Mississippi Head & Brain Injury Lawyer
The goal in a head or brain injury claim is to have every part of the injury accepted as work-related, treated by the right specialists, and compensated for as long as it limits your ability to work. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, and a Mississippi head & brain injury lawyer on our team can help you pursue that result.
These claims are different from a broken bone or a sprained shoulder. A concussion may not show up on a CT scan. Memory problems, light sensitivity, headaches, mood changes, and trouble concentrating can surface days or weeks after the blow, long after an adjuster has written the incident off as a minor bump. Insurers lean on that gap. They point to a clean scan, a quick return to the job, or a prior diagnosis, and they argue nothing lasting happened.
We build these cases around the medical record: the first emergency visit, neurologist and neuropsychologist findings, imaging, and the testimony of coworkers who saw the change in you. That evidence is what answers the argument that you are fine.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Brain Injury Claim
Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off before they should have been. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle a work injury only when one walks in the door. We are built the other way around.
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 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.
Our results include a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured after being struck in his work vehicle. Clients describe a team that listens, answers questions, and fights the insurance company at every step. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish: hablamos español.
Workplace Situations That Cause Head and Brain Injuries in Mississippi
- Falls from height: Roofers, ironworkers, and construction crews in Jackson, Madison, and along the Gulf Coast can suffer skull fractures or traumatic brain injury from scaffold, ladder, and structural steel falls.
- Struck-by incidents: Falling tools, swinging loads, and dropped pipe on construction sites and oil field locations can cause concussions even when a hard hat was worn.
- Vehicle crashes on the job: Truck drivers, delivery drivers, and workers traveling between job sites on Mississippi highways and interstates face whiplash-type brain injuries, even in crashes without a direct head strike.
- Industrial and plant accidents: Explosions, machinery malfunctions, and equipment collisions in plants and refineries can combine burns, blast pressure, and blunt head trauma.
- Slips and falls inside the workplace: Wet floors in hospitals, warehouses, and retail stores send nurses, stockers, and supervisors to the ground, and a head striking concrete can produce a lasting concussion.
- Firefighter and first responder exposures: Collapses, falling debris, and violent encounters on calls can cause head trauma, and the job can also bring toxic exposures and posttraumatic stress that overlap with cognitive symptoms.
- Assaults at work: Healthcare workers, security staff, and retail employees may be hit or shoved by patients, customers, or intruders, and a resulting head injury can still be a compensable work injury.
What to Do After a Head Injury at Work in Mississippi
Get medical attention first, even if you feel okay. Tell the provider you hit your head at work and describe every symptom, including dizziness, nausea, fogginess, and sensitivity to light. Brain injury symptoms can develop later, and a record made the same day is hard for an insurer to dispute. If you were treated by a doctor the employer picked, keep following up and make sure each new symptom gets documented.
Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can. In Mississippi you must give notice within 30 days of the accident, and the safest course is to report immediately. Get the names of anyone who saw what happened. Coworkers often notice behavior changes, such as confusion or irritability, that you may not recognize in yourself, and their accounts can become important evidence.
The deadline to file your claim is separate. Mississippi workers 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. Late filing can bar the claim, so do not wait for symptoms to settle before talking to a lawyer. Mississippi covers workers from their first day on the job, with no waiting period.
The Commission, not a trial court, hears these claims. A case is heard at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, and either side can seek review by the Full Commission, which works from the record made before the judge rather than holding a new trial. That makes the first hearing critical: the medical opinions, vocational evidence, and testimony have to be in place before the record closes. A final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and the Supreme Court often assigns those cases to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Avoid a few common mistakes. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer without talking to a lawyer. Do not skip follow-up appointments because you feel better some days. Do not return to full duty before your doctor clears you, and do not assume a normal scan means your claim is weak. Neuropsychological testing often documents deficits imaging cannot show.
How Insurers Fight Brain Injury Claims and What Benefits Are at Stake
Expect several arguments. The carrier may say the injury did not happen at work, that your symptoms come from a pre-existing condition, that you were not hurt badly enough to miss work, or that you have recovered. Pre-existing conditions do not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated a condition, benefits may still be owed, and strong medical evidence is how that is proven.
Benefits in Mississippi include reasonable and necessary medical treatment, which for a brain injury can mean neurology, neuropsychology, cognitive therapy, vision and balance therapy, and counseling. Wage-loss benefits for total disability generally pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability payments are also capped at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so the dollar figure that applies to you depends on your injury date.
Brain injuries often reduce earning capacity in ways a physical impairment rating does not capture. A worker who can lift but cannot concentrate, remember instructions, or tolerate a noisy shop may be unable to return to the same trade. We gather vocational evidence and treating-physician opinions to show how the injury limits real work, because that loss drives the value of a settlement.
Some head injuries also involve a party other than your employer, such as a negligent driver who struck your work vehicle or a contractor who left an unsafe site. In those cases you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits, and we coordinate the two so they work together.
Mississippi Brain Injury Claim Questions
Is a concussion covered by workers’ compensation in Mississippi?
Yes. A concussion caused by a work accident is a compensable injury, including its medical treatment and any wage loss while you cannot work. Many insurers treat concussions as minor, so documenting symptoms early matters.
How long do I have to report a head injury to my employer?
You must give notice within 30 days of the accident. Report it right away and in writing, and tell the employer you hit your head so the report reflects the potential brain injury.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert. Exceptions can apply when benefits have been paid, so speak with an attorney early.
What if my CT scan or MRI came back normal?
A normal scan does not mean there is no brain injury. Concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries often leave standard imaging clean. Neuropsychological testing, symptom documentation, and treating-physician opinions can establish the injury.
What if symptoms did not appear until days or weeks later?
Delayed symptoms are common. Report them to your employer and your doctor as soon as they appear, and make sure the provider connects them to the work incident in the records.
Can the insurance company blame an old injury or a prior concussion?
They will try. A pre-existing condition does not end your claim if work caused, worsened, or accelerated it. Comparing medical records before and after the incident is how we answer that argument.
Will I be paid while I cannot work?
If you are totally disabled, wage-loss benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly statutory maximum. Those benefits are limited to 450 weeks for total disability and for most permanent partial cases.
Who decides my case, a judge or a jury?
The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission handles comp claims through an Administrative Judge, with review available before the Full Commission. There is no jury. A third-party injury claim against a non-employer is different and can go to court.
Can I sue my employer for my brain injury?
Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer. You may, however, have a separate claim against a third party whose negligence contributed to the injury.
Can I be fired for filing a brain injury claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if my claim was denied because the insurer says I am faking or exaggerating?
A denial is not the end. We take denied claims before the Commission and, if needed, through the appeals process, using objective testing, treating-physician testimony, and witness accounts to counter the accusation.
What 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.
Serving Head and Brain Injury Clients Across Mississippi
Our work on brain injury claims reaches across the state. In the Jackson metro we represent injured workers from Jackson, Madison, Ridgeland, Clinton, Brandon, Flowood, Pearl, and Byram. Heading south, we serve workers in Hattiesburg, Laurel, Columbia, and the communities of the Pine Belt, and on the Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, and Bay St. Louis.
In north Mississippi we help clients in Southaven, Olive Branch, Oxford, Tupelo, and Corinth, and in the Delta in Greenville, Greenwood, Clarksdale, and Cleveland. Along the river and in the southwest we serve Vicksburg, Natchez, and McComb, and in the east, Meridian. Whether the injury happened on a plant floor, a construction site, a highway, or a hospital ward, we can take the case before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Talk With a Mississippi Brain Injury Attorney Today
A head injury can change how you work, think, and live, and the insurance company will not wait for you to figure out how bad it is. If you need a Mississippi head and brain injury attorney, call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today and let us review your claim.
