Covington Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Hurt on the job in Covington and now wondering whether to sign what the adjuster mailed you, give a recorded statement, or go back to work before your doctor says you can? The way you answer those questions in the first few weeks often shapes the whole claim. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Covington workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can take over the conversations with your employer and its insurer so you can concentrate on getting treated.
Covington is a name that appears in two places on the map of our practice. Covington is the seat of St. Tammany Parish in south Louisiana, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, and Covington County is in south Mississippi, in the Hattiesburg area. Because the two states run entirely different compensation systems, with different agencies, different deadlines and different appeal routes, the first thing to settle is where your injury happened and where your employer is based.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Covington Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Covington and St. Tammany Parish on the Louisiana side and Covington County and the Hattiesburg area on the Mississippi side. Most lawyers who accept comp cases are personal injury attorneys who take a work injury only when one walks in. We built the practice the other way around. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
The people handling your file matter. 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 in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. That trial experience matters because a denied comp claim is decided by a judge on the record you build, not by a phone call with an adjuster.
The results reflect the kind of injuries we see. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, including $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 who have written about their experience describe an attorney who fought the insurance company at every step, listened carefully to their situation, and was easy to work with.
Injuries and Claim Types We Handle for Covington Workers
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common comp claims and among the most disputed. Insurers frequently point to degenerative disc disease, and the answer is medical evidence showing that years of physical labor, or one specific incident, caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often follow lifting, pulling, or awkward falls on a job site. Employers sometimes label these old sports injuries, so the timeline of symptoms and the treating surgeon’s opinion carry real weight.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones can require specialists and complex surgical repair, which means long recoveries and extended time away from work that the wage benefit has to cover.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Industrial plants, oil and gas operations, and heavy job sites produce burns and life-altering trauma that call for lifelong medical care and permanent disability benefits.
- Driving and delivery injuries: Truck drivers, delivery drivers, and workers in company vehicles are hurt in wrecks while on the clock. These claims can carry both comp benefits and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are covered claim categories that require careful proof of the connection to the work.
- Construction and skilled-trade injuries: Ironworkers, laborers, mechanics, and project managers face falls, crush injuries, and repetitive-motion damage, often with subcontractors involved who may bear responsibility beyond the direct employer.
- Wrongful death: When a work injury is fatal, dependents may be entitled to death benefits, and in some cases a separate wrongful death claim against a third party.
What to Do After a Work Injury Near Covington
Start with your health and a written record. Get medical attention right away, tell the provider the injury happened at work, and describe every body part that hurts, not only the worst one. Gaps in the first medical records are what insurers later use to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Then report the injury to your employer, and do it in writing if you can. In both Mississippi and Louisiana, the notice deadline is 30 days from the accident. A late report is one of the easiest ways for a carrier to deny a claim that would otherwise be strong, so do not wait to see whether the pain fades.
If you were hurt on the Louisiana side, in Covington or elsewhere in St. Tammany Parish, your claim moves through the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, which has a district court in Covington. The worker chooses the venue from three options: the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of the employer’s principal place of business. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury, though that period can extend to three years from the last compensation payment if the insurer has been paying benefits. If the insurer denies a treatment request through utilization review, you have just 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. A final judgment from a workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the court of appeal; St. Tammany Parish falls within the Louisiana First Circuit. An appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not must be filed within 60 days, running from the day after the judgment was signed or notice was mailed, whichever is later.
If you were hurt on the Mississippi side, including Covington County and the Hattiesburg area, your claim belongs to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is an administrative agency and not a court. You generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. Cases are heard by an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the decision. That review is based on the record made before the judge, not a new trial, so the evidence has to be assembled at the first hearing. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days, and appeals are decided on the record.
Two mistakes cost injured workers the most. The first is giving a recorded statement to the adjuster before you understand how it will be used. The second is returning to full duty because a supervisor or insurer pushes you, before your own doctor releases you. Gather your pay stubs, any incident report, the names of coworkers who saw what happened, and every medical bill and record, and call us before you sign anything. Many injured workers are also surprised to learn that being fired for filing a claim is prohibited in both states, so if you were let go after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation.
How Wage Benefits Work in Louisiana and Mississippi
Most people searching for a workers’ compensation lawyer are really asking whether the checks will keep coming. The answer depends on which state’s law applies, and both states replace roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. In Mississippi, temporary total and permanent total disability benefits are two-thirds of average weekly wages and cannot run longer than 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability in the general category of cases is also capped at 450 weeks. Mississippi covers you from your first day on the job, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement, and employers with five or more employees must carry coverage.
Louisiana works differently once you can return to some work. If you come back at reduced pay, or can earn less than 90 percent of what you made before the injury, you may qualify for supplemental earnings benefits equal to two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. Those benefits continue until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that 520. The weekly limits in Louisiana are fixed by the date of your accident and are not adjusted later, which is one reason an accurate accident date and average wage calculation matter so much.
In either state, benefits are only as good as the medical evidence supporting them. A treating doctor’s restrictions, an honest description of what your job demands, and a clear record of why you cannot do it are what turn a disputed claim into a paid one. This is also where a settlement is built: the value of a case reflects your wage loss, your future medical needs, and your permanent impairment, and an adjuster’s first offer rarely accounts for all three.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Caused the Injury
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your own employer, but it does not protect everyone else. If a negligent driver struck your work vehicle, a contractor’s unsafe site caused your fall, or a defective piece of equipment failed, you may have a separate injury claim in addition to comp benefits. Our personal injury work includes car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, and the goal is to make sure the two claims support each other rather than collide.
The deadlines differ. For Louisiana injuries on or after July 1, 2024, delictual actions generally have a two-year period running from the day the injury is sustained, while earlier injuries stay under the former one-year period. Louisiana also applies a fault rule for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, under which a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lower percentages reduce the award proportionally. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it, and most Mississippi injury actions without another limitation period must be filed within three years. Because comp deadlines are far shorter than injury deadlines, protecting the comp claim first is usually the right order of operations.
Common Questions About Covington Workers’ Compensation Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one. But 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, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
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 long do I have to report my injury?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the accident in both Louisiana and Mississippi. Reporting in writing and keeping a copy gives you proof the notice was timely.
How long do I have to file a claim in Louisiana?
A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the date of injury. If the insurer has paid compensation, that period may extend to three years from the last payment. Because exceptions depend on the facts, it is best to speak with an attorney early rather than assume which deadline applies.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
You generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the date of the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid and no claim was filed within those two years, the right to benefits can be lost.
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 let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurance company says my injury is a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this argument constantly with back, neck, and knee injuries, and answering it with strong medical evidence is a core part of our work.
My Louisiana insurer denied a medical treatment my doctor ordered. What now?
You have 15 calendar days from written notice of the denial to file Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to issue a decision. Missing that 15-day window can leave you fighting an uphill battle for treatment, so call quickly.
I live in Covington but my employer is based in another parish or state. Which law applies?
It depends on where you were hired, where the work is performed, and where the injury happened, and the answer can put you under Louisiana law, Mississippi law, or in some cases another state’s. In Louisiana, you also choose among the parish of injury, your parish of residence when injured, and the employer’s principal place of business for where the hearing is held. Bring your hiring paperwork and a description of where you worked to your consultation.
Will health insurance cover my treatment while the comp claim is pending?
Work injuries are generally the comp carrier’s responsibility, and many health plans exclude them. When a carrier denies a claim, though, you may need treatment in the meantime. Tell your providers about the pending dispute and talk to us before you choose how to pay, because decisions made in that gap can affect reimbursement later.
Can I still get benefits if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, so your own carelessness generally does not defeat a claim. Fault matters in a separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your share of fault and Louisiana bars recovery at 51 percent or more for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, 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 From Covington Across Louisiana and Mississippi
Our work for Covington clients starts on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, where we represent injured workers throughout St. Tammany Parish and the surrounding communities. From Covington we also serve workers in neighboring Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, and across the Lake Pontchartrain region toward New Orleans. Our team handles Louisiana claims for workers hurt in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and in communities throughout south Louisiana and north Louisiana.
On the Mississippi side, we represent workers in Covington County and the Hattiesburg area, and across the state in Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. Whether the injury happened on a construction site, a plant, an oil field, a delivery route, or a hospital floor, we have handled that kind of claim for workers in both states.
Talk With a Covington Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt at work and the insurer is denying, delaying, or questioning your claim, a Covington workers’ compensation attorney from our firm can review what happened, tell you which deadlines apply to your situation, and take over the dealings with your employer and its carrier. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC today to schedule your consultation. We help injured workers, and that is the work we do every day.
