Calhoun County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Calhoun County, Mississippi, and across the state, handling denied, delayed, and cut-off benefit claims for people hurt on the job. Our firm works almost entirely on one kind of case, and a Calhoun County workers’ compensation lawyer from our team can take over the dealings with your employer and its insurance carrier while you concentrate on treatment.
Calhoun County’s economy leans on manufacturing, furniture and upholstery plants, poultry and food processing, timber and logging, trucking, farm work, and the supply chains that connect them. Those jobs produce the injuries that drive comp claims: herniated discs from repetitive lifting, crushed hands and fingers on production lines, shoulder tears from overhead work, knee injuries on concrete floors, and fractures from falls and equipment failures. They also produce the insurer arguments that follow, such as “this was already wrong with your back” or “you didn’t report it in time.”
Mississippi comp is also different from a car wreck claim in a way that surprises people. Fault generally does not decide whether you are covered, and you do not sue your employer in a courtroom. Your claim runs through an administrative system with its own deadlines, forms, and hearing process, and a misstep early on can cost you benefits you were entitled to.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Calhoun County Comp Claim
Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle a work injury when one happens to walk in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients across Mississippi and Louisiana, and we serve injured workers in Calhoun County and throughout the surrounding region of north Mississippi.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries Calhoun County workers suffer. We secured a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. Other outcomes include $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. Smaller but meaningful recoveries include $190,000 for a truck driver hurt in a wreck on the job, $135,000 for a diesel mechanic with a SLAP tear, and $150,000 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 successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Clients consistently describe a team that listened, communicated clearly, and pushed back against the insurance company at every step.
There is no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking workers can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Injuries and Claim Types We Handle for Calhoun County Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims from plant, warehouse, and trucking work. When an insurer points to degenerative disc disease, we build the medical and work-history record showing that years of physical labor or a specific incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often follow repetitive overhead work, heavy lifting, or a bad step on a production floor. Employers sometimes label these as old sports injuries, and we meet that argument with treating-physician evidence.
- Fractures and Crush Injuries: Feet, ankles, hips, hands, and other bones can break in falls, forklift incidents, and equipment accidents. These injuries often need specialists and complex surgical repair, and the medical treatment fight can matter as much as the wage fight.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial settings, including plants and oil and gas related work, can cause severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for long-term medical care and careful valuation of permanent disability.
- Truck Drivers and Delivery Drivers: Drivers hauling freight through north Mississippi face on-the-job wrecks, loading injuries, and back and knee problems. When another driver caused the crash, a separate injury claim may exist alongside comp benefits.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job require medical proof connecting the condition to the work.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Conditions that develop over time, such as hand and wrist problems or breathing conditions from dust and chemical exposure, can be compensable even without a single dramatic accident.
- Third-Party Injury Claims: When someone other than your employer contributed, such as a negligent driver or a contractor with an unsafe site, a personal injury claim can run alongside your comp case, and we coordinate the two.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Calhoun County
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi law gives you 30 days from the accident to give notice, and while late notice is sometimes excused, you should never gamble on that. Name the body parts involved, describe how it happened, and keep a copy. If you were hurt gradually, report when you first understood the problem was work-related. Verbal reports to a supervisor are easily denied later, so follow up with an email or text that creates a record.
Get medical care promptly and tell every provider the injury happened at work. Gaps in treatment and vague histories are what insurers use to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Follow your doctor’s restrictions, keep appointment records, and do not downplay symptoms to a company nurse or adjuster. Be careful with recorded statements to the carrier; you are not required to give one without understanding what it will be used for, and a call with us first costs you nothing.
Understand the filing clock separately from the notice clock. If no disability benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the two-year period can also run from the last compensation payment. Letting benefits lapse without filing is a trap many workers fall into after an insurer quietly stops paying. Coverage in Mississippi begins on the first day of employment, with no waiting period, so a new hire is protected from day one.
Your case will be handled by the Commission in Jackson, not by a Calhoun County court. Disputed claims are heard at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, and either side can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record made before the judge rather than starting over with a new trial. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and review is limited to the record developed before the Commission. That is why the evidence you build at the hearing stage matters so much: you generally do not get a second chance to add it.
Common mistakes include signing forms from the carrier without review, returning to full duty against medical advice, accepting a quick settlement before you know your permanent impairment, and posting about your activities on social media. Call us before you settle anything. Once a claim is closed, reopening it is difficult.
How Mississippi Wage Benefits and Medical Care Actually Work
Mississippi comp covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, and it replaces part of your lost wages. For temporary total disability and permanent total disability, the weekly benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that the state adjusts over time, and these payments cannot run longer than 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in the general category is also capped at 450 weeks. Because the maximum is a ceiling, higher earners may receive less than two-thirds of their actual pay, while the statute also sets a minimum floor.
Where disputes usually arise is in the details. Insurers argue about your average weekly wage, whether you have reached maximum medical improvement, what your permanent impairment rating means for your ability to earn, and whether you can do some other job. A worker with a lifting-restricted back injury who has spent a career in physical labor may have a very different loss of earning capacity than an impairment rating alone suggests, and that gap is often where settlement value is won or lost. We gather treating-physician opinions, vocational evidence, and work history to show the real effect on your earning capacity.
A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits can still be owed. Mississippi also protects workers from being fired for filing a claim, so if you were punished after reporting an injury, tell us in your consultation.
Calhoun County Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Calhoun County?
Not every claim needs 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, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and an attorney protects yours.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
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. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report it immediately and in writing whenever possible, since delay gives the insurer an argument to deny the claim.
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 with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid and no claim was filed within two years, the right to benefits can be barred. Speak with an attorney as soon as you can.
Does Mississippi comp cover me if my employer is small?
Mississippi requires employers with five or more employees to carry coverage, and coverage applies from the first day on the job. If your employer failed to carry required insurance, call us, because other options may exist.
What if the insurance company says my injury was pre-existing?
That does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence from your treating doctor is what answers this argument.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Mississippi comp gives you rights regarding medical treatment, but the process for choosing and changing physicians has rules. Do not switch providers or accept a doctor chosen by the carrier without talking to us, since opinions from the wrong physician can shape your whole case.
Will my claim be heard in a Calhoun County courthouse?
No. Comp disputes are decided by Administrative Judges of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not by a county court. Appeals from a final award go to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which may assign the case to the Court of Appeals.
What if a negligent driver or contractor caused my injury?
You may have a personal injury claim against that third party in addition to comp benefits. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, meaning your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than barred. We coordinate the two claims so one does not undermine the other.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were fired, demoted, or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
Is a quick settlement offer from the insurer worth taking?
Often not, at least not before you reach maximum medical improvement and know your permanent restrictions. Early offers tend to undervalue future medical needs and lost earning capacity, and a signed settlement can be very hard to undo.
Does the firm help Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and clients can work with our team in Spanish from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Calhoun County Workers and Neighboring North Mississippi Communities
We represent injured workers throughout Calhoun County, including Pittsboro, the county seat, along with Bruce, Calhoun City, Vardaman, Derma, Slate Springs, Reid, Big Creek, Banner, Sarepta, Hollis, and Paris, and the rural communities between them. Whether you work in a plant in Bruce, on a farm near Vardaman, in the timber and trucking trades, or at a small employer anywhere in the county, our attorneys can review your claim.
Our work also reaches neighboring areas, including Grenada, Oxford, Tupelo, Pontotoc, Houston, Water Valley, Coffeeville, and Eupora, as well as communities across north Mississippi, the Delta, Madison, and Jackson. Beyond Mississippi, we represent injured workers in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and New Orleans, so workers who commute or travel for jobs in both states can have one team handle their case.
Speak With a Calhoun County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, you do not have to take on the insurance company by yourself. A Calhoun County workers’ compensation attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain your deadlines, and start protecting your medical care and wage benefits right away. Call us any hour, since our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and your consultation is free. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
