Metairie Truck Driver Injury Lawyer
A truck driver hurt on the job in Jefferson Parish has a claim that is often decided in the Office of Workers’ Compensation district handling Harahan, and any appeal from that decision goes to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers only four parishes, Jefferson among them. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Metairie truck driver injury lawyer from our firm handles both the workers’ compensation claim and any separate injury claim against an outside party when a driver is hurt in a wreck, a loading accident, or a fall from a rig.
Metairie sits where much of the New Orleans area’s freight moves. Drivers run Interstate 10 and Interstate 610, pick up and deliver along Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Airline Drive, and haul to and from the river parishes, the port, and the Gulf Coast. The injuries that follow are frequently back, neck, and shoulder damage from collisions, jackknifes, rollovers, and repetitive heavy loading, and they tend to end careers faster than other jobs because a commercial driver must pass a medical exam to keep driving.
That medical requirement is one of the first things an insurer exploits and one of the first things we plan around. A driver who is released to light duty may not be able to keep a commercial license, and a lawyer who understands that difference can argue for wage benefits that reflect the real loss of earning capacity rather than a paper release to work.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Truck Driver Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including Jefferson Parish, Metairie, and the rest of South Louisiana. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who see a work injury only when one walks in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, clients are never charged unless we recover for them, consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. We also serve Spanish-speaking clients in their own language, which matters in a freight industry with many Spanish-speaking drivers and warehouse workers.
Several results speak directly to what truck drivers face. We obtained $190,000 for a truck driver who injured his lower back in a wreck while on the job, $150,000 for a truck driver with a meniscus tear, and $175,000 for a delivery driver with a lumbar injury. Outside the driver category, we recovered $385,000 for a project manager injured when he was struck in his work vehicle, which is the same kind of case that produces both a comp claim and a claim against the at-fault motorist, and we obtained $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker with serious back injuries. Past results do not guarantee a particular outcome, but they show the kind of injury and the kind of insurer fight we handle regularly.
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, which is the experience that counts when a trucking wreck requires a lawsuit against a carrier or its insurer. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients consistently describe a team that listened, communicated, and fought the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types That Come Up for Metairie Truck Drivers
- Collision and Rollover Injuries: Crashes on I-10, I-610, and the Causeway approaches produce herniated discs, fractures, and head injuries. If another motorist or a negligent contractor caused the wreck, the driver may have a third-party injury claim in addition to comp benefits.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Years of hours behind the wheel plus loading and unloading wear down the lumbar and cervical spine. Insurers routinely blame degenerative disc disease, and the answer is medical evidence tying the work, or a specific incident, to the injury.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears from strapping and tarping loads, and meniscus tears from climbing in and out of cabs and trailers, are common and often called old injuries by the carrier.
- Loading Dock and Yard Accidents: Falls from trailers, crushing injuries from forklifts, and strikes by moving equipment at terminals and distribution centers around Jefferson Parish can involve both the employer and a separate company on the site.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Tanker, fuel, and chemical hauling carries burn and explosion risk, and these claims can involve permanent disability benefits and lifelong medical care.
- Delivery and Last-Mile Drivers: Package and delivery drivers carry heavy loads on repetitive routes, and misclassification as independent contractors is a common way employers try to deny coverage.
- Wrongful Death: When a driver dies in a crash or workplace accident, surviving family members may have both death benefits under the comp system and a separate wrongful death claim against a liable third party.
What a Driver Should Do After an Injury in Jefferson Parish
Report the injury to your employer right away and in writing if you can. Louisiana law requires notice within 30 days of the injury, and a claim can be thrown out if that notice is missed, so do not wait to see whether the pain improves. Get medical treatment and tell the provider the injury happened at work, because the first records are the ones the insurer reads most closely. If you were in a wreck, ask for a copy of the police report, photograph the scene and vehicles if you can, and write down the names of anyone who saw it. Keep your logbook entries, dispatch messages, and pay records, since they establish your wages and what you were doing at the time.
The formal claim deadline is separate from the notice deadline. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, and if the insurer has paid benefits the period can run up to three years from the last payment. Waiting on the insurer to do the right thing is how drivers lose these rights. Workers’ compensation disputes in Louisiana go to the Office of Workers’ Compensation, and you choose where to bring the case from the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived when injured, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A judge there decides disputes over benefits and medical care.
Medical denials move on short clocks. If the insurer refuses a treatment your doctor recommends, you have 15 calendar days from written notice to file Form 1009 with the OWC, 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. After a judge rules, an appeal to the court of appeal must be filed within 30 days if it will suspend the judgment, or 60 days if it will not, and for Jefferson Parish cases that court is the Fifth Circuit. These dates are easy to miss while you are in pain and out of work, which is why we ask people to call before the deadlines are close.
Be careful with recorded statements and with the insurer’s choice of doctor. An adjuster who sounds friendly is building a file, and a single offhand answer about an earlier back problem can be used to argue a pre-existing condition. You also should not accept a return to work before your own physician clears you, and you should not sign settlement paperwork or medical releases without understanding what they give up.
How Wage Benefits Work When You Cannot Drive
Louisiana comp pays medical treatment that is reasonable and necessary, plus weekly indemnity benefits while you recover. Temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages while you cannot work at all, and the weekly amount is a percentage of your average weekly wage, capped by a maximum that is set each year and fixed by the date of your accident. For drivers who paid overtime, per-mile pay, or per diem, how the average weekly wage is calculated can change the check meaningfully, and insurers sometimes use a low number.
When a driver can work again but earns less, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. They are two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, available when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you made before. They can last until you are back to full duty, back to your old wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. A driver who loses a commercial license, or is moved to lower-paying warehouse work, is exactly the person these benefits are meant for, and the fight is often over what the insurer says you are able to earn.
Where a negligent third party is involved, the comp claim and the injury claim run on different rules. Louisiana’s tort period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years from the day the injury is sustained. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower fault reduces the award proportionally. That makes how the wreck is investigated and reconstructed matter more than it used to, and it is one reason to bring in a lawyer before evidence disappears. We coordinate both claims so a settlement in one does not damage the other.
Questions Truck Drivers Ask About Injury Claims in Metairie
Do I need a lawyer if my employer’s insurer is already paying my medical bills?
Not every claim requires one, but payments can stop without warning, and the insurer controls which doctor you see and when you are called back to work. Many drivers bring us in when treatment is delayed, a surgery is denied, or an adjuster begins pushing a settlement before the full extent of the injury is known.
How long do I have to report a truck driving injury in Louisiana?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the injury, and the safest approach is to report it immediately and in writing. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the injury, with an extension possible when the insurer has already paid benefits.
What if the other driver caused my accident?
You can usually receive workers’ compensation benefits and also pursue the at-fault driver or company for losses comp does not cover, such as pain and suffering. The two claims must be handled together carefully, because the comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from the third-party recovery.
Can the insurer say my back problem is just wear and tear?
They can say it, but a pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed, and answering that argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of these cases.
Am I covered if I am classified as an independent contractor?
Not necessarily. Many drivers are labeled contractors although the company controls their routes, equipment, and schedules. Whether you are truly an employee depends on how the relationship works in practice, and a misclassification does not automatically defeat a claim.
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 disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review the circumstances.
What happens to my commercial license if I am hurt?
The medical qualification needed to keep driving is a federal and employment matter separate from the comp claim, but your injury and work restrictions affect both. If you cannot return to driving, that loss of earning capacity can be central to your supplemental earnings benefits.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
If the comp insurer denies treatment, you may be tempted to use your own health plan, but doing so can create repayment and coverage problems later. Talk to us before you decide, and we can pursue the denial through the OWC process while your care continues.
I was hurt in Mississippi while driving a route that starts in Metairie. Which state’s law applies?
That depends on where you were hired, where you work from, and where the injury happened, and the answer can affect your deadlines and benefits. Mississippi requires notice within 30 days and a claim with its Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years, so it is worth sorting out quickly.
How long does a trucking injury claim take?
It depends on the severity of the injury, how soon you reach maximum medical improvement, and whether the insurer disputes the claim. Straightforward cases can resolve in months, while those involving surgery, a denied treatment, or a third-party lawsuit can take considerably longer, and we will give you a realistic view after reviewing your records.
What does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the 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.
Serving Truck Drivers in Metairie and Across Jefferson Parish
Our work for injured drivers begins in Metairie and reaches throughout Jefferson Parish, including Kenner, Harahan, Elmwood, Old Jefferson, Bonnabel, Lakeside, Fat City, Bucktown, Terrytown, Gretna, Harvey, Marrero, Westwego, Avondale, and Waggaman. From there we represent clients in neighboring Orleans Parish and New Orleans, in St. Charles and St. Bernard Parishes, and on across the river parishes and the north shore. Our reach covers Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, along with the rest of South Louisiana and north Louisiana, because a driver’s accident rarely happens where the truck is based.
We also serve injured workers and drivers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. We handle workers’ compensation claims, denied claims and appeals, and related personal injury and wrongful death cases for them wherever the injury occurred.
Talk With a Metairie Truck Driver Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt behind the wheel, on a loading dock, or on a delivery route, a Metairie truck driver injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and take on the insurer so you can focus on treatment. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
Call us or send your case details and we will tell you where your claim stands and what should happen next. We help injured workers, and that is the work we do every day.
