New Orleans Permanent Partial Disability Benefits Lawyer
The goal in a permanent partial disability claim is to have your lasting limitations measured honestly, to have the right benefit category applied, and to leave with either a steady stream of payments or a settlement that reflects what the injury has taken from your earning ability. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, including New Orleans, Orleans Parish, and the surrounding communities of South Louisiana. A New Orleans permanent partial disability benefits lawyer from our team can help once your doctor says you have reached the point where you will not fully recover.
Permanent partial disability is where many Louisiana claims get quietly undervalued. The label sounds like good news, since “partial” suggests you can still work, but the real questions come later. Can you return to the same job at the same pay? Did the surgeon assign an impairment rating, and is it fair? Is the insurer paying you a supplemental earnings benefit based on what you could earn rather than what you actually earn? Those answers determine whether you receive benefits for a few months or for years.
Insurers in New Orleans handle these claims by the thousands, and the adjuster’s first offer is rarely built around your long-term picture. Understanding how Louisiana separates temporary benefits, supplemental earnings benefits, and permanent disability payments is the first step toward knowing whether what you have been offered is close to what the law allows.
How Louisiana Treats a Permanent Partial Disability
Louisiana’s workers’ compensation system divides wage benefits by how long and how completely an injury keeps you from working. Temporary total disability benefits are paid while you are recovering and cannot work at all. Once you reach maximum medical improvement, meaning your treating physician concludes further treatment will not meaningfully improve your condition, the conversation shifts to what you are left with. If you can work but not as you did before, permanent partial disability is on the table.
The most important wage benefit for many partially disabled workers in Louisiana is the supplemental earnings benefit. It applies when an injury leaves you unable to earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages. The benefit equals two-thirds of the difference between your average monthly wage at the time of the accident and the wages you are actually earning or are able to earn after the injury. That second phrase, “able to earn,” is where disputes begin. Insurers often hire vocational consultants who identify jobs they claim you could perform, even when those jobs are far away, pay little, or ignore your restrictions.
Supplemental earnings benefits do not last forever. They end when you are released to full duty, when you return to earning your pre-injury wages, or when you reach the 520-week maximum. Any weeks of temporary total disability you already received count toward that 520-week ceiling, which means the clock may have been running longer than you realized. Weekly compensation is also subject to a statutory cap that is set each year and fixed by your accident date, so the maximum that applies to you depends on when you were hurt rather than when your claim is decided.
Louisiana law also provides separate benefit categories for injuries that cause the loss of use of certain body parts, as well as for permanent total disability and catastrophic injury. Which category fits depends heavily on the medical evidence, which is why the opinion of your treating specialist and any impairment rating they assign carry so much weight.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Permanent Partial Disability Claims
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and across Jackson, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice rather than a side matter we take when one walks in. Our attorneys bring more than 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. We advance the costs of the case, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish.
Our leadership includes Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers, and Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and the firm has been ranked by Best Law Firms in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
The results matter most for permanent disability work because these cases are won on medical evidence and wage proof. We secured $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 injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe the same things in their reviews: attorneys who listen, who stay in the fight with the insurance company at every step, and who make a hard process easier to get through.
Injuries That Commonly Lead to Permanent Partial Disability in New Orleans
- Lumbar and Cervical Spine Injuries: Disc herniations and fusion surgeries often leave lifting, bending, and prolonged standing restrictions that permanently narrow a worker’s job options. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, so the case turns on showing how the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs and SLAP tears are common among workers who pull, lift, and work overhead, such as derrickhands, mechanics, and dock and warehouse employees. Even after surgery, many workers lose strength and range of motion that never fully returns.
- Knee Injuries: Meniscus and ACL tears occur on slick decks, uneven job sites, and during repetitive climbing. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, so the medical history has to be addressed directly.
- Fractures of the Foot, Ankle, and Hip: Falls from ladders, scaffolding, and equipment can require hardware and multiple surgeries. Permanent stiffness or post-traumatic arthritis may limit standing, walking, and climbing for good.
- Burns and Industrial Injuries: Plant, refinery, and oil field burns can cause scarring, nerve damage, and mobility problems in the lower extremities that make a return to the same field unrealistic.
- Port, Warehouse, and Hospitality Work Injuries: New Orleans’ economy runs on physical labor in shipping, food service, healthcare, and construction, and repetitive strain and acute injuries in these jobs frequently lead to permanent restrictions.
- Vehicle Collisions During Work: Delivery drivers, truckers, and project managers who are hit while on the clock may have both a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver.
What to Do When Your Doctor Says the Injury Is Permanent
Start with your medical file. When a treating physician places you at maximum medical improvement, ask for the work restrictions in writing and for any impairment rating, and make sure the physician understands what your job physically requires. Doctors sometimes release workers with vague restrictions that the insurer later reads as permission to return to full duty. Specific restrictions on lifting, reaching, standing, and repetitive motion protect your claim far better than a general release.
Next, keep proof of your wages. Gather pay stubs from before the injury, any post-injury earnings, and records of job searches or employer offers. If you return to lighter duty at lower pay, that gap is the basis of a supplemental earnings benefit, and you will typically be asked to report your earnings. Do not assume the insurer is calculating the benefit correctly; check that the average wage used reflects overtime and all regular earnings.
Know the deadlines that apply. Injuries should be reported to your employer within 30 days. A formal claim in Louisiana generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. If the insurer denies a medical treatment request, the dispute goes through the utilization review process: you have 15 calendar days from the written denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to issue a decision. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from its issuance to file Form 1008. These windows are short, and missing them can cost you the treatment.
Your case would be heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the district office that serves New Orleans, and you choose the venue among the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of your employer’s principal place of business. A judge’s final decision can be appealed to the Louisiana court of appeal, and an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days. For injuries in Orleans Parish, that appellate court is the Fourth Circuit; for Jefferson Parish, it is the Fifth Circuit.
Be careful with recorded statements and settlement offers. Adjusters may call within days of a release to your restrictions with a lump sum that sounds generous. Before you agree to anything that closes your medical benefits, talk with an attorney who can value the claim against your future treatment and lost earning capacity. A settlement that ends medical coverage for a permanent spine or shoulder injury can leave you paying out of pocket for years.
How Insurers Fight Permanent Partial Disability Claims
The common tactics are predictable. An insurer may argue that you have reached maximum medical improvement sooner than your doctor says, in order to end temporary benefits and shift you to lower payments. It may order an independent medical examination and rely on a physician who assigns a lower impairment rating. It may claim that jobs exist within your restrictions and reduce your supplemental earnings benefit to what you supposedly could earn. And it may point to prior injuries or age-related wear as the real cause of your limitations.
Answering these arguments requires evidence assembled early: your treating specialist’s opinion, functional capacity information, your full work history, and testimony about what the job demands day to day. Louisiana law gives injured workers meaningful tools to contest a low rating or an unrealistic job analysis, including the right to challenge the insurer’s vocational findings with your own evidence. These disputes are often settled, but the value of the settlement tracks directly on how well the underlying proof can be presented to a judge.
Permanent Partial Disability Questions From New Orleans Workers
What is the difference between permanent partial and permanent total disability?
Permanent total disability applies when an injury keeps you from working in any capacity. Permanent partial disability applies when you retain some ability to work but have lasting limitations that reduce your earning capacity or function. The categories carry different benefit structures, and many claims are contested at exactly this line.
How are supplemental earnings benefits calculated in Louisiana?
When you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages, the benefit is two-thirds of the difference between your average monthly wage at the time of injury and what you earn or are able to earn afterward, subject to the weekly maximum tied to your accident date.
How long can I receive supplemental earnings benefits?
Until you are released to full duty, return to earning your pre-injury wages, or reach the 520-week maximum. Weeks of temporary total disability already paid count toward that limit.
Does an impairment rating decide my case?
It is important evidence, but it is not the whole case. Louisiana’s wage-based benefits turn largely on your restrictions and your ability to earn, so a modest rating does not necessarily mean modest benefits.
Can I still get benefits if I went back to work?
Yes. Returning to work at reduced pay or in a lighter role is exactly the situation supplemental earnings benefits are designed to address, provided your earnings fall below the 90 percent threshold.
What if my employer says my injury is just a pre-existing condition?
A prior condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and strong medical evidence is what answers the insurer’s argument.
What happens if the insurer cuts off my benefits without warning?
You have the right to contest a termination or reduction. Gather the notice and your medical records, and speak with a lawyer quickly, because disputes over medical treatment have strict filing deadlines of their own.
Can I settle my permanent partial disability claim for a lump sum?
Settlements are common, but they should account for future medical care, not just lost wages. A lump sum that closes your medical benefits can be costly if your injury requires ongoing treatment, so valuation matters before you sign.
Can I be fired for filing a claim or claiming permanent restrictions?
Louisiana prohibits retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury or asking for work within your restrictions, tell your attorney so the circumstances can be reviewed.
Will a third-party claim affect my comp benefits?
It can. If someone other than your employer caused the injury, such as a driver who struck your work truck, you may have a separate injury claim. The two need to be coordinated so the comp carrier’s reimbursement rights do not erode your recovery.
How much does it cost to hire your firm for a permanent partial disability claim?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.
Do you handle claims for workers who speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Permanent Partial Disability Clients Across New Orleans and South Louisiana
We represent injured workers throughout Orleans Parish, from the French Quarter and the Central Business District to Uptown, Mid-City, the Garden District, Gentilly, New Orleans East, Algiers, and the Lower Ninth Ward. Our reach continues into neighboring Jefferson Parish, including Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, and Gretna, and into St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and the north shore communities of Slidell and Covington. Workers in the port, shipyards, hospitals, hotels, and construction sites that drive the regional economy all come through our practice.
Beyond the metro area, we serve clients across South Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as Shreveport and communities throughout north Louisiana. We also represent injured workers in Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi.
Talk With a New Orleans Permanent Partial Disability Attorney
If your doctor has told you the injury is permanent, or the insurer has started pushing you toward a settlement or a smaller check, speak with a New Orleans permanent partial disability attorney before you sign anything or accept a reduction. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC will review your medical records, your restrictions, and your wage history to tell you what your claim is realistically worth and what the insurer is likely to dispute.
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us to talk through your case and find out where you stand.
