Ellisville Personal Injury Lawyer
Ellisville residents who get hurt in a wreck on Highway 11 or Interstate 59, or on a job site somewhere in Jones County, usually face a decision within days: who do I talk to, and what do I tell the insurance company? Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in Mississippi and Louisiana in workers’ compensation, car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases, and it serves Ellisville and the surrounding Jones County area. If you are looking for an Ellisville personal injury lawyer, the first thing to sort out is whether your injury happened at work, because that changes which system you are in and which deadlines apply.
Ellisville sits in a part of Mississippi built on timber, manufacturing, trucking, and healthcare, with Laurel and Hattiesburg close by. That economy produces a particular mix of injuries: log trucks and delivery vehicles on two-lane roads, forklift and equipment accidents in plants and warehouses, falls on commercial property, and drivers hurt in a work vehicle by someone else’s negligence. Those last cases are the ones people most often get wrong, because they involve two claims at once.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Ellisville Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana firm that handles injury claims for people in Ellisville, throughout Jones County, and across the state. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. It was ranked by Best Law Firms in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
That focus matters when your injury has a work connection. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury generalists who handle one when it happens to walk in. Here the reverse is true, and the firm also handles car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death so that a comp claim and an injury claim against a third party are coordinated rather than working against each other.
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. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before the state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results include a $685,000 settlement 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 consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and fights the insurance company at each step. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, you pay nothing unless there is a recovery, phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients are served in their own language (hablamos español).
Injury Situations We Handle for Jones County Residents
- Work Injuries Under Workers’ Compensation: Construction workers, ironworkers, truck drivers, nurses, firefighters, and general laborers are covered from the first day on the job when the employer has five or more employees. Benefits include medical care and wage replacement, and claims go before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission rather than a jury.
- Car and Truck Accidents: Log trucks, delivery vans, and commercial rigs share Highway 11, Highway 84, and Interstate 59 with local commuters. Serious crashes with commercial vehicles often involve multiple insurers and a trucking company that investigates quickly.
- On-the-Job Wrecks Caused by Someone Else: If a negligent driver hits your work truck, you may have both a comp claim and a personal injury claim. One case can affect the other, so they need to be handled together.
- Premises Liability: Falls from poor lighting, wet floors, broken stairs, or unsafe construction sites can support a claim against the property owner or a contractor who is not your employer.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Disc herniations in the lumbar and cervical spine are among the most common serious injuries, and insurers often blame degenerative disc disease rather than the accident or the job.
- Shoulder, Knee, and Fracture Injuries: Rotator cuff and SLAP tears, ACL and meniscus tears, and broken feet, ankles, and hips can mean surgery, specialists, and long recoveries, and employers sometimes call them old sports injuries.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial sites and oil field work produce severe burns and life-altering injuries that call for long-term medical planning, not a quick settlement.
- Wrongful Death: When a fatal crash or workplace accident takes a family member, survivors may have claims that run on their own deadlines.
What to Do After an Injury in Ellisville, and the Deadlines That Apply
Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how you were hurt. Whether you go to a local clinic, an emergency room, or a specialist in Laurel or Hattiesburg, the medical record becomes the foundation of your claim, and gaps or vague descriptions get used against you later. Follow the treatment plan and keep your appointments.
If you were hurt at work, report it to your employer promptly. In Mississippi you must give notice of the injury within 30 days of the accident, and you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Workers’ Compensation Commission if benefits have not been paid. The Commission is an administrative body in Jackson, not a courthouse in Jones County. Claims are heard first by an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the record. A final award can then be appealed, and the appeal must be filed within 30 days. Wage-loss benefits are two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum that the state adjusts, and you are covered from your first day with no waiting period.
If someone other than your employer caused the injury, a different clock applies. Most Mississippi injury lawsuits fall under a three-year statute of limitations, but claims against a county or other governmental body carry a one-year limit and require formal notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. Waiting to find out which rule governs you is how people lose claims. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so being partly at fault reduces your recovery by your share rather than barring it.
Document everything you can. Photograph the scene, your injuries, and any hazard. Get names and contact information for witnesses and coworkers. Keep pay stubs, medical bills, and a simple record of missed work. Be careful with recorded statements: an adjuster’s friendly questions about how the accident happened, or whether you had prior back trouble, are not casual. Do not sign medical releases broader than necessary, and do not accept a quick check before you know the full extent of your injury. Do not stop treatment because the insurer says you are fine; that is one of the most common ways comp benefits get cut off.
How Comp Claims and Injury Lawsuits Fit Together
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong, but in exchange you generally cannot sue the employer for pain and suffering. A claim against a third party, such as the driver who hit your work vehicle or a contractor with an unsafe site, is different. It is a fault-based injury claim in which you can seek damages the comp system does not provide.
The two tracks interact. The comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, and settling one claim carelessly can jeopardize the other. A lawyer who handles both can sequence them so your medical care continues while the larger claim develops. The firm builds each case with medical evidence, witness accounts, and work history, and it is prepared to take a denied claim through the Commission and to the appellate courts. Insurers have a familiar playbook: say it did not happen at work, blame a pre-existing condition, push you back before your doctor clears you, or stop payments without warning. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim if the job caused, worsened, or sped up the problem.
Questions Ellisville Injury Clients Ask
Do I need a lawyer for an injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and you pay only if there is a recovery. 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?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it right away and in writing if you can, so there is no dispute later about whether your employer knew.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid within two years of the injury and no claim was filed, the right to benefits is barred.
What is the deadline for a car accident lawsuit in Mississippi?
Most negligence claims must be filed within three years after the cause of action accrues. For latent injuries or diseases, the clock starts when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury. Claims against a county or other government agency have a one-year limit.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi protects workers from being fired in 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.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but not eliminated. Insurers often try to inflate that percentage, so how fault is documented early matters.
Can I get a comp claim and a lawsuit from the same accident?
Yes, when someone other than your employer contributed to the accident. A driver who hits your work truck is a common example. Comp pays benefits regardless of fault, and the injury claim seeks damages from the negligent party. The comp carrier may have a claim to reimbursement from that recovery, which is why the two should be handled together.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
It can, but work injuries are supposed to be paid by comp, and health plans sometimes resist or seek repayment. If the comp insurer denies treatment, talk to an attorney before letting care lapse, because gaps in treatment hurt the claim.
How long does a claim take?
It depends on the injury and whether it is disputed. A straightforward accepted claim can resolve once you reach maximum medical improvement, while a denied claim that goes to hearing takes longer. Settling too early, before the long-term picture is clear, is a mistake we work to avoid.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
What if my injury happened in Louisiana?
The firm also represents injured workers and accident victims in Louisiana. Louisiana has different rules, including a one-year deadline to file a comp claim, so tell us where the injury occurred during your consultation.
Serving Injured Clients Across Jones County and the Pine Belt
The firm represents injured people from Ellisville and throughout Jones County, including the Laurel area, Sandersville, Soso, Moselle, Sharon, and Calhoun, as well as rural communities along Highway 11 and Highway 15. We also work with clients in neighboring Pine Belt communities such as Hattiesburg, Petal, and Collins, and across Mississippi from the Gulf Coast to the Delta, Jackson, Madison, and Southaven. In Louisiana, the team serves clients in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across south and north Louisiana. Whether you were hurt in a mill, on a log truck route, at a plant, or on a Pine Belt highway, you can reach the team from wherever you are.
Talk With an Ellisville Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you have been hurt and the insurance company is already asking questions, speak with an Ellisville personal injury attorney before you give a statement or sign anything. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Call to talk through what happened, what deadlines apply, and what your claim may be worth.
