Oxford Personal Injury Lawyer
A car wreck on the way to a job site and a fall on a contractor’s unsafe scaffold can look like ordinary injury cases, but when the person hurt was working at the time, two separate legal systems can apply at once. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm that represents injured workers and accident victims across Mississippi and Louisiana, and for people searching for an Oxford personal injury lawyer, that dual-track view often decides how much a claim is ultimately worth.
Oxford sits in Lafayette County, with the University of Mississippi, a large hospital system, steady construction, and heavy truck traffic moving through north Mississippi. That mix produces wrecks, campus-area premises injuries, and job-site accidents. Some are pure personal injury claims. Others are workers’ compensation claims with a negligent outsider attached. Getting the sequence right early protects both.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Oxford Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC serves injured people in Lafayette County and throughout north Mississippi, from Oxford to Southaven and the Delta, along with the rest of Mississippi and communities across South and north Louisiana. Clients pay nothing up front, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are collected only if there is a recovery. Phones are answered around the clock, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements. Results include $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. That last category matters here: injuries caused by someone other than an employer often overlap with a workplace claim, and the firm handles both sides of that overlap.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, 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 and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients consistently describe lawyers who listened, communicated, and stood up to the insurance company.
Injury Claims That Come Out of Oxford and Lafayette County
- Car and Truck Collisions: Highway 6, Highway 7, and the approaches to Interstate 55 carry commuters, students, and commercial freight. Wrecks involving tractor-trailers or delivery vehicles can involve the driver, the carrier, and a cargo or maintenance company, each with its own insurer.
- Work-Vehicle Crashes: A worker hit by a negligent driver while on the clock typically has a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver. The two must be coordinated so one does not undercut the other.
- Construction Site Injuries: Oxford’s steady building activity means falls, struck-by incidents, and equipment accidents. When a subcontractor or property owner other than your own employer created the hazard, a third-party claim may exist alongside comp benefits.
- Premises Liability: Falls in parking structures, apartment complexes, stores, and restaurants turn on whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix or warn.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Disc herniations are among the most common serious injuries in both crashes and heavy-labor jobs. Insurers often point to degenerative changes, so medical evidence on cause and aggravation carries the case.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears frequently require surgery and long recovery, and employers or insurers sometimes label them old sports injuries.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial and oilfield burns, crush injuries, and fractures needing specialist repair carry long-term medical needs that must be valued carefully before any settlement.
- Wrongful Death: When a fatal wreck or workplace accident takes a family member, the family may have claims against the responsible parties in addition to any death benefits available.
What to Do After an Injury in the Oxford Area
Get medical care first and tell every provider exactly how the injury happened. Gaps and vague histories in medical records are what insurers use later to argue the injury was something else. If the injury happened at work, report it to your employer promptly. In Mississippi, notice must go to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and the right to workers’ compensation benefits is generally lost if no benefits have been paid and no claim is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the injury. Louisiana workers should also give notice within 30 days, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year.
For a non-work injury caused by someone’s negligence, Mississippi’s general deadline for most negligence claims is three years from when the claim arose, with an important exception: claims against a county or other government body carry a one-year limit and require formal notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. A city bus, a county road defect, or a public building can trigger that shorter clock, and missing it can end the case regardless of how clear the fault was.
Photograph the scene, the vehicles, your injuries, and any hazard before it is repaired or cleaned up. Collect names of witnesses. Get the police or incident report. Keep every bill and every pay stub. Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer before you understand your position, and do not sign a medical release broad enough to give the insurer your entire health history. Insurers move fast to lock in an early, low number, and early offers rarely account for future surgery or lost earning capacity.
If your case needs to be filed, a Lafayette County claim that does not settle is generally brought in the courts serving Oxford; federal cases involving diverse parties or federal questions in this region go to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, whose Oxford Division includes Lafayette County. If a workers’ compensation claim runs alongside, it is heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission rather than a court, with appeals going to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which often assigns them to the Court of Appeals.
When a Work Injury and an Injury Claim Overlap
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. It pays medical care and wage benefits regardless of who caused the accident, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. A personal injury claim against a third party does. If a negligent driver hits you in a work truck, or a contractor you do not work for leaves a hazard that drops you off a ladder, you may be entitled to both. The challenge is that the comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from your third-party recovery, and a careless settlement of one claim can damage the other.
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so if you are partly at fault your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated. That makes the fight over fault percentages a real dollar issue. Insurers know this and routinely try to shift blame onto the injured person.
Frequently Asked Questions About Oxford Personal Injury Claims
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Mississippi?
Most negligence claims must be filed within three years of when the cause of action accrued. Claims against government entities carry a one-year limit and require notice first. Medical malpractice is two years.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you are not barred from recovering unless you were completely at fault.
What does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if there is a recovery.
I was hurt in a car accident while working. Do I have two claims?
Possibly. You may have workers’ compensation benefits through your employer’s coverage and a separate claim against the at-fault driver. The two need to be handled together so a settlement of one does not harm the other.
Do I have to report a work injury within a certain time?
Yes. In Mississippi, report to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Louisiana has the same 30-day notice rule.
What compensation is available in a third-party injury case?
Medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and in fatal cases, wrongful death damages. Workers’ compensation alone does not cover pain and suffering.
Is there a cap on damages in Mississippi?
Noneconomic damages are capped in some case types, including most wrongful death cases and medical malpractice. Caps do not apply to economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages.
The insurance adjuster called me and wants a recorded statement. Should I give one?
You are not obligated to give the other side’s insurer a recorded statement. Speak with a lawyer first, because casual remarks can later be used to argue you share fault or that your injuries are minor.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often yes, but the health insurer may seek reimbursement from your eventual recovery. In a work-related injury, workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for authorized treatment, and a denial of that treatment is something the firm challenges.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury claim?
If fault is disputed, treatment is ongoing, or the insurer’s offer seems low, a consultation costs nothing and clarifies whether a lawyer would increase your net recovery. Soft-tissue and back injuries that look minor early can become surgical cases later.
What if my pre-existing condition is blamed for my injury?
A prior condition does not end your claim. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still recover. Strong medical evidence connecting the accident to the change is what answers this argument.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were disciplined or terminated after reporting an injury, tell the firm during your consultation.
Serving Oxford and Surrounding Lafayette County Communities
The firm represents injured people in Oxford and throughout Lafayette County, including the neighborhoods around the university, the residential areas along the Highway 6 and Highway 7 corridors, and the smaller communities that feed into town. Our team also serves clients in neighboring north Mississippi counties and towns, among them those in Panola, Marshall, Yalobusha, Tate, Pontotoc, and DeSoto counties, as well as Southaven and the Delta. From there the firm’s reach extends statewide, to Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, and the Gulf Coast, and across the Louisiana line to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and South and north Louisiana communities. Whether the injury came from a wreck on a rural highway, a fall at a retail property, or an accident on a construction site, the firm can evaluate it from the first call.
Talk With an Oxford Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a crash, on a job site, or on someone else’s property, speak with an Oxford injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe before you talk to the insurance company. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless the firm recovers for you. Call today and find out what your claim, or claims, may be worth.
