Jackson Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
A construction worker hurt in Jackson often has two separate claims running side by side, and the one most people have heard of is the less valuable of the two. The workers’ compensation claim pays medical care and a portion of lost wages regardless of who was at fault, but the job site usually has more than one company on it, and a subcontractor, equipment maker, or negligent driver can be sued in a way your employer cannot. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Jackson construction worker injury lawyer from our team looks at both tracks from the first day.
Construction is also the trade where insurers argue hardest about cause. Backs and shoulders that have carried years of lifting, kneeling, and overhead work get labeled “degenerative.” A torn meniscus gets called an old injury. A fall on a site staffed by a labor broker or a subcontractor turns into a dispute over who the employer actually was. These arguments decide whether benefits are paid, and they are answered with medical records, site evidence, and witness accounts gathered early.
The sections below cover how construction injuries are handled under Mississippi law, where deadlines catch workers off guard, which Jackson-area institutions matter, and the questions we hear most from crews, foremen, and laborers.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers in Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and communities across Mississippi and South Louisiana. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle one occasionally. We work the other way around. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and we work on a no recovery, no fee basis, advance the costs of the case, offer free consultations, and answer phones 24 hours a day. Spanish-speaking workers can work with our team in their own language, which matters on job sites where crews are bilingual.
Several of our results involve the kind of injuries construction work produces: a $600,000 settlement for a construction worker with a complex back injury, a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and a $385,000 settlement for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck. Clients regularly describe our team as responsive, easy to work with, and willing to take on the insurance company directly.
Rob Lunsford, 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 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 on construction claims, where a third-party lawsuit may follow the comp case.
Construction Injuries We See and How Insurers Fight Them
- Falls from scaffolds, roofs, and ladders: Falls produce fractures of the ankles, hips, wrists, and spine, often requiring specialists and complex surgical repair. Fall cases also raise the question of whether a general contractor, scaffold supplier, or another trade’s crew shares responsibility beyond your own employer.
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common construction claims. When the carrier points to degenerative disc disease, the answer is medical evidence showing that years of heavy labor or a single lift, slip, or impact caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from overhead work, climbing, and repeated kneeling. Employers often call these old sports injuries, so we build the link between the specific job tasks and the tear.
- Struck-by and caught-between accidents: Falling materials, swinging loads, moving equipment, and trench or wall collapses cause crush injuries and catastrophic harm. These accidents frequently involve equipment owned by someone other than your employer, which opens a separate claim.
- Burns and electrical injuries: Welding, electrical contact, and industrial site fires cause severe burns, particularly to the lower extremities. We have recovered a $221,000 settlement for an oil rig worker with severe burns, and the medical and wage questions in burn cases run long.
- Vehicle crashes on the job: Project managers, superintendents, and drivers hauling materials are hurt in wrecks on the way between sites. Comp benefits apply, and a negligent outside driver can also be pursued in a personal injury case.
- Repetitive strain and gradual-onset conditions: Hearing loss, joint wear, and nerve conditions develop over years rather than in one moment. Reporting and filing clocks can still run, so a diagnosis should prompt a call rather than waiting for a worse day.
What to Do After a Construction Injury in the Jackson Area
Get medical attention first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and how. Records that describe the mechanism of injury accurately become the backbone of the claim, and a vague note such as “back pain” gives an insurer room to argue about cause later. Then report the injury to your employer. Mississippi requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and the safest course is to report immediately and in writing, even on a crew where the foreman already knows. Photograph the spot where it happened, the equipment involved, and any missing guardrails or harnesses before the site changes, and get names and numbers of coworkers who saw it.
The claim itself has a separate deadline. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the date of injury, the right to benefits is lost unless a claim has been filed with the Commission within that time. The petition to controvert is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which administers these claims in Jackson; it is not a court, and disputed cases are heard by an Administrative Judge, with the Full Commission reviewing the record from that hearing rather than holding a new trial. A final Commission award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties, and the Supreme Court often assigns those appeals to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appellate review is limited to the record made before the Commission, which is why the evidence built at the hearing level matters so much.
Coverage starts from the first day of employment, with no waiting period. Wage-loss benefits for total disability generally run at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, for up to 450 weeks. If someone other than your employer contributed to the accident, a lawsuit may be filed in Hinds County Circuit Court or in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, which holds court in Jackson. Those claims generally carry a three-year limit in Mississippi, but claims against a county or governmental agency carry a one-year limit and a notice requirement, so do not assume you have the longer period.
Common mistakes are predictable. Workers give recorded statements to the adjuster without preparation, return to heavy duty before the treating doctor clears them, skip treatment because of gaps in pay, or sign a settlement without anyone checking what future surgery will cost. If your employer or its carrier pushes any of these, call before you agree to anything.
Comp Claim and Third-Party Lawsuit: Why Construction Cases Often Have Both
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your own employer. You cannot sue the company that hired you for negligence in most cases, and in exchange you receive benefits without proving fault. But construction sites are crowded with other companies. The general contractor, an equipment manufacturer, a property owner, a subcontractor on a different trade, or a driver who hit your work truck may all have contributed to what happened to you. A claim against one of those parties can recover pain and suffering and the full measure of lost earning capacity, which comp does not pay.
The two claims affect each other. The comp carrier usually has a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, and settling one case carelessly can damage the other. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence for these injury lawsuits, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than barring it. Because our firm handles both workers’ compensation and personal injury, including car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, we coordinate the two so that they work together rather than against each other.
Common Questions From Injured Construction Workers
How long do I have to report a construction injury in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report it right away and in writing if you can, and keep a copy. Late notice is one of the easiest ways for an insurer to challenge a claim.
How long do I have to file the 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 benefits have already been paid, the timing can differ, so get advice early rather than counting days yourself.
Am I covered if I had only been on the job a few days?
Yes. Mississippi coverage begins on the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement.
What does workers’ compensation pay?
It covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you cannot work, and additional benefits for permanent disability. Total disability wage benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by the state and for up to 450 weeks.
Can I be fired 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 during your consultation so we can review your options.
The insurer says my back problem is degenerative. Is my claim over?
No. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed, and answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
I was hired through a staffing agency or a subcontractor. Who is my employer?
That question can be genuinely contested, and it affects who owes benefits and who can be sued. Bring any paychecks, onboarding paperwork, and site badges to your consultation so we can sort out the relationships.
Can I sue the general contractor if I work for a subcontractor?
Possibly. Your own employer is generally protected by comp exclusivity, but separate companies whose negligence contributed to the accident may face a lawsuit. Whether that is available turns on the contract relationships and the facts of the site.
If I was partly at fault for the fall, can I still recover?
Comp benefits do not depend on fault. In a third-party lawsuit, Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it entirely.
Will I need to go to a hearing?
Many claims settle or resolve without one, but if benefits are denied or disputed, the case goes before an Administrative Judge at the Commission. Preparing for that hearing from the start, with treating-doctor opinions and witness accounts, improves your position even in cases that settle.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if the injury happened on a project in Louisiana?
Our firm also represents injured workers throughout Louisiana, where the notice period is also 30 days but a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. Where the injury happened and where you were hired can both matter, so describe the whole job history when you call.
Serving Construction Workers From Jackson Across Mississippi
Our work for Jackson construction workers extends across Hinds County and the Jackson metro, including Clinton, Byram, Terry, Raymond, Bolton, Utica, and Edwards, along with neighboring Madison and Rankin counties, where we serve workers in Madison, Ridgeland, Flowood, Pearl, Brandon, and Richland. Commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects pull crews from all of these communities into the capital city every day, and we represent those workers wherever they live.
Beyond the metro, we represent injured workers from the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven and north Mississippi, and the Delta, and across South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Iron workers, carpenters, laborers, equipment operators, electricians, and project managers who travel for work often have claims that touch more than one state, and our attorneys are comfortable handling both Mississippi and Louisiana law.
Talk With a Jackson Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a Jackson job site, the deadlines are already running and the insurer is already building its file. A Jackson construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your medical records and work history, tell you whether you have a comp claim, a third-party claim, or both, and take over the dealings with your employer and its insurer. Call us any hour of the day for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
