St. Tammany Parish Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across St. Tammany Parish and the rest of South Louisiana, handling denied claims, cut-off benefits, and disputed medical treatment for people hurt on the job in Covington, Mandeville, Slidell, and the communities in between. A St. Tammany Parish workers’ compensation lawyer spends most of the day on the problems that start after the injury: an adjuster who stops returning calls, a surgery that never gets authorized, or a check that quietly stops arriving.
St. Tammany’s job market produces a particular mix of claims. The parish has a large health care workforce, a steady stream of construction and home-building work, trucking and delivery routes feeding the I-12 and I-10 corridors, and many residents who commute to jobsites in New Orleans, on the Northshore, or on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Where you were hurt matters less than people expect, because Louisiana lets the worker choose the venue for a hearing: the parish where the injury happened, the parish where you lived when you were hurt, or the parish where the employer’s principal place of business sits.
Claims in this part of the state are decided by workers’ compensation judges, and appeals from those judgments go to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers St. Tammany. Knowing how that system works, and which deadlines run against you, is where a lawyer earns the fee.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a St. Tammany Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, including St. Tammany Parish, the Northshore, and communities across South Louisiana. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, you pay no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered, and phones are answered 24 hours a day. Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin, Partner, and Jennifer Priebe, Partner, 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 Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team of attorneys working these cases.
The results reflect the kind of injuries that come up in comp work: $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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stays with them against the insurance company at every step. A St. Tammany injury attorney is only useful if the insurer knows the case will be built properly, and these results come from cases built that way.
Injuries and Claims We See Most Often From St. Tammany Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are common among construction crews, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and nurses who lift and reposition patients. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical evidence has to show how the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often follow repetitive overhead work, pulling heavy material, or a fall from a ladder or truck bed. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and the response is a clear medical timeline.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, and hips from falls on residential job sites, loading docks, and wet floors can require specialist care and complex surgical repair, with long stretches away from work.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial plants and oil and gas operations outside the parish produce severe burns and crush injuries, and many St. Tammany residents work those jobs. These claims involve large medical needs and long-term benefit questions.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are claims that insurers fight hard because the cause is not a single accident.
- Vehicle Crashes on the Job: Drivers and workers making calls between jobsites are hit on I-12, I-10, and Highway 190. These cases can involve both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Disputed Medical Treatment: Surgery, injections, or imaging that the insurer refuses to authorize is its own category of dispute with its own short deadlines.
What to Do After a Work Injury in St. Tammany Parish
Start by telling your employer, preferably in writing, as soon as you can. Louisiana law bars a comp proceeding unless the employer receives notice within 30 days of the injury, and waiting invites the argument that the accident did not happen at work. Ask for medical care, tell every provider the injury is work related, and describe all of your symptoms, not just the worst one. Gaps and vague histories in early medical records are what adjusters quote later.
Keep a simple file: the date and place of the accident, who saw it, who you told, every medical visit, and every conversation with the adjuster. Be careful with recorded statements. Adjusters ask routine-sounding questions about your prior back, shoulder, or knee problems, and loose answers become the foundation for a pre-existing-condition denial.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, though the period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if benefits were actually paid. Do not assume a few early checks protect you indefinitely. Disputed claims are filed with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the Louisiana workers’ compensation system has a district court for the Covington area, so you will not be handling your case from a distant hearing room.
If the insurer denies a medical treatment request, the clock gets very short. A dispute over utilization review must be filed on LWC Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, Form 1008 must be filed within 45 days from the date the decision was issued, and the time runs from issuance, not from the day you read it. These are the deadlines most often missed by workers who try to handle a denial alone.
If a judge rules against you, a final judgment can be appealed to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, generally within 30 days of notice of judgment for an appeal that suspends the judgment, or 60 days for one that does not. After that, a writ application to the Louisiana Supreme Court must be filed within 30 days. Because the delays run from specific events, an attorney should calendar them the day a ruling comes in.
How Louisiana Wage Benefits Work When You Cannot Return to Full Duty
Temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages while you cannot work at all. The rate is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum that is set each year and fixed by the date of your accident. That maximum is not adjusted later, so the accident date controls which cap applies to your claim.
When you return to work but earn less than before, supplemental earnings benefits come into play. They are available when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of your pre-injury wages, and they equal two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. Those benefits run until you are released to full duty, are earning your old wages again, or reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. Insurers often argue you are able to earn more than you actually are, which is why vocational evidence and your physician’s restrictions matter so much.
When a Third Party Is Also Responsible
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, but if someone other than your employer caused the injury, a separate claim may exist. A driver who hits your work truck, or a contractor whose unsafe site caused your fall, can be liable in a personal injury case. Louisiana’s rules on fault matter here: for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault cannot recover, and lesser fault reduces the award proportionally. Delictual claims arising from injuries on or after July 1, 2024 have a two-year prescriptive period. Coordinating the comp claim and the injury claim matters because settling one the wrong way can affect the other, including the insurer’s right to be reimbursed.
Common Questions About St. Tammany Workers’ Compensation Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one. If your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Louisiana?
Report it to your employer right away. Louisiana law bars a comp proceeding unless notice reaches the employer within 30 days of the injury, so late reports put the entire claim at risk.
How long do I have to file a formal claim?
Generally one year from the date of injury. If the insurer has paid compensation, the deadline may extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions are narrow, do not rely on them without advice.
Can I choose where my case is heard?
Yes. The worker elects among the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. For many St. Tammany workers, that means the hearing can be held close to home.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Louisiana protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell your attorney so the circumstances can be reviewed.
What if the insurer says my injury is just a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. Answering this argument with clear medical evidence is a core part of these cases.
My doctor wants surgery and the insurer said no. What now?
That is a medical treatment dispute with a tight deadline. The aggrieved party must file Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice of the denial. Do not let the insurer’s silence or a second round of paperwork eat into that window.
What happens to my benefits if I go back to work at lower pay?
You may qualify for supplemental earnings benefits if you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your old wages. They are calculated from the gap between your pre-injury and post-injury earning ability, and they are capped at 520 weeks, including weeks of total disability benefits.
Can I sue someone besides my employer after a work accident?
Often, yes. A negligent driver or an unrelated contractor is not protected by the comp system. Under Louisiana’s fault rules for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant who is 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, so how fault is documented from day one matters.
Will I be paid while I wait for a hearing?
If the claim is accepted, wage benefits and medical care should be paid while you are disabled. If it is denied, a petition before the workers’ compensation judge puts the dispute in front of a decision maker, and in the meantime an attorney can look at other sources of treatment and income.
What if my injury happened because of my own mistake?
Workers’ compensation is generally not a fault-based system, so carelessness on your part typically does not defeat a claim the way it can in a lawsuit. There are narrow defenses the insurer may raise, and your lawyer should review the facts early.
Serving St. Tammany Parish Workers Across the Northshore and South Louisiana
Our team represents injured workers throughout St. Tammany Parish, from Covington and Mandeville on the west side through Abita Springs, Madisonville, Lacombe, and Pearl River, and across to Slidell, Eden Isles, and the neighborhoods along the I-10 and I-12 corridors. We also serve workers in Folsom, Bush, Sun, and Talisheen, and those who live in St. Tammany but work in the neighboring parishes of Tangipahoa, Washington, Orleans, and Jefferson.
Across Louisiana, the firm handles claims in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and every region of South Louisiana. We also represent injured workers in Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, which is useful for St. Tammany residents who work jobs just across the state line.
Talk With a St. Tammany Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt at work, a St. Tammany workers’ compensation attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which deadlines are running, and deal with your employer and its insurer so you can focus on getting well. 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 to talk through your claim.
