Hattiesburg Back & Spine Injury Lawyer
A herniated disc from a fall off a scaffold, a lumbar injury from years of lifting on a loading dock, or a neck injury from a collision in a company truck can end a paycheck overnight, and the insurer’s first response is often a question about your spine rather than your medical bills. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Hattiesburg and Forrest County, and across south Louisiana.
If you need a Hattiesburg back and spine injury lawyer, the central fight is rarely whether you hurt your back. It is whether the insurance carrier will accept that work caused it. Spine claims turn on medical causation, and carriers know that most adults over thirty show some degeneration on an MRI. They use that finding to argue that a bulging disc was already there, that it is age-related, or that it has nothing to do with the job. How a claim is built in the first weeks, through the first treating physician, the history you give, and the records that exist, often decides how that argument ends.
Mississippi covers workers from the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. Benefits include medical treatment, wage replacement, and compensation for permanent loss of function. Spine cases are among the most valuable and most contested claims in the system because the treatment can run from injections and therapy to fusion surgery, and the long-term work restrictions can end a career in physical labor.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Hattiesburg Spine Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation as the center of its practice, not as an occasional add-on to a general injury caseload. The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 combined years of experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for injured workers. We serve clients in Hattiesburg, throughout the Pine Belt and the Gulf Coast, and across Mississippi and south Louisiana, with free consultations, no fee unless we recover benefits for you, and case costs advanced by the firm. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
The results most relevant to a spine claim are back injury cases. The firm secured 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 who suffered back injuries when his work vehicle was struck. Other back, neck, and lumbar settlements include $190,000 for a truck driver hurt in a wreck on the job and $175,000 for a delivery driver with a lumbar injury. Past results do not guarantee an outcome, but they show the firm has taken serious spine claims through to resolution.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, 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 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. Clients describe an office that listens, explains the process, and stays in the fight with the insurance company at every step.
Back and Spine Injuries We See in Pine Belt Workplaces
The Hattiesburg area’s mix of healthcare, logistics, construction, manufacturing, and education produces a predictable range of spine claims. These are the categories that come up most.
- Lumbar Disc Herniations: The classic lifting injury, common among warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and tradespeople. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease; the answer is medical evidence showing that a specific incident or repetitive physical work caused or aggravated the disc.
- Cervical Spine and Neck Injuries: Whiplash-type injuries from vehicle collisions, falls, and overhead work can produce herniations that radiate pain into the arms and hands, sometimes leading to cervical fusion.
- Trucking and Driving Injuries: Hattiesburg sits at a crossroads of major highways, and drivers hurt in on-the-job wrecks often face both a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver.
- Construction and Industrial Falls: Falls from ladders, roofs, and scaffolds, and strikes by materials or equipment, can fracture vertebrae or damage discs and nerve roots.
- Healthcare Worker Injuries: Nurses, aides, and surgical staff injure their backs lifting and repositioning patients, often through a sudden strain on top of years of cumulative load.
- Repetitive-Stress and Cumulative Trauma: Not every spine claim has a single dramatic accident. Years of heavy lifting, vibration, or awkward posture can wear down the spine, and these claims depend heavily on work history and medical opinion.
- Surgical Spine Cases: Fusions, discectomies, and similar procedures raise disputes over authorization, choice of surgeon, and the permanent restrictions that follow.
- Spinal Cord and Catastrophic Injuries: Severe trauma can cause partial or total loss of function and may support permanent total disability benefits and lifetime medical needs.
What to Do After a Spine Injury at Work in Hattiesburg
The first deadline comes quickly. In Mississippi you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident, and the safest course is to report it the same day and put it in writing. Describe what happened and which parts of your body hurt, including your back or neck even if other pain seems worse at the time. Insurers read early reports closely, and an incomplete one can later be used to suggest your spine complaint came from somewhere else.
Get medical care promptly and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened and that it occurred at work. Spine pain often builds over days, but a gap in treatment gives the carrier room to argue the injury is unrelated. Follow your doctor’s restrictions, attend therapy and imaging appointments, and keep copies of work status notes. Do not return to heavy duty before your physician releases you, and do not accept pressure to do so.
The second deadline is the one many workers miss. A Mississippi claim is generally barred if no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the date of injury and no claim has been filed with the Commission in that period. The filing is a Petition to Controvert, made to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which administers the system. Accepting a few checks or a few weeks of treatment does not mean the clock stopped in your favor, so do not wait to see whether the carrier keeps paying.
Disputed claims are heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. If either side appeals, the Full Commission reviews the record built before the judge; it is not a new trial, which is why the evidence assembled early matters so much. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appellate review is confined to the record, so nothing can be fixed later that was not presented at the hearing.
Avoid the common mistakes: giving a recorded statement to the adjuster without preparation, signing medical releases broader than necessary, skipping treatment because the pain fluctuates, and downplaying symptoms to a doctor. If the carrier denies the claim, stops paying, or sends you to a physician of its own choosing, speak with an attorney before the denial hardens into a hearing record.
How Spine Injury Claims Are Fought and Valued
Because causation is the battleground, the strongest spine cases are built on medical opinion that connects the job to the injury in plain terms. A treating surgeon or specialist who states that the work incident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition carries real weight. Prior imaging, prior treatment, and prior complaints will come out, so the goal is to address them directly rather than hope they go unnoticed. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim when work aggravated it.
Wage-loss benefits in Mississippi are generally 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. Permanent partial disability for cases outside the scheduled-member categories is also limited to 450 weeks. Spine injuries usually fall into this unscheduled category, which is why the permanent impairment rating and the effect of restrictions on your ability to earn matter so much. A worker who can no longer lift, bend, or stand for long periods may lose the ability to do the job they had, and that loss of earning capacity is central to value.
Some spine injuries also involve a party other than the employer, such as a negligent driver who hit a work vehicle or a contractor whose unsafe site caused a fall. In those cases a separate injury claim may exist alongside the comp claim, and the two need to be coordinated so that one does not undercut the other. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence for such claims, reducing recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
Questions Hattiesburg Workers Ask About Back and Spine Claims
Is a back injury covered if it developed gradually instead of in one accident?
It can be. Cumulative trauma from repetitive lifting, vibration, or physical strain can support a claim if medical evidence ties the condition to your work. These cases require a clear work history and a physician willing to explain the connection.
The insurer says my herniated disc is degenerative. Is my claim over?
No. If work caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, benefits may still be owed. Insurers raise degeneration constantly, and the response is medical testimony showing how the job contributed.
How long do I have to report a back injury to my employer?
You must report within 30 days of the accident, and sooner is better. Written notice protects you against later disputes about whether and when you reported.
What is the deadline to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, through a Petition to Controvert filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Missing it can bar the claim entirely.
Do I have to wait before workers’ comp covers me at a new job?
No. Mississippi coverage applies from the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement, provided the employer is covered by the law.
How much will I receive while I cannot work?
Wage replacement is generally up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Total disability benefits cannot exceed 450 weeks.
Can the insurance company choose my back surgeon?
Carriers often steer workers toward physicians they prefer, and disputes over choice of doctor and surgery authorization are common in spine cases. An attorney can address who treats you and whether recommended surgery gets approved.
What if I was partly at fault for my injury?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own carelessness does not ordinarily defeat a claim. Fault matters in a separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage of fault.
Can I be fired for filing a claim over a back injury?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell your attorney right away so the circumstances can be reviewed.
Will my health insurance pay for treatment while my claim is disputed?
Sometimes, but health plans may seek reimbursement if the comp carrier is later found responsible. Raise this with your attorney before relying on health coverage for expensive spine treatment.
What happens if I appeal and lose before the Full Commission?
You may appeal a final award to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, which may assign the case to the Court of Appeals. Review is limited to the record already made, so the hearing itself is the most important stage.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a back injury that is not surgical?
If your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will miss significant work, representation can matter even without surgery. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law, and you pay nothing unless benefits are recovered.
Serving Hattiesburg and Forrest County Back Injury Clients Across the Region
We represent injured workers in Hattiesburg and throughout Forrest County, including those who work in the city’s hospitals, schools, distribution centers, and construction sites. Our reach extends to neighboring Lamar County and Petal, to the Pine Belt communities around Purvis, Sumrall, and Oak Grove, and to workers commuting in from the surrounding area. Across Mississippi we represent clients in Jackson and Madison, along the Gulf Coast, in Southaven and north Mississippi, and in the Delta.
The firm also serves injured workers in Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across south and north Louisiana. Whether a spine injury happened on a Hattiesburg job site, a highway, or a plant elsewhere in the region, the same focus on workers’ compensation applies.
Talk With a Hattiesburg Spine Injury Attorney Today
If a back or neck injury has taken you off the job, a Hattiesburg back and spine injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your claim, explain where it stands, and deal with the insurer so you can focus on treatment. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today, any hour, and tell us what happened.
