Olive Branch Head & Brain Injury Lawyer
A head or brain injury claim comes down to one thing: getting the full extent of the injury recognized, documented, and paid for, including the parts that do not show up on a scan the week it happens. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and that includes people in Olive Branch and throughout DeSoto County who have suffered concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and other head trauma on the job. Our Olive Branch head & brain injury lawyer team handles the medical and wage benefits side of these claims, and the third-party injury claims that sometimes run alongside them.
Olive Branch sits in the middle of one of the busiest warehouse and freight corridors in the Mid-South. Distribution centers, loading docks, forklift traffic, tractor-trailers, and construction along the I-22 and I-269 corridors all produce the kinds of incidents that lead to head injuries: a fall from a trailer or ladder, an object dropped from a rack, a rear-end collision in a work truck, a struck-by accident on a job site. Many of these injuries are first logged as “bumped my head” or “dizzy spell,” and that early shorthand can follow a claim for months if it is not corrected.
The hard part of a brain injury case is that the worker often looks fine. Headaches, memory gaps, light sensitivity, mood changes, trouble concentrating, and fatigue are real, disabling, and easy for an insurer to question. We build these claims around the medical proof that answers that skepticism.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Brain Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Olive Branch, DeSoto County, and the surrounding North Mississippi communities. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español) from the first call through the end of the case.
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 regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results that matter most for a head or brain injury case are the ones where the insurer disputed the medical picture. We obtained $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 after being struck in his work vehicle. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, stays responsive, and fights the insurance company at every step.
Head and Brain Injuries We Handle for Olive Branch Workers
- Concussions and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries: Often the most underestimated. A worker may walk away from a fall off a pallet jack or a blow from a falling box, then develop headaches, dizziness, and concentration problems days later. Insurers point to the lack of a visible injury, so early and consistent medical documentation is critical.
- Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries: Skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, and contusions from major falls, crush incidents, or high-speed collisions. These cases involve long-term treatment, rehabilitation, and often permanent limitations on the ability to work.
- Warehouse and Distribution Center Incidents: Falls from trailers, dock plates, ladders, and elevated platforms, plus objects falling from racking, are common sources of head trauma in the freight-heavy Olive Branch area.
- Truck and Delivery Driver Collisions: Drivers hurt in a wreck while on the clock may have a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver. Head strikes against the window, pillar, or steering wheel are typical.
- Construction and Industrial Site Accidents: Struck-by and fall-from-height injuries on commercial building sites, plants, and manufacturing floors, where hard hats do not always prevent serious injury.
- Post-Concussion Syndrome and Cognitive Symptoms: Lingering memory loss, vision and balance problems, sleep disruption, irritability, and anxiety that persist well past the initial injury and affect the ability to return to the same job.
- Psychological Effects of Head Trauma: Depression, anxiety, and personality changes that follow a brain injury, which we document with the treating physicians so they are not dismissed as unrelated.
- Secondary Injuries From Seizures or Dizziness: Falls and other harm that result from the brain injury itself, which belong in the same claim.
What to Do After a Head Injury at Work in Olive Branch
Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly okay. Head injuries can worsen over the following hours and days, and a documented evaluation right away is the strongest evidence that the injury came from work. Tell the provider exactly how it happened and list every symptom, including the small ones like light sensitivity, ringing in the ears, or feeling foggy. Symptoms left out of early records are easy for an insurer to treat as unrelated later.
Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can. In Mississippi, you must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident, and the same 30-day notice rule applies in Louisiana. Because head injury symptoms sometimes surface late, do not wait to see if it gets better. Keep your own copy of the report or send it in a way that leaves a record.
Mississippi workers’ compensation claims are handled by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body rather than a court. Disputed claims are heard by an Administrative Judge, and a party can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record built before the judge rather than starting over. That is why what goes into the record at the first hearing matters so much. A final Commission award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court often assigns such cases to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. In Mississippi you generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a petition with the Commission, so a quiet claim should not be left to drift.
Coverage in Mississippi starts on your first day on the job, with no waiting period. Wage replacement runs at up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and temporary and permanent total disability payments cannot exceed 450 weeks. If you were hurt in Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and a medical treatment denial must be challenged on a form filed with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 15 calendar days of the written denial.
A few mistakes cause the most damage in brain injury claims. Do not return to work before your doctor clears you simply because an adjuster pushes you to. Do not give a recorded statement without understanding how it may be used. Do not assume that a normal CT scan ends the discussion; many concussions and mild brain injuries do not appear on standard imaging, and neuropsychological testing and specialist evaluation exist for exactly that reason. And if a coworker, a contractor, or another driver caused your injury, tell us, because a separate injury claim may exist beyond your comp benefits.
How Insurers Contest Brain Injury Claims, and How We Answer
Carriers follow a familiar playbook, and it plays out in a particular way on head injuries. They argue the symptoms are exaggerated because nothing shows on imaging. They blame stress, depression, or an earlier accident. They send you to a doctor of their choosing for an evaluation that lasts a few minutes. They point to a gap between the incident and the first complaint. We answer with treating physician records, neurology and neuropsychology work, witness accounts of the incident, and your work history showing what changed about your ability to function before and after the injury.
A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up a condition, benefits may still be owed. This matters for workers who had an earlier concussion or a history of migraines and then suffered a second blow at work.
Long-term cases raise the question of permanent disability. When a brain injury leaves lasting limitations, the claim shifts from temporary wage benefits toward permanent disability and, in some cases, settlement discussions that must account for future medical care. If you return to work at reduced pay, Louisiana provides supplemental earnings benefits, which pay two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you can earn, up to a 520-week maximum, with time already spent on temporary total disability counting toward that total.
Head & Brain Injury Questions From Olive Branch Workers
Do I need a lawyer for a brain injury workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but brain injury claims are among the most disputed. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you expect a long absence from work, having an attorney matters. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone working for you.
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. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a head injury at work?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the accident. The 30-day notice rule applies in both Mississippi and Louisiana.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a petition with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury and no claim is on file, the right to benefits can be barred.
What benefits can I receive for a brain injury?
All reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you cannot work, and additional benefits if the injury leaves a permanent disability. For brain injuries that includes neurology visits, imaging, therapy, and cognitive rehabilitation when prescribed.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from being fired in 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.
My CT scan was normal. Can I still have a brain injury?
Yes. Concussions and many mild traumatic brain injuries do not appear on standard CT or MRI. Diagnosis often rests on symptoms, a neurological exam, and neuropsychological testing. A normal scan is not a reason to drop the claim.
What if my symptoms did not appear until days after the accident?
Delayed symptoms are common with head injuries. Report them to your employer and your doctor as soon as they appear, and be clear about the original incident. A late-developing symptom with a clear link to the accident can still support a claim, but prompt documentation makes it far easier to prove.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for work-related medical care, so health insurers often resist covering treatment tied to a job injury. If the comp carrier denies care, tell us quickly so we can pursue the treatment you need rather than letting a gap in care hurt your recovery and your case.
What if a driver or contractor caused my injury while I was working?
You may have a personal injury claim against that third party in addition to your comp benefits. We handle car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death claims, and we make sure the comp claim and the injury claim work together rather than against each other.
Can I still get benefits if I had an earlier concussion?
Often yes. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your work caused, worsened, or accelerated it. Insurers raise this argument frequently, and answering it with clear medical evidence is a core part of our work.
Do you handle cases for Spanish-speaking workers?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Head & Brain Injury Clients Across DeSoto County and North Mississippi
We represent injured workers in Olive Branch and throughout DeSoto County, including Southaven, Horn Lake, Hernando, Walls, Nesbit, and Lake Cormorant. Just beyond the county line, we also serve workers in neighboring communities across north Mississippi. Our reach extends across Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta, and across Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Whether your injury happened at a distribution center, a construction site, or on the road in a company vehicle, we can help.
Talk to an Olive Branch Head Injury Attorney Today
If you suffered a head or brain injury on the job, an Olive Branch brain injury attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain your deadlines, and take on the insurance company so you can focus on recovery. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today to talk through your case.
