Northshore Personal Injury Lawyer
The goal after a serious injury on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain is simple to state and hard to reach: medical bills paid, income replaced, and a settlement that reflects what the injury will cost over time. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Louisiana and Mississippi injury and workers’ compensation firm, and it helps people hurt in car and truck accidents, on unsafe premises, and on the job across St. Tammany Parish and the surrounding Northshore communities.
A Northshore personal injury lawyer has to think about more than the crash itself. The Northshore is a commuter region. Thousands of people drive the Causeway, I-12, I-10, and US-190 every day to jobs in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf South, and many of them are driving for work when a collision happens. That matters, because an on-the-job crash can open two doors at once: a workers’ compensation claim against the employer’s insurer and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver.
The deadlines are short and the rules changed recently. Louisiana’s fault rules now cut off recovery entirely for some injured people, and insurers know it. What you say in your first recorded statement can matter more than most people realize.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Northshore Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, and the other parishes of South Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the practice, and the firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
That focus carries into injury cases. 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 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. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out an attorney team that also includes Jared Martin. Trial experience changes how insurers value a file, because they know which firms will actually try a case.
The results reflect work that straddles both worlds. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, including $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck on the job, and $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury. Clients describe attorneys who listen, stay in contact, and fight the insurance company at every step.
Injury Situations We See Across the Northshore
- Interstate and Highway Collisions: I-12 and I-10 carry heavy truck and commuter traffic through St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes, and US-190 and US-11 add stop-and-go intersections. Rear-end impacts and lane-change crashes commonly cause lumbar and cervical disc injuries that surface days after the wreck.
- Commercial Truck Accidents: Freight moving between New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and Baton Rouge crosses the Northshore daily. These cases can involve the driver, the trucking company, a broker, or a maintenance contractor, and the evidence, including logs and electronic data, can be lost if no one asks for it early.
- Work-Vehicle Crashes: Delivery drivers, sales reps, project managers, and tradespeople are often hurt while driving for an employer. These injuries can support both a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against the other driver, and the two must be coordinated so one does not undercut the other.
- Premises Liability: Falls in retail stores, restaurants, parking lots, apartment complexes, and construction sites happen when owners ignore wet floors, broken stairs, poor lighting, or missing guardrails. Proving the owner knew or should have known about the hazard is the heart of these cases.
- Industrial and Jobsite Injuries Involving Third Parties: A negligent contractor on a shared site, a defective machine, or an unsafe subcontractor can be liable in addition to the employer’s comp coverage. The firm handles burns, crush injuries, and fractures from plants and industrial sites.
- Shoulder, Knee, and Spine Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, meniscus tears, and herniated discs from collisions or falls often need surgery. Insurers frequently blame degenerative changes or an old sports injury, so medical evidence tying the injury to the incident is central.
- Wrongful Death: When a crash or workplace incident takes a life, surviving family members may have claims with their own, separate deadlines under Louisiana law.
What to Do in the Days After a Northshore Injury
Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how you were hurt. Gaps in treatment and vague first-visit records are what insurers lean on later. If a crash happened on a parish road or highway, make sure a police report exists, and photograph vehicles, the roadway, signage, and visible injuries before anything is moved or repaired. Get names and contact information for witnesses.
If you were hurt while working, notify your employer promptly. Louisiana requires notice of a work injury within 30 days of the accident, and a formal workers’ compensation claim generally must be filed within one year. Mississippi workers also have 30 days to report, with two years to file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If compensation payments have been made, Louisiana’s filing window may stretch to three years from the last payment, but do not count on that.
Be careful with the other side’s adjuster. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurer, and offhand remarks about feeling “okay” or “a little sore” get quoted back months later. Do not sign medical releases broader than necessary, and do not accept a quick check before you know the full extent of your injuries.
Know the clock on a civil claim. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana’s general deadline to sue for a delictual action is two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Older injuries remain under the former one-year period. Wrongful death follows its own rule: one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer. A wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice stays limited to one year from the date of death.
Most Northshore injury lawsuits are filed in the state district court for the parish where the accident happened or the defendant lives, and federal cases can land in the Eastern District of Louisiana. If a workers’ compensation claim is part of your situation, it is heard by a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, not a regular civil court, and appeals go to the circuit court of appeal. For St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, and Livingston Parishes, that is the Louisiana First Circuit.
Louisiana’s 51 Percent Fault Bar and What It Means for Your Case
For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, Louisiana bars recovery for any claimant found 51 percent or more at fault. Fault below that line reduces the award proportionally. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault. In a jury trial, jurors must now be told that a plaintiff at 51 percent or more takes nothing.
The practical effect is that fault is no longer a haggling point; it is the whole case. An insurer that can push you from 40 percent to 51 percent has erased your claim. Expect arguments that you were speeding, distracted, following too closely, or failed to wear a seatbelt. Your lawyer’s job is to lock down the evidence that holds your share of fault down: scene photos, vehicle data, witness statements, and the sequence of events.
Mississippi works differently. Under its pure comparative negligence rule, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but never barred. If your Northshore injury happened across the state line, or you work in both states, the governing rule depends on where the injury occurred.
When a Work Injury Also Becomes an Injury Lawsuit
Workers’ compensation pays medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, but it does not pay for pain and suffering, and it generally prevents suing your own employer for negligence. When someone else caused the harm, such as a driver who hit your work truck, a contractor with an unsafe site, or a manufacturer of a defective tool, a separate injury claim can recover what comp does not.
Handling both claims through one firm matters. Settling the third-party case can affect the comp carrier’s reimbursement rights, and a careless comp settlement can complicate the injury case. The firm’s workers’ compensation focus means comp benefits, which include medical treatment and wage replacement while you cannot work, are protected while the injury claim develops.
Questions Northshore Injury Clients Ask
How much does it cost to hire a Northshore injury attorney?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and fees are collected only if there is a recovery. In workers’ compensation matters, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, the general period is two years from the day the injury or damage was sustained. Earlier injuries remain under the older one-year period, so the date of your accident matters.
What is the deadline for a wrongful death claim in Louisiana?
One year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. Both wrongful death and survival actions now follow that rule. A wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice remains limited to one year from the date of death.
What happens if I was partly at fault for the accident?
In Louisiana, for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, a finding of 51 percent or more fault bars recovery entirely, and lower percentages reduce your award by that share. Earlier claims use pure comparative fault. Mississippi reduces recovery but does not bar it.
Can I get workers’ compensation and a personal injury settlement for the same accident?
Often yes, when someone other than your employer caused the injury. The comp claim covers medical care and wage benefits; the injury claim against the third party can cover losses comp does not. The two must be coordinated carefully.
Do I have to give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?
No. You owe your own insurer cooperation under your policy, but you are not obligated to give a recorded statement to the other side. Talk to a lawyer first, because early statements are routinely used to shift fault.
Will my health insurance pay for treatment while my claim is pending?
Generally you can use health insurance to keep treating, though the insurer may later seek reimbursement from a settlement. If the injury happened at work, the workers’ compensation carrier should pay reasonable and necessary treatment, and a denial of treatment has its own tight deadlines, including 15 calendar days to dispute it by filing a form with the Office of Workers’ Compensation.
What if the injury only showed up days or weeks after the crash?
That is common with disc and soft-tissue injuries. See a doctor as soon as symptoms appear and describe the accident clearly. A short gap is manageable; a long one hands the insurer an argument that something else caused the problem.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a minor-looking injury?
Injuries that look minor at first sometimes turn into surgeries. Insurers often make early offers before the full picture is known, and accepting one usually ends the claim. A free consultation costs nothing and tells you whether the offer is fair.
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 an injury, raise it in your consultation so the firm can review your options.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking clients?
Yes. Hablamos español. Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Injury Clients Across St. Tammany Parish and the Northshore
The firm represents injured people throughout St. Tammany Parish, including Covington, Mandeville, Slidell, Abita Springs, Madisonville, Lacombe, Pearl River, and Folsom. Representation extends across the lake’s north shore into neighboring Tangipahoa Parish, including Hammond, Ponchatoula, and Amite, and into Washington Parish and the Bogalusa area. Clients also come from Livingston Parish communities such as Denham Springs and Walker, and from the broader South Louisiana region, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles.
Across the state line, the firm serves Mississippi injury victims from the Gulf Coast to Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta, with coverage that reaches north Mississippi and north Louisiana as well. Whether the collision happened on I-12, a parish road, or a jobsite, the team can handle the claim wherever it arose.
Talk With a Northshore Injury Attorney Today
If you are looking for a Northshore injury attorney, Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC offers free consultations, advances the costs of your case, and charges no fee unless it recovers benefits or a settlement for you. Phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call to talk through what happened, find out which deadlines apply to you, and learn whether a workers’ compensation claim, an injury claim, or both are in play. The insurance company already has people working on its side of your claim; you should too.
