Olive Branch Burn Injury Lawyer
A burn on the job can mean skin grafts, months of wound care, and a long stretch away from work, and the goal in any claim is to get every dollar of medical care and wage replacement the law allows while you heal. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for people hurt at work throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and that includes Olive Branch and the rest of DeSoto County. If you need an Olive Branch burn injury lawyer, this is a firm whose practice is built around injured workers.
Burns are different from most workplace injuries in a way insurers know well. The visible damage is only part of it. Deep burns scar, tighten, and limit movement. Hands and forearms may lose grip strength. Patients often face repeated debridement, specialist care, and psychological effects that surface weeks after the accident. Olive Branch sits in one of the busiest warehouse and distribution corridors in the Mid-South, with forklifts, industrial ovens, chemical handling, and heavy trucking all within a few miles of each other, so the setting for these injuries is close to home for many local workers.
The sections below cover how burn claims are built, what benefits apply, the deadlines that can end a claim, and what to do in the days after an injury.
Where Workplace Burns Happen in the Olive Branch Area
DeSoto County’s economy leans on logistics, manufacturing, food service, construction, and trucking. Each of those carries its own burn risks, and the cause of the burn often shapes how the claim is argued.
- Thermal burns from fire and explosion: Flash fires in industrial settings, ignited fuel, and combustible dust events can produce deep, widespread burns. These often involve long hospital stays and burn-unit care, so medical costs climb quickly and the claim usually has to account for years of treatment.
- Chemical burns: Warehouse and distribution workers handle cleaning agents, battery acid, solvents, and industrial chemicals. Chemical burns can keep damaging tissue after the initial exposure, and the employer’s safety data sheets and training records often become important evidence.
- Electrical burns: Contact with live equipment, damaged cords, or overhead lines can cause internal injury that is not obvious at first. Entry and exit wounds can mask nerve and muscle damage, which is why follow-up testing matters.
- Scalds and hot-surface burns: Kitchen workers, food plant employees, and maintenance staff are exposed to steam, boiling liquids, hot oil, and heated machinery. These injuries are sometimes dismissed by insurers as minor, even when they require grafting or leave lasting scarring.
- Friction and contact burns: Conveyor systems, rope and cable handling, and equipment malfunctions can burn skin through rapid contact. Hands are the most common target, which can affect a worker’s ability to return to the same job.
- Inhalation injuries: Smoke, fumes, and superheated air can damage the airway and lungs even when skin burns look limited. These injuries can lead to lasting breathing problems and should be documented from the first day of treatment.
- Burns suffered on the road: Truck drivers and delivery workers can be burned in vehicle fires or crashes. When another driver or a third party caused the wreck, there may be a separate injury claim alongside the comp claim.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Burn Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, serving DeSoto County and Olive Branch, Southaven, Horn Lake, and communities across north Mississippi, along with Jackson, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, the Delta, and South Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a side area handled when a case happens to arrive. The attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
The people behind those results matter. 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 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.
Results show what that experience can produce. The firm secured $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, along with settlements of $685,000 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 when his work vehicle was struck. Every case turns on its own medical facts, so past results do not predict an outcome, but they reflect the kind of serious injury claims this firm handles. Clients consistently describe the team as professional, attentive, and willing to fight the insurance company at every step.
What to Do After a Burn at Work in Mississippi
Get medical care first, and make sure the provider knows the burn happened at work. For serious burns, that often means emergency treatment and transfer to a facility equipped for burn care. Do not wait to see how a burn heals before being evaluated. Burns can deepen over the first day or two, and a gap in treatment gives an insurer something to argue about.
Report the injury to your employer promptly, and in writing if you can. Under Mississippi law, you must give notice of the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Missing that window can put the claim at risk, even when the injury is obvious. Mississippi covers workers from the first day on the job, so a new hire is not shut out because of short tenure.
The second deadline is the one people overlook. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the date of injury, the right to benefits can be barred unless a claim has been filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission during that time. The worker generally has two years from the injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert. These notice and limitation rules appear in Miss. Code § 71-3-35. Because burn recovery can drag on, workers sometimes assume an informal arrangement with the employer is enough. It is not.
Preserve evidence early. Photograph the burns at the start and throughout healing, since scarring changes over time. Write down exactly how the accident happened, who saw it, what equipment or substance was involved, and whether safety gear was provided. Keep your discharge papers, prescriptions, and pay stubs. If a coworker witnessed the event, get their name while memories are fresh.
Mississippi workers’ comp claims are not heard in a regular court. They go before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which handles evidentiary hearings before an Administrative Judge and review by the Full Commission in Jackson. The Full Commission reviews the record made before the Administrative Judge rather than holding a new trial, which is why building a strong record at the first hearing matters. A final Commission award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
A few mistakes come up repeatedly. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer without understanding what you are agreeing to. Do not return to work before your doctor releases you because an adjuster or supervisor pushes you to. Do not sign settlement paperwork or medical releases you have not reviewed. And do not assume a denial is final. Denials are often reversed once the medical evidence and witness accounts are put in front of the Commission.
Benefits Available for Burn Injuries Under Mississippi Law
A covered burn injury opens the door to medical treatment and wage benefits. Medical coverage includes reasonable and necessary care: emergency treatment, surgery, skin grafts, wound care, pain management, physical and occupational therapy, and prescribed medications. For severe burns, that care can continue long after the initial hospitalization, including reconstructive procedures and scar management.
Wage replacement comes in when the burn keeps you from working. Temporary total disability and permanent total disability pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by the state, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability applies when you can work in some capacity but have lasting impairment, and payments in those cases also cannot run longer than 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so the actual cap depends on the date of your injury.
Burn cases often turn on the permanent consequences. Scarring on the hands, face, or joints, loss of range of motion, nerve damage, and psychological trauma can all affect what work a person can realistically do. Insurers sometimes focus on whether the wound has closed and downplay lasting limits. A thorough claim documents functional loss through treating physicians, specialist evaluations, and your own work history, so that disability ratings reflect what the injury actually did.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Caused the Burn
Workers’ compensation is generally your exclusive remedy against your employer, but it does not protect everyone else. A defective piece of equipment, a negligent subcontractor, a chemical supplier, or a driver who causes a crash can all be sued separately. The firm also handles personal injury, car and truck accident, premises liability, and wrongful death claims, so a comp claim and an outside liability claim can be coordinated rather than pulling against each other.
These claims run on different clocks. In Mississippi, a negligence claim without another prescribed period generally must be filed within three years under Miss. Code § 15-1-49, and Mississippi applies pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault instead of barring it. If a governmental entity is involved, the Mississippi Tort Claims Act applies a one-year limit and notice requirements. Sorting out which claims exist early, before evidence disappears, is a major reason to speak with a lawyer soon after the injury.
Olive Branch Burn Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workplace burn claim?
Not every claim needs one, but burn injuries are rarely simple. If benefits have been denied, delayed, or cut off, or if the burn will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and fees are collected only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a burn injury to my employer?
In Mississippi, you must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as possible and put it in writing so there is a record.
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. If no disability benefits were paid within two years of the injury, the right to benefits can be lost unless a claim was filed during that period.
Will workers’ comp cover skin grafts and long-term scar treatment?
Comp covers reasonable and necessary medical care tied to the work injury, which can include surgery, grafting, therapy, and ongoing treatment. Disputes usually arise over whether a later procedure is related to the original burn, so strong medical documentation matters.
What if the burn happened because I made a mistake?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. Carelessness on your part generally does not defeat a claim. The question is whether the injury arose out of and in the course of your employment.
Can the insurer say my scarring is only cosmetic and not a disability?
Insurers sometimes argue that. Disability turns on how the injury affects your ability to work, not only how it looks. Scarring that limits movement, causes chronic pain, or restricts the tasks you can perform can support a disability rating, and psychological effects can be part of the picture too.
I work in Olive Branch but live in another state. Is my claim still covered?
Coverage depends on where the employment is based and where the injury occurred. A worker injured at a Mississippi job site is generally within the Mississippi system, but cross-border situations can raise questions about which state’s law applies. Describe your full work arrangement during a consultation so it can be sorted out early.
Will my health insurance pay while the comp claim is pending?
Health insurers often refuse to pay for work injuries and expect the comp carrier to cover them. If the comp claim is denied or delayed, you can end up caught between the two. A lawyer can press for authorization of treatment so you are not stuck with unpaid bills.
What if someone else caused my burn, like a contractor or equipment maker?
You may have a separate personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits. These claims follow different deadlines and rules, and Mississippi’s comparative negligence rule reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. Raising the possibility early helps preserve evidence.
Can I be fired for filing a burn injury claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting your injury, tell the firm during your consultation so the situation can be reviewed.
Does the firm help Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Burn Injury Clients Across DeSoto County and North Mississippi
The firm represents injured workers starting right here in Olive Branch and throughout DeSoto County, including Southaven, Horn Lake, Hernando, Walls, Nesbit, Lewisburg, and Eudora. From the distribution centers near the Tennessee line to the manufacturing and food-processing sites around Southaven and Horn Lake, workers across the county can reach the team. Neighboring areas of north Mississippi are covered as well, and the firm serves clients across the Delta, in Madison and Jackson, in Hattiesburg, and along the Gulf Coast.
Because many Olive Branch workers cross state lines for jobs, the firm’s reach in Louisiana matters too. Its attorneys also represent injured workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Wherever the burn happened, the same priorities apply: prompt medical care, careful documentation, and a claim built to withstand the insurer’s pushback.
Talk With an Olive Branch Burn Injury Attorney Today
A serious burn changes how you work, how you heal, and how you support your family. You should not have to learn the comp system while recovering. If you need an Olive Branch burn injury attorney, call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC for a free consultation. The phones are answered 24 hours a day, there is no fee unless benefits are recovered, and the team can take over the dealings with your employer and its insurer so you can focus on getting well.
