Tupelo Personal Injury Lawyer
A serious injury in Lee County rarely stays a single claim. A delivery driver hit on Gloster Street, a plant employee hurt on a production line, or a contractor injured on a job site off Highway 78 may be dealing with two or three separate legal tracks at once, each with its own deadline and its own decision-maker. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and personal injury cases for injured people across Mississippi and Louisiana, and we work with Tupelo clients to sort out which claims exist and how they fit together.
Finding a Tupelo personal injury lawyer who understands the overlap matters because many of the injuries we see in Northeast Mississippi begin at work. Tupelo is a regional hub for manufacturing, furniture and upholstery production, healthcare, distribution, and trucking. When someone gets hurt in those settings, the employer’s workers’ compensation coverage usually answers for the medical care and wage loss, but a negligent driver, an outside contractor, or an equipment company may also bear responsibility. Those are separate claims with separate rules, and handling one without thinking about the other can cost you money.
This distinction shapes almost everything about a Tupelo injury case. A comp claim does not require proving anyone was careless, but it pays only a fraction of lost wages and nothing for pain and suffering. A personal injury claim against a third party can reach full damages, but it requires proof of fault and can be reduced by your own share of blame. Knowing which path you are on, or whether you are on both, is the first thing to settle.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Tupelo Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Tupelo, Lee County, and the surrounding communities of north Mississippi. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who see a work injury only occasionally. We are built the other way around, which matters when your accident involves both a comp claim and a claim against someone else.
Rob Lunsford, our 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 has argued personal injury and insurance cases before Mississippi’s appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries that come out of industrial and driving work. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, including $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe the same things in their reviews: attorneys who listen, who stay professional, and who fight the insurance company at every step.
The practical terms are simple. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español) with clients from the first call to the end of the case.
Types of Injury Cases We Handle for Tupelo Clients
- Work Injuries with a Third-Party Claim: When someone other than your employer contributed to the injury, such as a negligent driver, a subcontractor, or a maker of defective equipment, you may have a comp claim and a personal injury claim at once. Furniture plants, distribution centers, and construction sites around Tupelo are common settings.
- Truck and Delivery Vehicle Collisions: Tupelo sits at a crossroads of regional highways, and commercial traffic is constant. Drivers hurt on the job and motorists struck by commercial vehicles both need claims built with medical and liability evidence, and our firm has recovered six-figure settlements for truck drivers and delivery drivers with back and knee injuries.
- Car Accidents: Collisions on busy corridors and intersections in Tupelo and Lee County frequently involve disputed fault, and Mississippi reduces a recovery by the injured person’s own percentage of fault rather than barring it entirely.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Herniated lumbar and cervical discs are among the most common injuries from lifting, repetitive labor, and vehicle impacts. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and we answer that with medical evidence.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common in manual work, and employers sometimes try to label them old sports injuries.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial settings and oil and gas work can produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that require specialist care over years.
- Premises Liability: Falls and injuries on a property owner’s land, including unsafe conditions at stores, apartment complexes, and job sites controlled by a company other than your employer.
- Wrongful Death: Families who have lost someone to a work accident or a negligent driver may have claims for wrongful death, with deadlines that differ depending on whether negligence or an intentional act caused the death.
What to Do After an Injury in Tupelo
Start with medical care and make sure the treating provider knows how the injury happened. Whether you go to an emergency room, an urgent care clinic, or a hospital in the Tupelo area, the first records are the ones an insurer will read most closely. If the injury happened at work, report it to your employer in writing as soon as you can. Mississippi requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and a delay hands the insurance company an easy argument. Keep a copy of whatever you submit.
Coverage in Mississippi begins on your first day of employment with no waiting period, and wage benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory maximum. Workers’ compensation claims are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission rather than a trial court. A contested claim goes first to an Administrative Judge for an evidentiary hearing, and the Full Commission can review that decision on the existing record. It is not a new trial. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days, and the appeal is decided only on the record already made, which is why building the evidence early is so important. You generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission.
If someone other than your employer caused the injury, the personal injury side runs on a different clock. Mississippi generally allows three years for most negligence claims, and claims against a county or governmental agency carry a one-year limit and a notice requirement under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. Do not assume the longer deadline applies without checking who the responsible party is.
Be careful with insurance adjusters. Recorded statements, broad medical releases, and early settlement offers are tools for limiting what the company pays. You are not obligated to give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer. Do not return to work before your doctor releases you, and do not sign anything that closes your claim until you understand what you are giving up. Photograph the scene and your injuries, keep a log of missed work and pain levels, and collect the names of coworkers and bystanders who saw what happened. If you were hurt in a vehicle, get the crash report from the responding law enforcement agency.
How a Comp Claim and an Injury Claim Work Together
When both claims exist, they interact. The comp insurer generally has a right to be repaid from a recovery against a third party for benefits it has already paid, so the order and timing of settlements matters. Settling one claim carelessly can compromise the other, and the wrong release language can give up rights you did not know you had. Our personal injury lawyers handle comp and third-party cases together so the two strategies support each other instead of colliding.
The two systems also measure loss differently. Workers’ compensation pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages, with permanent disability benefits for lasting impairment, and Mississippi caps both temporary and permanent total disability at 450 weeks. A third-party injury claim can recover the full range of damages, including pain, suffering, and the wages comp does not replace. In a serious case the gap between those two recoveries can be substantial, which is why identifying every responsible party at the start is worth the effort.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tupelo Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer after an injury in Tupelo?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests. 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. In workers’ compensation cases, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report it as soon as you can and in writing, because a late report is one of the first arguments an insurer raises.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the date of the last compensation payment to file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were ever paid and no claim was filed within that window, the right to benefits can be lost.
Can I file both a comp claim and a personal injury claim?
Yes, if someone other than your employer or a coworker contributed to the injury. Examples include a negligent driver who hits your work vehicle or an outside contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall. The claims run separately but must be coordinated.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery in a personal injury case is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than eliminated. Workers’ compensation does not depend on fault at all, so carelessness on your part generally does not defeat a comp claim.
What if the insurer says my injury was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. We answer this argument with medical evidence and work history, and it is a core part of what we do.
Can my employer fire me 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.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often a comp insurer disputes treatment while health insurance is the only thing standing between you and care. Tell your providers about the work connection, keep every bill and denial letter, and talk to us before paying out of pocket, because reimbursement rights can be affected by how treatment is billed.
Is a Tupelo injury case worth pursuing if my injury seems minor?
Soft-tissue and back injuries that look minor on the first day can become surgical cases months later, and a claim that was never reported or documented is much harder to win. A free consultation costs nothing and will tell you whether the claim is worth pursuing.
What happens if my claim is denied?
You can contest it. In a comp case, that means filing with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, building the medical and witness record, and taking the case through a hearing before an Administrative Judge, with review by the Full Commission and appeal beyond if needed.
Do you handle cases outside Mississippi?
Yes. We also represent injured workers and accident victims throughout Louisiana, which matters for Tupelo-area workers whose jobs or accidents take them across state lines.
Serving Tupelo and Lee County Injury Clients Across North Mississippi
We represent injured people in Tupelo and throughout Lee County, including Saltillo, Verona, Plantersville, Guntown, Baldwyn, Shannon, Nettleton, and the rural communities between them. We also serve neighboring areas in northeast Mississippi, including Pontotoc, Fulton, Booneville, New Albany, Corinth, Okolona, Aberdeen, and Houston, along with workers who commute to Tupelo from across the region.
Beyond north Mississippi, our attorneys represent clients statewide, from Madison and Jackson to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta, and across Louisiana in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and the rest of South and north Louisiana. Wherever the injury happened, the same rules about deadlines, notice, and evidence apply, and we handle those cases in the right forum for each state.
Talk With a Tupelo Injury Attorney Today
If you are looking for a Tupelo injury attorney who handles both the workers’ compensation claim and any claim against a negligent third party, call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Tell us what happened, and we will explain which claims you have, which deadlines are running, and what comes next.
