Jackson Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and for people hurt around Jackson and Hinds County that includes warehouse, construction, and industrial workers whose injuries came from a forklift or a crane. If you were pinned, struck, crushed, or thrown by powered equipment at work, you need a Jackson forklift & crane accident lawyer who understands both the workers’ compensation claim and the second claim that often sits behind it.
Forklift and crane injuries rarely look like ordinary workplace strains. A tipped forklift can crush a leg or pelvis. A load that swings or drops from a crane can fracture the spine, and a boom that contacts a power line can cause burns that change a person’s working life. Because these injuries tend to be severe, the benefits at stake are large, and insurers tend to examine the claim closely for any argument that reduces what they pay.
These accidents also tend to involve more than one company. The forklift may belong to a staffing client, the crane to a rental company, and the load to a subcontractor. Sorting out who owes you what is as important as the injury itself.
Where Forklift and Crane Injuries Lead: The Claims Behind One Accident
Mississippi workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. Your employer’s carrier owes medical care and wage benefits whether the operator made a mistake or the equipment simply failed. Coverage begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. The tradeoff is that comp generally prevents a lawsuit against your own employer.
That limit does not protect everyone else. If a defective forklift brake, a faulty crane control, or a negligently maintained rental machine contributed to the accident, the manufacturer, lessor, or maintenance contractor may be answerable in a separate civil case. The same is true when a contractor who is not your employer runs an unsafe lift or rigging operation on a shared site. A third-party claim can compensate for things comp never touches, including pain and suffering, and it may recover more than comp’s capped weekly benefit.
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence for these civil claims, so a share of fault assigned to you reduces your recovery rather than eliminating it. Louisiana changed its rule for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026: a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and lesser fault reduces the award proportionally. If your accident happened in Louisiana, that threshold makes early evidence about how the machine was operated far more important.
The two claims must be handled together. A comp settlement signed carelessly can affect the carrier’s reimbursement rights against a third-party recovery, and statements given in one case get used in the other. Our attorneys coordinate both so one does not undercut the other.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Forklift or Crane Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that serves injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and South Louisiana. We work on a no recovery, no fee basis, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
Leadership matters on serious equipment cases. 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, which counts when a third-party equipment claim needs a trial lawyer. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results reflect the kind of injuries these machines cause. 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 obtained $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after he was 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 stands up to the insurance company, and they name Brad Baskin specifically for the way he fought the carrier at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We See After Forklift and Crane Accidents
- Crush and pinning injuries: A worker caught between a forklift and a dock, rack, or trailer can suffer pelvic fractures, crushed limbs, and internal injuries. These often require multiple surgeries and long recoveries, and they can support permanent disability claims.
- Forklift tip-overs and rollovers: Overloaded forks, sharp turns, uneven pavement, and loading-dock edges around Jackson distribution and warehouse sites can flip a lift truck. Operators are frequently hurt when thrown or trapped under the overhead guard.
- Struck-by pedestrian injuries: Workers on foot hit by a reversing forklift or swinging load commonly suffer fractures of the feet, ankles, and hips, along with head and spine trauma.
- Dropped or swinging crane loads: Rigging failures, overloaded lifts, and poor signaling put ironworkers, laborers, and ground crews in the path of steel and concrete. Back, neck, and spine injuries, including disc herniations, are common outcomes.
- Crane collapses and boom contact: Unstable ground, outrigger problems, and contact with overhead lines can cause catastrophic injuries, including severe burns, and in the worst cases, death that may support a wrongful death claim.
- Defective equipment and third-party liability: Failed brakes, faulty hydraulics, missing safety devices, and bad maintenance by an outside contractor can support a civil claim against a party other than your employer.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Operators and riggers who brace against sudden shifts, or who are struck by moving equipment, often sustain rotator cuff and SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears. Insurers sometimes try to label these as old sports injuries.
What to Do After a Forklift or Crane Accident in the Jackson Area
Get medical care first and tell the provider the injury happened at work, so the records connect the condition to the accident. Then report the injury to your employer. In Mississippi you must give notice within 30 days of the accident, and Louisiana uses the same 30-day notice window. Do it in writing if you can and keep a copy. Late notice is one of the easiest reasons for a carrier to resist a claim.
The filing deadline is separate. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits are paid, the right to benefits is generally barred unless you file a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the injury. The petition to controvert is filed with the Commission, which is an administrative body rather than a court. Claims are heard first by an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the record. A final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appeals are decided on the record made before the Commission, so what is built at the hearing level is what the appellate court sees.
Third-party claims run on a different clock. Mississippi’s general three-year period for claims with no specific limit applies to many injury lawsuits, but claims against a county or other governmental agency carry a one-year limit and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. If the accident happened in Louisiana, the formal comp claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and civil injury claims arising on or after July 1, 2024 have a two-year period. Louisiana disputes over medical treatment have their own short deadlines, including 15 calendar days to file a utilization review dispute after written notice of a denial.
Preserve what disappears fast. Photograph the machine, the load, the floor, and the work area. Note the operator’s name, the equipment’s owner or rental company, and any witnesses. Ask whether the forklift or crane had been serviced and whether the operator was certified, because maintenance and training records can be altered or lost. Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier before you have spoken with a lawyer, and do not return to work before your doctor releases you. Insurers often press injured workers to go back early, then cite the return as proof the injury was minor.
How Insurers Contest Equipment Injury Claims
Carriers rely on a familiar set of arguments, and heavy-equipment cases invite their own versions. They may say the accident did not happen as described, point to a pre-existing back or joint condition, or claim you violated a safety rule. They may also stop paying without warning or push a quick settlement before the full extent of the injury is known. Spine and joint injuries from crushing or jarring impacts frequently get blamed on degenerative disease.
The answer is evidence assembled early: treating physician opinions that tie the injury to the event, imaging that shows what changed, witness accounts, and work history that shows what you could do before and cannot do now. Wage benefits in Mississippi are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory maximum, and permanent total and temporary total benefits are capped at 450 weeks. In Louisiana, supplemental earnings benefits can apply if you return at reduced pay, calculated at two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, and they run until full-duty release, a return to pre-injury wages, or the 520-week maximum. Getting the benefit category and the wage figure right is where many unrepresented claims lose money.
Forklift and Crane Accident Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer after a forklift accident at work?
If the injury is minor and benefits are being paid, you may not. If the carrier has denied, delayed, or cut off benefits, or if you face surgery and a long absence from work, a lawyer can make a major difference. Serious equipment injuries also tend to raise third-party claims that an unrepresented worker rarely identifies.
Can I sue my employer if a coworker was driving the forklift?
Generally not. Workers’ compensation is typically the exclusive remedy against your employer, even when a coworker’s negligence caused the accident. A civil suit may be available against other parties, such as an equipment manufacturer, a rental company, or a separate contractor.
How long do I have to report the injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Do it immediately if you can, and put it in writing.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury, unless disability benefits have already been paid, in which case the period can run from the last payment. The claim is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
What does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the 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.
What if the crane or forklift belonged to another company?
Then you may have both a comp claim against your employer’s carrier and a separate injury claim against the equipment owner or operator. The two claims affect each other, so they should be planned together before anything is signed.
What if I was partly at fault, for example by not wearing a seatbelt on the forklift?
Comp benefits generally do not depend on fault. In a separate third-party lawsuit, Mississippi reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault. In Louisiana, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, being found 51 percent or more at fault bars recovery, while lesser fault reduces it proportionally.
Will my own health insurance cover treatment while the claim is contested?
Sometimes it will, but health insurers commonly seek reimbursement when the injury turns out to be work-related. If the carrier denies treatment, talk to us before using your own coverage so the bills are handled in a way that does not hurt the comp claim.
Can I be fired for filing a claim after a crane or forklift injury?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting the accident, tell us at your consultation so we can review your options.
What if a family member died in a crane or forklift accident?
Comp includes death benefits for dependents, and a wrongful death claim may also exist against a third party. In Mississippi, a negligence-based wrongful death claim generally has a three-year limit, and in Louisiana the period is one year from death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer. Claims against governmental entities have shorter deadlines.
My employer says the injury is an old condition. Is the claim over?
No. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated a condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence is what answers the argument.
What if my Louisiana claim is denied?
A workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration decides disputed claims. A final judgment can be appealed to the proper Louisiana court of appeal, and the deadline is 30 days for an appeal that suspends the judgment and 60 days for one that does not. Medical treatment denials follow a separate and much shorter dispute process.
Serving Forklift and Crane Accident Clients Across Jackson and Hinds County
We represent injured workers throughout Jackson and Hinds County, including Clinton, Byram, Terry, Raymond, Bolton, Utica, Edwards, and Pocahontas, along with neighboring Madison and Rankin County communities. Many of our clients work at distribution centers, construction sites, manufacturing plants, and industrial yards around the capital city and across Madison.
Our work extends across central Mississippi and the rest of the state, from the Gulf Coast and Hattiesburg to Southaven, north Mississippi, and the Delta. We also handle forklift and crane injury claims in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and South Louisiana, where port, refinery, and offshore-support work puts cranes and heavy lifting equipment in daily use. Whether the accident occurred on a Jackson job site or at a plant farther away, the same attorneys can evaluate both the comp claim and any third-party case.
Talk to a Jackson Forklift & Crane Accident Attorney Today
A forklift or crane injury can end a career and create bills that outlast your paycheck. If you were hurt on the job, a Jackson forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can evaluate your comp benefits and any claim against an outside party at the same time. Call us any hour of the day. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
