Phillips 66 Westlake Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A refinery injury in Calcasieu Parish usually gets decided by a handful of facts: what job you were doing when you were hurt, who actually signed your paycheck, and whether your doctor’s records tie the injury to that work. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Phillips 66 Westlake workers’ compensation lawyer from our firm can take on the insurer while you focus on getting treated.
Westlake sits in the middle of the Lake Charles industrial corridor, where refining, petrochemical processing, and heavy maintenance work put people close to pressure, heat, and heavy equipment every shift. Injuries in that setting are rarely simple. A worker may be a direct employee, a contractor’s employee, or a turnaround hire brought in for a few weeks, and each status changes who owes benefits and who might also be sued. Getting those details nailed down early shapes everything that follows.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Refinery Injury Claim
Our firm represents injured workers in South Louisiana, including Lake Charles, Westlake, and the rest of Calcasieu Parish, and across Mississippi from the Gulf Coast to the Delta. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off too soon, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We advance the costs of your case, consultations are free, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish for clients who prefer it (hablamos espanol).
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, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and all of them work on behalf of injured workers rather than insurers.
Industrial injuries are where results tend to be largest, and ours reflect that. We secured $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck. Clients tell us they felt heard and that their attorney stood up to the insurance company at every step. That is the standard we hold ourselves to on a plant-site claim.
Injuries We See From Refinery and Plant Work
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Flash fires, steam releases, hot-work incidents, and chemical exposure can cause burns that require skin grafts, long hospital stays, and permanent scarring. These claims often justify the highest benefit levels, and the insurer will scrutinize every medical record.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting valves, pulling hoses, climbing structures, and working in awkward positions during turnarounds lead to lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers commonly blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical evidence has to show how the work caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears are common among workers who handle heavy pipe, tools, and equipment all day. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, which is a argument we are used to answering.
- Fractures: Falls from scaffolding, platforms, and ladders, or crushing injuries from moving equipment, can break feet, ankles, hips, and arms and may require specialist surgery and long recovery.
- Toxic Exposure and Occupational Illness: Long-term exposure to fumes, solvents, and other substances can produce respiratory and other conditions. These claims turn on medical causation and work history, and the date you first learned the condition was work related matters.
- Contractor and Turnaround Worker Claims: Many people hurt at a refinery are employed by a staffing company or contractor rather than the plant owner. Your comp benefits generally come from your own employer’s insurer, and the question of who else may be responsible needs separate attention.
- Vehicle and Transport Injuries: Workers who drive between sites, haul materials, or travel on the job can be hurt in wrecks that involve both a comp claim and a claim against another driver.
What to Do After a Plant Injury in Calcasieu Parish
Get medical care first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and how. Then report it to your employer right away. Louisiana law requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the injury, and a compensation proceeding can be thrown out if that notice was never given. Put the report in writing if you can, keep a copy, and note the date, the location on site, the equipment involved, and anyone who saw it happen.
The next deadline is the one people miss. A formal claim in Louisiana generally has to be filed within one year of the accident, though that window can stretch to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits have already been paid. Do not assume that because the insurer is paying, you are safe. Payments can stop, and the clock does not always protect you the way you expect.
Claims that cannot be resolved with the insurer go to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Louisiana has ten district workers’ compensation courts, including one in Lake Charles. You as the worker choose where the hearing is held, from 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. That choice can matter for convenience and strategy, so make it with a lawyer.
Disputes over medical treatment have their own short clock. If the insurer denies a treatment your doctor recommends, you have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to issue a decision. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. Those numbers run from issuance, not from when you got around to reading the letter, so a denial letter should go to a lawyer the day it arrives.
Avoid the mistakes that sink strong claims: giving a recorded statement before you understand your rights, returning to full duty before your doctor clears you, skipping appointments, posting about your activities online, or signing forms from the insurer without reading them. Louisiana also protects workers from being fired for filing a claim, so if you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us.
How Louisiana Wage Benefits Work for Industrial Workers
Louisiana pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment plus wage replacement while you cannot work. Weekly compensation is tied to a percentage of your average wage, subject to a maximum and minimum that are set each year and are fixed by the date of your accident. For refinery and plant workers, who often earn well above the average because of overtime and turnaround pay, that cap matters, and so does an accurate calculation of your average wage, including overtime that the insurer may leave out.
If you return to work but cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you made before the injury, you may qualify for supplemental earnings benefits. Those equal two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. They can continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages again, or you reach the 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. Insurers often argue that a worker is able to earn more than he actually does, and vocational evidence frequently decides that fight.
If a judge rules against you, a final judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the Louisiana court of appeal. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within thirty days, and one that does not suspend it within sixty. Calcasieu Parish cases go to the Third Circuit. After that, a party can ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review by applying for a writ of certiorari within 30 days of notice of the judgment.
Questions About Phillips 66 Westlake Workers’ Compensation Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a refinery injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone working for you.
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. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How soon must I report my injury?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the injury. In Louisiana, a compensation proceeding cannot be maintained without that notice, so do not wait to see whether the pain goes away.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment. Speak with an attorney as soon as you can, because exceptions are narrow.
What if the insurer says my back problem was already there?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your work caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Answering that argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
I was hurt at Phillips 66 but work for a contractor. Who pays my benefits?
Generally your own employer’s compensation insurer is responsible for your benefits, whether that is a contractor or a staffing company. Who controls the work site and who else may have contributed to the accident are separate questions, and they affect whether you have additional claims.
Can I also sue someone besides my employer?
Sometimes. If a negligent driver, equipment manufacturer, or unrelated company caused your injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits. Louisiana’s delictual deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years, and for earlier injuries the former one-year period still applies. Fault above a threshold can also bar recovery for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, so these claims need careful handling.
What if the insurer refuses a surgery my doctor recommends?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the OWC. A medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. Missing that first window can cost you the fastest path to getting treatment approved.
Will my overtime count toward my benefit rate?
It can. Refinery work often includes substantial overtime, and your average wage should reflect what you actually earned. Insurers sometimes use a lower figure, which reduces your weekly check. Bring pay stubs and tax records so the calculation can be checked.
Can my employer fire me for filing?
No. Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were terminated or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Do you take Spanish-speaking clients?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Injured Workers Across Westlake and Calcasieu Parish
We represent injured workers in Westlake and throughout Calcasieu Parish, including Lake Charles, Sulphur, Moss Bluff, Vinton, and DeQuincy. Because plant workers commute from all over the region, we also serve clients coming from neighboring parishes and from across South Louisiana, including Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, as well as north Louisiana communities such as Shreveport.
Our work is not limited to one state. We represent injured workers across Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta, and in north Mississippi. Many industrial workers travel for turnaround and maintenance jobs, so a person hurt at a Louisiana plant may live in Mississippi, and we can handle the claim from either side.
Talk With a Phillips 66 Westlake Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt at the Westlake refinery, the deadlines are already running. A Phillips 66 Westlake workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your injury, your employment status, and your wage records, and tell you plainly where your claim stands. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today and we will start sorting out what happened and what comes next.
