Brandon Car Accident Lawyer
A crash in Brandon almost always starts out as a Rankin County matter, and what happens next depends on a few things people rarely think about at the scene: whether you were on the clock, whose vehicle you were driving, and how quickly the other driver’s insurer gets its version of events on record. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in Mississippi and Louisiana, handling workers’ compensation claims alongside car and truck accident cases, and a Brandon car accident lawyer at the firm can look at both sides of a collision at once.
Brandon sits on the east side of the Jackson metro, with Highway 80, Highway 471, Old Highway 49 and the I-20 corridor carrying heavy commuter and commercial traffic every day. Rankin County residents drive into Jackson, Pearl, Flowood and Richland for work, and many drive for a living. When a crash happens in the course of a job, such as a delivery run, a service call or a haul, two separate claims may exist: one for workers’ compensation benefits and one against the at-fault driver. Getting those two tracks to cooperate is a large part of what this practice is about.
When a Brandon Collision Is Also a Work Injury
The workers’ compensation side of a crash is the part most Brandon drivers do not know about. A project manager who is struck while driving a work vehicle, a truck driver hurt in a wreck on the job, a delivery driver with a lumbar injury: each of these is a comp claim first, regardless of who caused the collision. In Mississippi, coverage begins on the first day of employment, with no waiting period, and fault does not decide whether medical care and wage benefits are owed.
The at-fault driver’s insurer is a separate matter. That claim is built on negligence, and it can reach losses comp does not, including pain and suffering. The two claims interact, and the comp carrier may have a reimbursement interest in a third-party recovery. A settlement signed carelessly on one side can damage the other. Our personal injury lawyers in the area coordinate the claims so that one does not undercut the other.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Rankin County Crash Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that also represents injured people in car and truck accidents, premises liability and wrongful death cases. The firm serves Brandon and the rest of Rankin County, along with Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, Southaven, the Delta and communities across Mississippi and South Louisiana. Our attorneys bring more than 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. There is no fee unless we recover for you, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, phones are answered around the clock, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
That track record includes crash-related results. The firm obtained a $385,000 settlement for a project manager who suffered back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck on the job. Larger back injury outcomes include $685,000 for a surgical tech and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Rob Lunsford, the founding partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Clients tend to describe the same things in their reviews: a team that listens, stays professional, and fights the insurance company at every step. That matters in a crash case, where the other side’s adjuster often calls within days and sounds friendly.
Common Brandon Crash Situations We Handle
- Highway 80 and Highway 471 Collisions: Stop-and-go traffic near shopping centers and intersections produces rear-end and turning crashes that frequently cause neck and lower back injuries, including disc herniations.
- I-20 Wrecks Involving Commercial Vehicles: Tractor-trailers and delivery vans share the interstate with commuters, and a crash with a commercial carrier brings the driver’s employer, the carrier’s insurer and often more than one liable party into the case.
- Work Vehicle Crashes: Service technicians, sales reps, project managers and delivery drivers hurt while driving for an employer have a comp claim and may also have a claim against the other driver.
- Truck Driver Injuries on the Job: A driver hurt in a wreck while hauling is entitled to comp benefits and may have a separate negligence claim against a third party who caused the collision.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries From Impact: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears and meniscus tears are common when a body is thrown against a seat belt or dashboard, and insurers like to call them old injuries.
- Fractures Requiring Surgery: Broken ankles, feet, hips and other bones may need specialists and repair surgery, and lost earning time can run long.
- Fatal Crashes: When a family loses someone in a collision, a wrongful death claim may run alongside death benefits if the person was working.
What to Do After a Crash in Brandon
Get medical attention first, even if you feel mostly fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and back, neck and shoulder problems often worsen over the following days. A gap between the crash and your first treatment is something insurers use against you. Report the crash so a police report exists; depending on where it happened, that may be the Brandon Police Department, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office or the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Photograph the vehicles, the road and your injuries, and collect names and contact details for any witnesses.
If you were working when it happened, tell your employer right away. In Mississippi you must give notice of a work injury within 30 days of the accident, and if no benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a petition to controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. The Commission, not a court, hears comp claims. An administrative judge holds the evidentiary hearing, and a party who disagrees can seek review by the Full Commission, which works from the record made below rather than starting over. Final awards can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
For the claim against the other driver, Mississippi generally allows three years to file suit, though claims against a county or government agency carry a one-year limit and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. Civil suits arising in Rankin County are filed in the county’s own courts, and federal cases in Mississippi’s Southern District are heard in Jackson. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so being partly at fault reduces your recovery instead of ending it.
The mistakes we see most are giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before talking to a lawyer, accepting a quick offer before the full extent of the injury is known, skipping follow-up treatment, and posting about the crash on social media. Each of these gives an adjuster something to work with.
How Insurers Fight Crash and Work Injury Claims
Carriers follow a familiar playbook. They argue the injury came from degenerative disc disease or an old sports injury, they question whether the crash really caused your symptoms, they push a return to work before your doctor clears you, or they stop paying without warning. We build each case with medical records, witness accounts and work history aimed at those arguments. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if the crash or the job caused, worsened or sped up the problem.
Wage benefits are another pressure point. Mississippi wage-loss payments generally run at two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by law, and total disability benefits cannot run past 450 weeks. Knowing how those limits work shapes how and when a case should settle.
Questions About Brandon Car Accident Claims
Do I need a lawyer after a car accident in Brandon?
Not every fender bender calls for one. But if you were hurt, if the other driver’s insurer is disputing fault, or if you were working at the time, a lawyer can protect both the injury claim and any comp benefits. The insurers have adjusters and attorneys working for them.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and we are paid only if we recover for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if I was hurt in a wreck while driving for work?
You likely have a workers’ compensation claim for medical care and wage benefits no matter who caused the crash, and possibly a separate claim against the at-fault driver. Coordinating the two matters, because a settlement on one side can affect the other.
How long do I have to report a work-related crash?
In Mississippi, report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Waiting risks the claim, so tell your supervisor immediately and put it in writing if you can.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit against the other driver?
Mississippi’s general deadline for negligence suits is three years. Claims against a county or governmental agency must be brought within one year and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, so a crash involving a government vehicle needs fast attention.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you are not barred from recovering. Fault also does not matter to a workers’ compensation claim.
Can the comp insurer be repaid out of my car accident settlement?
Often it can assert a right to reimbursement from a third-party recovery. That is a main reason to have one team handling both claims, so the settlement terms are negotiated with the reimbursement interest in mind.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Treatment for a work-related crash should be paid by the comp carrier, and a denial does not mean you must go without care. If benefits are denied, tell us promptly so we can challenge the denial and look at ways to keep your treatment going.
What if the insurer says my injury was already there before the crash?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If the crash caused, aggravated or accelerated the condition, benefits and damages may still be available. Medical evidence tying the change to the collision is what answers the argument.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim after a work crash?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review it.
What if the crash happened in Louisiana?
The firm represents clients in both states. Louisiana has its own deadlines: notice to the employer within 30 days, a comp claim generally within one year, and a two-year period for most injury suits from crashes on or after July 1, 2024. Louisiana also bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault in causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
Do you speak Spanish?
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 Brandon and Rankin County Crash Victims
We represent injured people in Brandon and throughout Rankin County, including Pearl, Flowood, Richland, Florence, Pelahatchie and Puckett. Clients also come to us from the neighboring Hinds County communities of Jackson, Clinton, Byram, Terry and Raymond, and from Madison, Ridgeland and Canton in Madison County. Beyond the Jackson metro, the firm serves workers and accident victims in Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, Southaven and north Mississippi, and across the Delta. In Louisiana, our reach runs from New Orleans and Baton Rouge through Lafayette and Lake Charles to Shreveport and north Louisiana. Whether the crash happened on a Brandon side street or a long haul across state lines, the same team can handle the comp claim and the injury claim together.
Talk to a Brandon Car Accident Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a collision in Brandon, especially one that happened while you were working, speak with a Brandon car accident attorney before you talk to an insurance adjuster. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC to schedule a consultation and learn where your claim stands.
