Holly Springs Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
The goal after a job injury is simple: treatment authorized, paychecks replaced, and no fight with an adjuster while you recover. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation claims for injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Holly Springs workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can take the claim off your hands, from the first notice to your employer through a hearing if one is needed.
Holly Springs sits in Marshall County in north Mississippi, where the work is physical: warehouse and distribution floors, manufacturing lines, trucking along the corridors toward Memphis, construction crews, and farm and timber operations. Those jobs produce the injuries that insurers like to contest, such as herniated discs, torn shoulders, knee tears, fractures, and burns. Workers in this part of the state are covered by the Mississippi system from their first day on the job, and the claim is decided by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission rather than by a jury.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Marshall County Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm for injured workers in Marshall County and across Mississippi and South Louisiana, including north Mississippi, the Delta, the Gulf Coast, Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, and Southaven. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off early, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, you pay no fee unless we recover benefits, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries Holly Springs workers suffer: $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 an oil rig worker with severe burns. Smaller claims matter too, including recoveries for shoulder, knee, neck, and hip injuries and for a truck driver with a meniscus tear.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, alongside attorneys Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher. Clients describe a team that listens, stays professional, and fights the insurance company at every step.
Work Injuries We See From North Mississippi Employers
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting, repetitive bending, and long hours on concrete floors cause lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Carriers often blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical evidence has to show that the work caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common in warehouse, assembly, and driving jobs. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, which is a causation dispute we know how to answer.
- Fractures: Falls from loading docks, ladders, and scaffolding, and crush injuries from equipment, break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, often requiring specialists and surgery.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Plant, industrial, and oilfield work can produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for long-term medical care and permanent disability benefits.
- Truck and delivery driver injuries: Drivers hurt in wrecks while on the job may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Occupational illness and repetitive trauma: Conditions that develop over time from the work environment can be compensable even without a single dramatic accident.
- First responder claims: Firefighters and other first responders may have claims for heart and lung disease, hypertension, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and job-related cancer.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Holly Springs
Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can. Mississippi law requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and waiting gives the carrier an argument that you were not really hurt at work. Keep a copy of what you send. Get medical attention right away and tell every provider that the injury happened on the job, describing exactly how, so the records connect your condition to your work.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. If no disability benefits are paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a petition to controvert with the Commission, and the clock can run from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. Do not treat the insurer’s promises or a slow adjuster as a reason to wait. A claim filed late can be barred entirely.
Mississippi workers’ comp claims are not tried in a courthouse. They go to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, where an Administrative Judge hears the evidence. If either side appeals, the Full Commission reviews the record made before the judge, and that review is not a new trial. That makes the first hearing critical: the testimony, medical opinions, and work history presented there are what every later stage relies on. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Court of Appeals.
A few mistakes cause the most damage. Giving a recorded statement to the adjuster before you understand your claim is one. Returning to work before your doctor releases you is another. So is skipping appointments, which insurers use to argue you have recovered, and posting about your activities online. If the carrier denies the claim, stops paying, or sends you to a doctor who minimizes your injury, call us before you respond.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and How Long They Last
Mississippi workers’ compensation pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment, along with wage replacement when you cannot work. Temporary total and permanent total disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Those payments cannot run longer than 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability payments in the general category are subject to the same 450-week ceiling. There is a statutory weekly minimum as well, with exceptions for partial disability cases.
Your average weekly wage drives everything, so how it is calculated matters. Overtime, second jobs, and seasonal or irregular hours can change the number, and insurers do not always count everything they should. Reviewing the wage records early can mean a meaningfully higher check for the life of the claim.
Many cases end in a settlement. A fair number requires knowing your medical future, your permanent restrictions, and whether you can return to the same work. Settling before maximum medical improvement, or before a surgeon has weighed in, is a common way workers leave money on the table.
When a Pre-Existing Condition or a Denial Stands in the Way
Carriers rely on a familiar set of arguments: the accident did not happen at work, the condition was already there, your report came too late, or you can work now. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the problem, benefits may still be owed, and that argument is won with medical opinions and a clear work history rather than with outrage.
Some work injuries also involve someone other than your employer, such as a negligent driver who hits your work vehicle or a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall. In those cases you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits. Our team coordinates both so that one does not undermine the other.
Holly Springs Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation 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 change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone working for you.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report in writing as soon as possible, and keep a copy.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury or from the last compensation payment, by filing a petition to controvert. Exceptions exist when benefits have already been paid, so speak with an attorney early.
Does Mississippi workers’ compensation cover me from my first day?
Yes. Coverage begins on the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Your ability to choose and change treating physicians is governed by Commission rules, and the carrier will try to steer you toward doctors it prefers. Before agreeing to a provider or a change of doctors, talk with us so a one-sided opinion does not end up controlling your case.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, so your own carelessness generally does not defeat your claim. Fault becomes relevant only in a separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces recovery by your share of fault instead of barring it.
Will my health insurance pay while my claim is pending?
Work injuries are meant to be paid by the comp carrier, and health plans often resist covering them. If the carrier denies your treatment, ask us how to keep care going without creating a billing mess that hurts your claim.
What happens if my claim is denied and I lose at the first hearing?
You can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record from the hearing before the Administrative Judge rather than hearing the case fresh. After that, a final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days. Because the record is what gets reviewed, building the best possible evidence at the first hearing matters most.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?
Often yes. A sprain that becomes surgery, or a denial of one treatment, can turn a small claim into a long one. Because we are paid only if we recover, an early consultation costs nothing and tells you where you stand.
Do you represent workers who were hurt in Louisiana?
Yes. We handle claims throughout Louisiana as well, before workers’ compensation judges and on appeal, for workers hurt in places like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.
Serving Injured Workers From Holly Springs Across North Mississippi and Beyond
We represent injured workers in Holly Springs and throughout Marshall County, including communities such as Potts Camp, Byhalia, Red Banks, and Slayden. We also help workers in neighboring areas of north Mississippi, from Oxford and Batesville to Olive Branch, Southaven, and the DeSoto County communities near Memphis, and from Tupelo and the Pontotoc area toward the Delta.
Our reach continues across the state, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg and the Gulf Coast, and into South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Whether you were hurt at a distribution center, a plant, a job site, or behind the wheel of a work truck, the same team handles your claim from beginning to end.
Talk With a Holly Springs Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, you do not have to take on the insurance company yourself. A Holly Springs workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and start working on your medical care and wage benefits right away. Call us any time, day or night, for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover benefits for you.
