Gulfport Head & Brain Injury Lawyer
The goal after a head injury at work is straightforward to state and hard to reach: medical care that continues for as long as your brain needs it, and wage benefits that do not stop while you are still unable to function on a job site. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and if you need a Gulfport head and brain injury lawyer, our team handles these claims for workers in Gulfport, Harrison County, and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Brain injuries are different from a broken ankle or a torn shoulder. The injury may not show up on the first scan. The worker may walk out of the emergency room, go home, and only weeks later notice memory gaps, headaches that will not quit, light sensitivity, irritability, or trouble finishing tasks that used to be routine. Insurers know this, and they use the gap between the accident and the diagnosis to argue that the problem came from somewhere else.
Gulfport’s economy gives these injuries plenty of places to happen: the Port of Gulfport, shipyards and marine fabrication, construction along the coast, hospital and casino work, trucking and warehouse operations, and the industrial sites that dot the area. A fall from height, a swinging load, a struck-by incident, or a vehicle collision on the job can all produce a concussion or a more serious traumatic brain injury.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Coast Head Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Gulfport and the Gulf Coast. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español).
Founding partner Rob Lunsford 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 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 show the kind of serious injury cases we take on: $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 tell us they value being heard and having an attorney who fights the insurance company at every step. When a head injury claim turns on medical evidence and credibility, that kind of focus matters.
How Head and Brain Injuries Happen on Gulf Coast Jobs
- Falls from Heights and Ladders: Scaffolds, ladders, rooftops, and vessel decks put workers at risk of striking their heads on landing. Construction crews, painters, and maintenance workers along the coast see these falls often enough that a head strike should always be reported, even if the worker feels fine.
- Struck-by Incidents: Dropped tools, swinging cargo, rigging failures, and falling materials at ports, shipyards, and industrial sites can hit a worker in the head despite a hard hat. A concussion can follow even when no blood is drawn.
- On-the-Job Vehicle Collisions: Delivery drivers, truckers, sales staff, and anyone driving for work can suffer head trauma on roads like U.S. 49 and I-10. These cases may support both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate personal injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Slips on Wet or Oily Surfaces: Kitchens, docks, hospital floors, casino back-of-house areas, and plant floors can send a worker backward onto concrete or steel.
- Industrial Explosions and Equipment Accidents: Blasts, pressure releases, and machinery failures can cause blast-related brain injury along with burns and fractures, and the brain injury is sometimes overlooked in the focus on visible wounds.
- Repeated Head Impacts and Delayed Symptoms: A second knock to a head that has not healed can make symptoms worse. Workers who return to duty too quickly after a concussion often struggle, and the early records matter when an insurer later questions the timeline.
- Post-Concussion and Cognitive Complaints: Persistent headaches, dizziness, memory trouble, mood changes, sleep disruption, and difficulty concentrating are common, and they often require neurology, neuropsychology, and rehabilitation care that insurers resist approving.
What to Do Right Now After a Head Injury at Work
Get medical attention first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and that your head was involved. Do not downplay it. A line in the first emergency room chart saying “struck head at work, brief confusion” can carry real weight months later. If symptoms appear days afterward, go back and say so.
Report the injury to your employer, in writing if you can. Mississippi requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and Louisiana sets the same 30-day notice period. Do not wait to see whether the headaches pass. Missing the notice window can hand the insurer an easy argument against you.
The filing deadlines are separate. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the usual vehicle is a Petition to Controvert. In Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that can stretch to three years from the last payment if benefits were paid. A worker injured at a Louisiana job site who lives on the Mississippi coast needs to know which state’s law applies, and we can sort that out early.
Write down what you notice: forgotten appointments, trouble with directions, lost words, noise sensitivity, sleep problems. Ask a family member or coworker who saw the accident or the change in you to write down what they observed. Keep your medical records, work restrictions, and pay stubs in one place. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before speaking with a lawyer, and do not sign medical releases that open your entire history without review.
Mississippi workers’ compensation claims are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not by a court. A contested claim goes to an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge. A party who disagrees can seek review by the Full Commission, which works from the record made before the judge rather than hearing the case fresh. From there, a final award can be appealed within 30 days, and the Mississippi Supreme Court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals are decided on the existing record, the medical proof has to be built correctly the first time.
Proving a Brain Injury When the Insurer Says There Is Nothing There
The central fight in many head injury claims is causation and severity. Insurers argue the symptoms are stress, age, a prior concussion, a sports injury, or something unrelated. They may point to a normal CT scan as if it ends the question, though many concussions and milder traumatic brain injuries do not appear on routine imaging.
The answer is medical evidence built around the actual injury: records from the first responders and emergency providers, treating neurologists, neuropsychological testing that measures memory, processing speed, and attention, and statements from the people who watched you change. Work history matters too. If you went from reliable and sharp to forgetting safety steps on the job, that contrast is evidence.
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the work incident caused, worsened, or accelerated a condition, benefits may still be owed. We take on that argument directly and answer it with the medical record.
Benefits Available When a Brain Injury Keeps You Out of Work
Workers’ compensation pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment, which for a brain injury can include neurology visits, imaging, therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, and medication. It also pays wage-loss benefits while you cannot work. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits run at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum and not to exceed 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in many cases is also capped at 450 weeks of payments.
Louisiana pays comparable wage-replacement benefits and also provides supplemental earnings benefits when a worker returns at reduced pay or cannot earn at least 90 percent of the pre-injury wage. Those benefits are calculated at two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you earn or are able to earn now, and they can run up to a 520-week maximum, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. Weekly rates in both states are set by statute and adjusted periodically, so the exact figure depends on your accident date.
A brain injury can also change what kind of work a person can do. Judgment, attention, and memory limits do not show up in an orthopedic restriction, but they can close off safety-sensitive jobs entirely. We build these claims to account for the real effect on earning capacity.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Caused the Injury
Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer, but it is not the only source of recovery. If a negligent driver hit your work truck, a contractor left an unsafe site, or defective equipment failed, you may have a separate personal injury claim. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. Louisiana’s fault rules for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026 bar recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault. Our personal injury practice makes sure the comp claim and the injury claim work together rather than against each other.
Gulfport Head and Brain Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a head injury workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but brain injury claims are rarely simple. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if symptoms are keeping you out of work, an attorney can make a major difference.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. 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 right away. Both Mississippi and Louisiana require notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and a late report gives the insurer an easy defense.
What is the deadline to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If you are unsure whether benefits already paid change your deadline, speak with an attorney quickly.
My CT scan was normal. Can I still have a brain injury?
Yes. Routine imaging often misses concussions and milder traumatic brain injuries. Diagnosis frequently rests on symptoms, neurological evaluation, and neuropsychological testing rather than a single scan.
Can the insurer say my symptoms come from an earlier concussion or stress?
They often try. A prior condition does not end your claim if the work incident caused, worsened, or accelerated it. Strong medical opinions tying the current problems to the workplace event are the answer.
What if my symptoms did not show up until days or weeks later?
Delayed symptoms are common with head injuries. Go back to a doctor, say clearly that you struck your head at work, and report the new symptoms to your employer in writing. The sooner those records exist, the better.
Will workers’ compensation pay for cognitive rehabilitation and neuropsychological testing?
Reasonable and necessary medical treatment is covered, and that can include treatment recommended by your doctors for a brain injury. Insurers frequently push back on this care, which is one reason denials of treatment need to be challenged promptly.
I was hurt in a work vehicle crash on I-10. Can I also sue the other driver?
Possibly. A third-party personal injury claim can exist alongside your comp claim. Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage of fault under pure comparative negligence, so how the crash happened matters.
What if my employer fires me after I report a head injury?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
If the insurer denies my treatment in Louisiana, how fast do I have to act?
A medical treatment dispute through the utilization review process requires filing Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of written notice of the denial. Deadlines move quickly, so get legal help immediately.
Do I have to prove my employer was careless?
No. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You generally need to show the injury arose out of and in the course of your work, not that your employer did something wrong.
Serving Gulfport and Coast Communities After Workplace Brain Injuries
Our team represents injured workers in Gulfport and across Harrison County, including Long Beach, Pass Christian, Biloxi, D’Iberville, and Diamondhead in neighboring Hancock County. We also help workers throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Ocean Springs and Gautier in Jackson County to Bay St. Louis and Waveland, and inland to Hattiesburg and the communities around it.
Beyond the coast, we serve workers in Jackson, Madison, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, as well as South Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and north Louisiana, including Shreveport. Whether the injury happened on a dock, a construction site, a plant floor, or a highway, we handle head and brain injury claims for workers throughout both states.
Talk With a Gulfport Head Injury Attorney Today
If a blow to the head at work has changed how you think, feel, or function, talk with a Gulfport head injury attorney before the insurance company defines your claim for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us to talk through what happened and what your next move should be.
We help injured workers. That is the work we do every day, and we are ready to put that experience behind your claim.
