Choctaw County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Choctaw County and across Mississippi and Louisiana, handling denied, delayed, and cut-off workers’ compensation claims for people who got hurt doing their jobs. If you work in Choctaw County, whether that is in the timber and wood products industry, on a poultry or livestock operation, at a manufacturing plant, or driving a truck on the rural roads around Ackerman, you need a Choctaw County workers’ compensation lawyer who knows how the Mississippi system actually runs.
Here is the thing most injured workers in a rural county don’t expect: your claim is not decided at the county courthouse. Mississippi workers’ compensation cases go through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative agency in Jackson, not a jury in a local courtroom. That changes how evidence gets built, how fast deadlines run, and how much a good paper record matters. A lot of Choctaw County claims are won or lost on medical documentation and timely notice before anyone ever sees a hearing room.
Workers in this part of the state do physically punishing jobs, and the injuries show it: backs and necks worn down by years of lifting, shoulders torn pulling or hauling, knees wrecked on uneven ground, hands caught in machinery. Insurers know that too, and they often respond by calling a work injury “degenerative” or “pre-existing.” We spend our time answering that argument.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Choctaw County Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Choctaw County and the surrounding communities. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice, not a side matter we take when one happens to walk in. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off before they should have been, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients.
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 routinely appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team.
Results matter more than adjectives. We secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. We recovered $385,000 for a project manager injured when he was struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what they value most: a team that listens, stays professional, and fights the insurance company at every step.
You pay 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. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language. Hablamos español.
Injuries and Claims We See From Choctaw County Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims from workers who lift, load, and haul all day. When an insurer blames degenerative disc disease, we show how years of physical work, or a single incident, caused or worsened the injury.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often come from pulling, climbing, and working on uneven ground. Employers frequently call these old sports injuries, and the medical evidence has to answer that.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones from falls off trailers, equipment, and elevated work surfaces can require specialists and complex surgical repair, with long stretches away from work.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial settings, plants, and heavy equipment can produce severe burns and life-altering injuries that call for lifetime medical planning, not a quick closeout.
- Truck and Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Delivery drivers, haulers, and anyone driving for work can be hurt in a wreck. A negligent outside driver may also create a separate personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Conditions that build up over time, including hearing loss and breathing problems tied to workplace exposures, can qualify even without a single dramatic accident.
- Denied and Terminated Benefits: Claims where the carrier disputes that the injury happened at work, pushes you back to work before your doctor clears you, or stops paying without warning.
What to Do Right Now After a Work Injury in Choctaw County
Start with the clock, because Mississippi’s deadlines are short. You must report your injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident, and you should do it right away and in writing if you can. Don’t assume a supervisor’s verbal “okay” counts. Keep a copy or a text, and write down the date, time, place, and what happened while it is fresh.
Get medical care and be specific with the doctor about how the injury happened at work. Those first records often become the backbone of the claim, and an insurer will look hard for any gap or vague description. Follow your treatment plan, keep your appointments, and keep every bill, prescription receipt, and work-status note. If an adjuster asks for a recorded statement, you are not required to give one before you have talked to a lawyer, and offhand answers have a way of showing up later as “inconsistencies.”
Mississippi law covers you from your first day on the job, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. Your wage-loss benefit is generally up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and temporary and permanent total disability benefits are capped at 450 weeks. If no disability benefits are paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission, and the two-year window can also run from the last compensation payment. Don’t let a carrier’s promises or slow-walking eat that time. Filing protects you even if the carrier is still “looking into it.”
If a claim is contested, it is heard by an Administrative Judge at the Commission, and the Full Commission reviews appeals from those decisions on the existing record, not as a new trial. That is why the evidence has to be built correctly the first time. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because these reviews are confined to the record, we treat every hearing as if it were the only chance to get the facts in.
A common mistake is going back to work early because the carrier or employer pressures you, then re-injuring yourself and giving the insurer a story about it. Another is signing paperwork or accepting a small settlement before knowing the full extent of your injury. Talk to an attorney before you do either.
How Insurers Fight Claims Like Yours
Carriers run a familiar playbook. They argue the accident did not happen at work, blame a pre-existing condition, point to a prior injury or sport, or say you reported it too late. In a county where many jobs are physical and many workers have been doing them for decades, the pre-existing-condition argument comes up constantly. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you can still be entitled to benefits, and strong medical opinions tying your work to your injury are what carry that argument.
Another tactic is quietly cutting off wage benefits or directing you to a doctor who minimizes your restrictions. We look at who is treating you, what the work restrictions actually say, and whether the carrier’s position matches the medical record. Where an outside party contributed to the injury, such as a negligent driver or an unsafe contractor, we also look at whether a separate personal injury claim exists and make sure it works with your comp claim rather than against it.
Choctaw County Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
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 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 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 within 30 days of the accident. Do it as soon as you can, ideally in writing, so there is no dispute later about whether you gave notice.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
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. If benefits were paid, the period can run from the last payment. Because exceptions exist, talk to an attorney early.
Does my employer have to carry workers’ compensation?
In Mississippi, employers with five or more employees must provide coverage, and you are covered from your first day on the job. If your employer is too small or failed to carry coverage, there may be other routes to recovery, so ask us rather than assuming you have nothing.
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.
Will I get paid while I’m off work?
If you are temporarily unable to work, wage-loss benefits are generally up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum. Total disability benefits cannot run longer than 450 weeks, and other disability categories have their own limits.
Where is my case actually heard if the carrier denies it?
Not in a county courtroom. Disputed claims go before an Administrative Judge at the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, with review by the Full Commission and then appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Being from Choctaw County does not change that path, but it can affect how we gather witnesses and records.
My employer says my injury is just wear and tear from age. Is my claim dead?
No. If your work caused, worsened, or sped up a condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, even if there was some underlying degeneration. Medical evidence connecting your job duties to the injury is what answers that argument.
Can I sue someone besides my employer if I was hurt at work?
Possibly. If a negligent driver, an outside contractor, or another third party contributed to your injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your own share of fault would reduce a third-party recovery rather than bar it. We coordinate the two claims so they do not undercut each other.
What if my employer’s insurer wants me to see their doctor or go back to work?
Do not agree to return to work until your own treating doctor releases you, and do not sign anything you do not understand. Tell us about any pressure from the carrier, because pushing a worker back early is one of the most common ways claims go sideways.
Do you work with Spanish-speaking clients in Choctaw County?
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 Across Choctaw County and Nearby Communities
We represent injured workers throughout Choctaw County, including Ackerman, the county seat, as well as Weir, French Camp, and the rural communities and crossroads that surround them. Many of our clients here work in timber, manufacturing, agriculture, trucking, and the trades, and we handle their claims wherever the injury happened and wherever their employer is located.
Our reach extends well beyond the county line. We serve neighboring areas of north and central Mississippi, including communities in nearby Webster, Winston, Oktibbeha, Attala, Montgomery, and Grenada counties, along with Madison and Jackson to the south and the Delta, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Gulf Coast across the rest of the state. We also represent workers in Louisiana, from Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport to New Orleans and the rest of South Louisiana and north Louisiana. If you were hurt on the job in Choctaw County or anywhere in either state, we can help.
Talk With a Choctaw County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job in Choctaw County, you do not have to fight the insurance company alone, and the deadlines are too short to wait. A Choctaw County workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain where your claim stands, and deal with your employer and its insurer so you can focus on getting well. 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.
