Alcorn County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A back that gave out on a Corinth factory floor, a shoulder torn on a loading dock, a hand caught in a machine, and now an adjuster who wants a recorded statement before you have even seen a specialist. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and an Alcorn County workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can step between you and the insurance carrier from the first call.
Alcorn County is manufacturing, distribution, and trade country, and the injuries that come out of that work tend to be physical ones: lumbar and cervical disc problems, rotator cuff tears, knee damage, crush injuries, and fractures. Those are also the injuries insurers love to argue about, usually by calling them degenerative or pre-existing. How a claim is documented in the first weeks often decides how it ends.
Mississippi claims do not go to a courtroom first. They go to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body with its own procedures, its own forms, and its own deadlines. Missing one of those deadlines can end a valid claim before anyone looks at the medical records.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Your Alcorn County Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation for injured workers in Alcorn County and throughout north Mississippi, the Delta, the Gulf Coast, Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and across South Louisiana. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off early, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. You pay nothing up front, consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language, because hablamos español.
The people handling your file matter. Rob Lunsford, our Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both 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 regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results show how serious injuries get valued when someone builds the case properly: $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 a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what they notice most is being listened to and having an attorney who fights the carrier at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We See From Alcorn County Workplaces
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Herniated lumbar and cervical discs are common among workers who lift, bend, and haul all day in plants and warehouses. Carriers routinely blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical record has to show how the job caused or aggravated the problem.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often follow repetitive overhead work or a single bad fall. Employers sometimes label them old sports injuries, and that argument needs a direct medical answer.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones can involve specialists, hardware, and long recovery. Wage benefits and future medical care both depend on getting the doctor’s restrictions documented accurately.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial settings, plants, and rigs produce serious burns and life-altering trauma. These claims often involve permanent disability and the largest dollar exposure, which is why carriers fight them hardest.
- Truck Driver and Delivery Injuries: Drivers hauling freight and making deliveries through Alcorn County are hurt in wrecks, loading, and unloading. If another driver caused the crash, a separate injury claim may sit alongside the comp claim.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, post-traumatic stress, and job-related cancers can all form the basis of a claim, though they are often contested on causation.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Injury: Conditions that build over years rather than happening in one moment are still compensable when work caused or worsened them, but they require careful attention to timing and medical proof.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Alcorn County
Report the injury to your employer promptly. Mississippi law requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and the safest practice is to report immediately, in writing if you can, and keep a copy. Verbal notice to a supervisor who later claims he never heard it is a classic way claims get challenged.
Get medical care and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and exactly how. Be specific about every body part that hurts, not just the worst one. Gaps and omissions in early records are what insurers point to later when they argue something else caused your problem. Follow your doctor’s restrictions, and do not return to full duty because a supervisor or adjuster says you are fine.
Know the filing deadline. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of injury, the right to benefits is barred unless a claim has been filed. These rules come from Mississippi Code section 71-3-35. Do not wait to see whether the carrier eventually does the right thing.
Be careful with the adjuster. You will likely be asked for a recorded statement. Your words about prior injuries, hobbies, or how the accident occurred can be stretched later. Talk with an attorney first. Keep photos, pay stubs, names of witnesses, and every piece of paper the carrier sends.
If a hearing becomes necessary, Mississippi cases are heard either by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing or by the Full Commission on review. The Full Commission works from the record made before the Administrative Judge; it is not a new trial, so the evidence has to be built correctly the first time. A final Commission award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and appeals are decided on the record, which the Supreme Court may assign to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
If your injury also involved a negligent third party, such as another driver or a contractor who ran an unsafe site, that claim runs on a separate track with its own limits. Our firm handles both so the two claims support each other.
How Insurers Contest Work Injury Claims, and How We Answer
Carriers follow a familiar playbook. They say the accident did not happen at work, blame a pre-existing condition, send you back before your doctor clears you, or stop paying without warning. We answer with medical opinions tied to your job duties, witness accounts, and a clear work history showing what your body did every day before the injury.
Mississippi covers you from your first day on the job, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. Wage-loss benefits for total disability generally run at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum and a cap of 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability payments in most other cases are likewise limited to 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so ask us for the current figure rather than relying on an outdated number you found online.
A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated it, benefits may still be owed. Most settlements come from proving that point with the right physician testimony, not from arguing with the adjuster.
Alcorn County Workers’ Comp Questions Answered
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 as soon as you can, and put it in writing so there is a record.
What is the deadline to file a 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. Exceptions are narrow, so do not assume one applies to you.
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ comp claim?
Not every claim requires one. 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 make a major difference.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if the insurance company says my injury is pre-existing?
That argument is common and not automatically fatal. If work caused, aggravated, or sped up the condition, you may still qualify. Strong medical evidence is the answer.
What wage benefits can I receive while I cannot work?
For temporary or permanent total disability, Mississippi pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a statutory maximum, for no more than 450 weeks. Partial disability is calculated differently.
Does a comp claim go to court in Alcorn County?
No. It goes to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, where an Administrative Judge hears the evidence. The Full Commission reviews appeals on the existing record, and further appeal goes to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
I was hurt in a wreck while driving for work. Can I file both a comp claim and an injury claim?
Often yes. Comp covers medical care and wage loss regardless of fault, and a separate claim against the at-fault driver may add damages comp does not provide. The two have to be coordinated so one does not undercut the other.
What if I live in Alcorn County but was hurt on a job in Louisiana?
Where the injury happened and where the employer is based can affect which state’s law applies. We handle claims in both Mississippi and Louisiana, so we can sort out the right forum. Louisiana generally requires notice within 30 days and a claim within one year of the accident.
Will my health insurance pay while my comp claim is pending?
Work injuries are the comp carrier’s responsibility, and health insurers often resist paying for them. If the carrier denies treatment, tell us quickly so we can pursue the care your doctor says you need rather than letting bills pile up.
Can I settle my claim and still get future medical care?
It depends on how the settlement is structured. Some settlements close out future medical, which can be costly if you need surgery or ongoing treatment. Have an attorney review any offer before you sign.
Serving Injured Workers Across Alcorn County and North Mississippi
We represent injured workers throughout Alcorn County, including Corinth, Rienzi, Kossuth, Biggersville, Farmington, Burnsville, and the rural communities between them. Workers from the neighboring counties of Prentiss, Tishomingo, Tippah, and Union, and from towns like Booneville, Iuka, Ripley, and New Albany, also turn to us when a claim goes wrong. Our reach extends across north Mississippi to Tupelo, Southaven, and the Delta, and down through Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, and the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana we serve New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whatever your trade, from factory line to truck cab to construction site, the same rules protect you.
Speak With an Alcorn County Workers’ Comp Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, you do not have to fight the insurance company alone. An Alcorn County workers’ comp attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and take over dealings with your employer and its insurer. 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.
