Starkville Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
Starkville sits in Oktibbeha County, and a workers’ compensation claim from a warehouse, plant, or construction site here does not go to a courtroom with a jury. It goes before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body, and the fight is usually over whether the insurer accepts what the operator, the lift, and the load did to your body. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for people hurt on the job across Mississippi and Louisiana, including forklift and crane accident victims in and around Starkville.
Forklift and crane injuries tend to be violent and specific: a pallet or load that drops, a tip-over that pins an operator, a pedestrian struck in a loading aisle, a boom or rigging failure, a worker caught between a machine and a wall. The resulting injuries are often crush injuries, fractures, spine damage, and amputations, and they come with long recoveries and surgeries. That medical reality drives the claim, and it is also where insurers push back, arguing that a back problem was already there or that the worker was not following procedure.
There is a second question many injured workers never hear until it is nearly too late: was anyone besides your employer responsible? A defective mast, a negligent equipment lessor, a rigging contractor, or a subcontractor operating on the same site can create a separate injury claim alongside your comp benefits. Sorting out who owes what is the first thing worth doing after a serious equipment accident.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Forklift or Crane Injury Claim
That matters because most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who see a work injury only when one walks in. This firm was built the other way around. Its 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 clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you owe nothing unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law, and phones are answered 24 hours a day. The firm also serves Spanish-speaking clients in their own language, from the first call through the end of the case.
Rob Lunsford, 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, and the team also includes Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher. That trial experience is useful when a forklift or crane case includes both a comp claim and a claim against a third party.
The results reflect the kind of injuries these accidents cause. The firm obtained a $685,000 settlement 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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listens, communicates, and stays in the fight with the insurance company at every step.
Forklift and Crane Injury Situations We See in Workers’ Comp Claims
- Forklift Tip-Overs and Crushing Injuries: Sit-down and stand-up lifts can roll over on turns, ramps, or uneven dock surfaces, trapping an operator under the overhead guard or throwing them from the seat. Crush injuries to the legs, pelvis, and spine are common and often require multiple surgeries.
- Pedestrian Strikes in Warehouses and Plants: Workers on foot are hit in aisles, at blind corners, and near loading docks. Insurers sometimes argue the injured worker walked into a lane; the medical records and the facility’s traffic practices tell a different story.
- Dropped Loads and Falling Pallets: Unstable stacking, worn forks, or a damaged mast can send a load onto a nearby worker. Head, neck, and shoulder injuries are typical, along with fractures of the feet and ankles.
- Crane Boom, Rigging, and Hoist Failures: Mobile and overhead cranes used on construction sites, in manufacturing, and at industrial facilities can fail through rigging defects, overloaded lifts, or poor communication between operator and signal person. These accidents often involve more than one company, which opens the door to a separate claim against a party other than your employer.
- Caught-Between and Struck-By Injuries: Workers pinned between a lift or crane load and a wall, trailer, or machine suffer some of the most serious injuries, including amputations and internal trauma. These are frequently catastrophic claims requiring long-term medical care.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries from Operation: Not every claim comes from a dramatic crash. Repeated jarring over rough floors or a single sudden impact can cause disc herniations. When insurers blame degenerative disc disease, we build the medical case showing the job caused or worsened the injury.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears occur when workers brace against a shifting load or are struck by moving equipment, and employers sometimes try to label them old sports injuries.
What to Do After a Forklift or Crane Accident in Starkville
Get medical care first and say plainly that the injury happened at work. Starkville workers hurt at area plants, distribution sites, and construction projects are often treated first at a local emergency department, and what you tell that first provider becomes the foundation of the claim. Describe the mechanism, whether the load fell, the lift tipped, or you were struck, and mention every body part that hurts, even ones that seem minor. Gaps and omissions in early records are exactly what insurers later use to say an injury came from somewhere else.
Report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing if you can. In Mississippi, you must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Separately, the right to benefits is barred if no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury date and you have not filed a claim with the Commission during that period. The notice rule is where careless delay causes the most damage, so do not wait to see whether the pain fades. Mississippi covers workers from the first day on the job, with no waiting period, so a new hire is protected the same as a twenty-year employee.
Preserve what the employer will not. Take photographs of the machine, the load, the floor, and any damaged equipment if you are able, and note the names of coworkers who saw it. Write down the equipment type, the unit number if visible, and who last inspected or serviced it. Ask whether the lift or crane was leased or maintained by an outside company, because that detail may point to another liable party. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you understand what is at stake, and do not sign anything that releases your employer or a third party.
Expect your claim to be decided by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a court. Cases are heard in an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, and either side may seek review by the Full Commission, which reviews the record already made rather than holding a new trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed under the statute within 30 days, and the Mississippi Supreme Court may assign the appeal to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because the record made at the first hearing is the record that counts, the medical evidence and testimony need to be built correctly from the start. If the insurer denies the claim, stops paying, or pushes you back to work before your doctor clears you, call an attorney before those positions harden.
Comp Benefits, Third-Party Claims, and How They Fit Together
Workers’ compensation in Mississippi pays reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of your lost wages. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are generally set at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, and for most categories payments cannot run longer than 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability is paid for injuries that leave lasting impairment, and the extent of that loss often becomes the central dispute in a serious equipment case. A forklift injury that ends a heavy-labor career can be worth far more than the first impairment rating an insurer-selected doctor assigns.
Comp is a no-fault system, which means you generally cannot sue your employer for negligence, but it also means fault does not reduce your benefits. A third-party claim works differently. If a negligent equipment manufacturer, a lessor that failed to maintain a lift, a rigging contractor, or a subcontractor on a shared site contributed to the accident, you may bring a separate injury claim against them. In Mississippi, those claims fall under pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than eliminated. The general limitation period for negligence claims is three years, although that is a different clock from the comp deadlines and should never be relied on to delay your comp filing.
The firm handles personal injury claims in addition to workers’ compensation, so the comp claim and the third-party claim can be coordinated rather than pulled in opposite directions. That coordination matters because a settlement in one can affect the other, and the comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery. Getting the sequence and the documents right protects the total amount you keep.
Questions About Forklift and Crane Accident Claims
Can I get workers’ compensation if the forklift accident was partly my fault?
Yes. Workers’ compensation does not turn on fault. If the injury arose out of and in the course of your job, benefits are owed even if you made a mistake. Safety-rule violations occasionally become an insurer talking point, but they do not erase a legitimate claim.
How long do I have to report a forklift or crane injury in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, and put it in writing if possible, so there is no later dispute about whether the employer knew.
How long do I have to file the claim itself?
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 and no claim has been filed, the right to benefits can be lost.
Does workers’ comp cover surgery and long-term care after a crushing injury?
Yes. Medical benefits cover reasonable and necessary treatment, including surgery, hospital care, therapy, and prescriptions, as long as the care is related to the work injury. Disputes usually arise over which doctor you see and whether a recommended procedure is approved.
Can I sue my employer for a forklift accident?
Generally no, because workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer for most work injuries. You may, however, have a claim against a different party whose negligence or defective equipment contributed to the accident.
Who else could be responsible besides my employer?
Possible parties include the equipment manufacturer, a company that leased or maintained the lift or crane, a rigging or crane contractor, a general contractor, or another subcontractor working on the same site. Identifying them early helps preserve the equipment and maintenance records.
The insurance company says my back injury was pre-existing. Is my claim over?
No. A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence comparing your function before and after the accident is the usual answer.
What if my employer fired me after I reported the injury?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting a forklift or crane injury, tell your attorney right away so the circumstances can be reviewed.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the insurer is paying my medical bills right now?
Often, yes. Early payment does not guarantee the insurer will cover a needed surgery, honor your restrictions, or fairly value permanent impairment later. Talking to an attorney costs nothing, and many problems are easier to prevent than to repair after benefits are cut.
Will my third-party injury recovery reduce my comp benefits?
It can affect them. The workers’ compensation carrier may have a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, which is why the two claims should be handled together instead of separately.
What happens if the insurer wants me back at work before my doctor clears me?
Do not return based on pressure from an adjuster. Follow your treating physician’s restrictions and document everything. If benefits are stopped because you did not go back to work you cannot safely do, an attorney can challenge that.
Serving Forklift and Crane Accident Clients Across Starkville and Oktibbeha County
Our work starts with Starkville and the rest of Oktibbeha County, including the communities around Mississippi State University, the industrial and warehouse corridors on the edges of town, and the surrounding rural areas where plants and construction projects draw workers. Many injured workers also commute in from neighboring counties, so we regularly serve clients who live in nearby places such as West Point and Columbus in Clay and Lowndes counties, and from across the northeast Mississippi region.
Beyond that, we represent injured workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi. We also serve Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across south and north Louisiana. Forklift and crane accidents happen wherever goods are moved and structures are built, and the same approach applies in every one of those places.
Talk With a Starkville Forklift and Crane Accident Attorney
If a lift or crane hurt you at work, you need someone handling the insurance company so you can focus on treatment and recovery. A Starkville forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain your benefits, look at whether a third party shares responsibility, and deal with your employer and its insurer on your behalf. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Call today to talk through your case.
