hurt in a work vehicle in Metairie?
You may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. Report the injury to your employer promptly, within 30 days at the latest, and talk to a lawyer before giving statements to either insurer.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation 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 the insurance company says my injury was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the accident caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still recover. Insurers raise degenerative disc disease and old sports injuries often, and answering that with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
How long does a Metairie injury case take?
Some claims resolve in months, while cases with serious injuries, disputed fault, or ongoing treatment take longer. Settling before you reach maximum medical improvement risks leaving money on the table, because future care is hard to price while you are still treating.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Injury Clients Across Metairie and Jefferson Parish
Our work for Metairie clients begins in Jefferson Parish and reaches outward. We represent people from Old Metairie and Lakeside through Bucktown, Fat City, and the neighborhoods along Veterans Memorial Boulevard, and into Bonnabel, Metairie Heights, and the communities near Lake Pontchartrain. We also serve clients in nearby Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge, Elmwood, Jefferson, Gretna, Harvey, Marrero, Westwego, and Terrytown, along with the neighboring city of New Orleans.
Beyond the parish, we represent injured people throughout South Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and the surrounding communities, as well as north Louisiana and Shreveport. Across the state line, we serve clients in Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether the injury came from a crash on the interstate, a fall at a business, or an accident on the job, our injury law firm in Metairie and Jefferson Parish handles the case from the first call to the final resolution.
Talk With a Metairie Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a crash, a fall, or an accident at work, you do not have to sort out the insurance company’s moves by yourself. A Metairie personal injury attorney from our team can review what happened, explain how Louisiana’s current fault and filing rules apply to your date of injury, and tell you plainly what your options are. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call us today to talk through your case.
