New Orleans Amputation Lawyer
Losing a hand, a foot, a leg, or even a few fingers on the job in New Orleans changes what the next several years look like, and the decisions you make in the first weeks can shape the outcome of your claim. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a New Orleans amputation lawyer from our team can take the insurance company off your plate while you focus on surgery, recovery, and what comes after.
Amputation claims are not like sprains or strains. The medical bills keep coming long after discharge: prosthetic fittings, replacements as the limb changes or wears, physical therapy, pain management, and often mental health care. The wage question is just as hard. A worker who lost a hand may never return to a trade that depended on it, and the insurer’s idea of “light duty” rarely matches what an employer in the real labor market will actually offer.
Where Amputation Injuries Come From in the New Orleans Area
The Port of New Orleans, the river terminals along the Mississippi, the shipyards, the chemical plants and refineries up and down the river parishes, and a steady stream of commercial and residential construction all put workers near heavy machinery. Amputations in these settings tend to happen in a few recurring ways, and knowing which one applies to you shapes how the claim is built.
- Crush injuries from heavy equipment: Forklifts, cranes, container handlers, and dock machinery can pin a hand, foot, or leg against a fixed object. Surgeons sometimes amputate days later when tissue does not survive, so the injury and the amputation can be separated by time.
- Machine guarding failures: Presses, saws, conveyors, and rollers in warehouses, fabrication shops, and food processing plants can take fingers or an entire hand in a second, often when a guard was removed, bypassed, or never installed.
- Vehicle and struck-by incidents: A worker hit by a truck at a loading dock, or caught between a trailer and a wall, may lose a limb. If a third-party driver or contractor was responsible, a separate injury claim may exist alongside the comp case.
- Burns and electrical injuries: Severe electrical contact or fire on an industrial site can destroy tissue to the point that amputation is the only option. Our firm handles burn and catastrophic injury claims from plants and rigs.
- Construction site accidents: Falls, collapsing materials, power tools, and equipment rollovers on job sites throughout Orleans, Jefferson, and the surrounding parishes can result in traumatic or surgical amputation.
- Delayed amputations after infection or failed repair: A fracture or crush injury that seemed salvageable may later require amputation because of infection or poor healing. Insurers sometimes argue the later surgery is unrelated to the work accident, and that argument has to be met with medical evidence.
- Partial amputations: Losing a fingertip, a thumb, or part of a foot still affects grip, balance, and earning capacity. These claims are frequently undervalued because the injury looks small on paper.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Catastrophic Limb Loss Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and South Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice rather than a side matter, and our attorneys bring more than 75 combined years of experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish.
The people handling your case matter. Rob Lunsford, our Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, 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, which matters when a serious claim cannot be resolved without a hearing or an appeal. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Our results show what serious injuries can be worth when they are built properly: $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients regularly tell us the difference was a team that listened, explained each step, and stood up to the insurance company.
What Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Can Pay After an Amputation
Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry workers’ compensation coverage, even for a single employee. For an amputation, the central benefits are medical care, wage replacement, and compensation for permanent loss. Medical benefits should cover all reasonable and necessary treatment, which for limb loss means surgery, hospital care, wound care, therapy, and prosthetics, along with the repairs and replacements a prosthetic will need over a lifetime. Insist on that last point early. Insurers are far more willing to approve the first device than to keep paying for the fourth.
Wage benefits depend on where you are in recovery. While you cannot work at all, temporary total disability benefits replace a share of your earnings. If you eventually return at lower pay or cannot find comparable work, supplemental earnings benefits cover two-thirds of the gap between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, as long as you cannot earn 90 percent or more of what you made before. Those benefits can continue until you are released to full duty, return to pre-injury earnings, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that limit. Weekly amounts are capped by a maximum rate that is set by the date of your accident and adjusted periodically for new injuries.
Because an amputation is a permanent loss, permanent disability benefits and the question of whether you can ever return to your old trade are the heart of the case. Workers who lose the use of a hand or foot often qualify for substantial permanent benefits, and some are permanently and totally disabled. Where your case sits on that spectrum is a medical and vocational question, which is why the opinions of your surgeon, a prosthetist, and sometimes a vocational expert carry so much weight.
What to Do in the First Weeks After an Amputation at Work
Report the injury to your employer right away, and in any event within 30 days. In Louisiana, no compensation proceeding is maintained without notice to the employer inside that window. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that period can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. If your injury happened in Mississippi, you also have 30 days to report, and generally two years to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. A traumatic amputation is usually reported on the spot, but written notice and a clear record of who was told and when still protect you if the insurer later disputes the facts.
Gather and keep what disappears fast: the names of coworkers and supervisors who witnessed it, photos of the machine or area if someone can safely take them, any incident report the employer prepares, and copies of every medical record and bill. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before speaking with a lawyer, and do not sign anything you have not had reviewed. If the injury involved a machine with a missing guard, a defective part, or a contractor’s equipment, tell us. A third party other than your employer may be legally responsible, which opens a separate injury claim that can recover damages comp does not allow. Louisiana’s tort deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is generally two years, and fault now matters more: a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault can be barred for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
If the insurer denies a treatment request, such as a prosthetic, a surgery, or a course of therapy, the clock is short. In Louisiana, a dispute over medical treatment must be filed with the Office of Workers’ Compensation on Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving the written denial, and the medical director then has 30 days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from its issuance to file Form 1008. Claims are heard by workers’ compensation judges at the OWC, and the New Orleans district office handles hearings for this area. You choose the venue from the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A final judgment can be appealed to the court of appeal; an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days and one that does not within 60, running from the day after the judgment was signed or notice was mailed, whichever is later. Cases arising in Orleans Parish go to the Fourth Circuit, and those in Jefferson Parish go to the Fifth Circuit.
The most common mistake is going back to work too soon, or agreeing to a settlement before you know your long-term medical needs. A prosthetic limb has to be refit, replaced, and maintained for decades. Settling without accounting for that can leave you paying out of pocket for the rest of your life. Talk to a New Orleans workers’ compensation attorney before you accept any offer.
How Insurers Fight Amputation Claims
Insurance carriers have a familiar playbook, and amputations do not exempt you from it. Expect arguments that the accident did not happen the way you describe, that you were violating a safety rule, or that a later complication is not connected to the original injury. Employers sometimes point to a pre-existing condition, such as diabetes or vascular disease, to argue that an amputation was inevitable. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the problem, and answering that argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
Another pressure point is the push to return to work. Adjusters may send you to a doctor of their choosing, who clears you for duties your treating surgeon would never approve. They may also stop benefits without warning when they believe you have reached maximum improvement. We build each case with the medical evidence, witness accounts, and work history needed to hold that line, and we take denied claims through the hearing process and, when it is necessary, to the appellate courts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amputation Claims in New Orleans
Do I need a lawyer after losing a limb at work?
Not every claim requires one, but an amputation is among the most serious injuries in the comp system and involves lifetime medical care, permanent disability, and a lot of money. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours from the start.
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 for you. Fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report an amputation to my employer?
In both Louisiana and Mississippi you should report right away and within 30 days at the latest. Missing that window can put the claim at risk even when the injury itself is obvious.
How long do I have to file the claim?
In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with an extension to three years from the last payment if comp benefits were paid. In Mississippi, you generally have two years to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Exceptions depend on what has been paid, so speak with an attorney as soon as you can.
Will workers’ compensation pay for a prosthetic limb?
Medical benefits cover reasonable and necessary treatment, and a prosthesis is generally part of that care. The fight usually comes over quality, replacement, and maintenance. If the insurer denies a request, the 15-day Form 1009 deadline in Louisiana applies, so do not wait.
Can I sue my employer for my amputation?
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer. But if a third party contributed, such as an equipment manufacturer, a negligent contractor, or a driver who struck you, you may have a separate injury claim in addition to comp.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Fault generally does not defeat a workers’ compensation claim. It can matter in a third-party injury case. For Louisiana causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower percentages reduce the award proportionally. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault without barring it.
My employer says my diabetes caused the amputation. Is my claim over?
No. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If a work accident caused the injury or made the condition worse, benefits may still be owed. Medical opinions from your treating surgeon are the key evidence here.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Both Louisiana and Mississippi protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What happens if I cannot go back to my old job?
If you return at reduced pay or cannot earn what you did before, supplemental earnings benefits may apply in Louisiana, up to the 520-week maximum. If your limitations are severe enough, permanent total disability may be in play. Vocational evidence often decides which category fits.
Should I settle my amputation claim quickly?
Be careful. A settlement closes the file on future benefits, and prosthetic care lasts a lifetime. Settling before the full cost of replacements, therapy, and mental health care is understood can leave you with a gap that is difficult to fix.
What if I am hurt in Mississippi but live in New Orleans?
The law that applies generally depends on where the injury and employment connect to each state. We handle claims on both sides of the line, including before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and can sort out which state’s rules govern your case.
Serving Amputation Injury Clients Across New Orleans and South Louisiana
Our team represents injured workers throughout New Orleans, from the Central Business District, the French Quarter, and the Warehouse District to Uptown, Mid-City, Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, the Lower Ninth Ward, and Bywater. We also serve workers in Jefferson Parish communities such as Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, Gretna, Marrero, and Westwego, and across the river parishes where refineries, terminals, and plants employ thousands of tradespeople.
Beyond the metro area, we represent clients in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Our work extends into Mississippi as well, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether your injury happened on a dock, a drilling site, a construction project, or a factory floor, we can help.
Talk With a New Orleans Amputation Attorney Today
An amputation is a permanent injury, and the benefits you secure now will have to carry you for years. If you or someone in your family lost a limb or part of one on the job, contact Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC for a free consultation. A New Orleans amputation attorney from our team will review what happened, explain the benefits at stake, and deal with your employer and its insurer directly. Call anytime, day or night, and pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers. That is all we do.
