Jackson Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
The goal after a motorcycle wreck is to get your medical bills covered, your lost income replaced, and an insurance company that stops treating a rider as the problem. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana injury and workers’ compensation firm that helps injured riders in Jackson, Hinds County, and the surrounding communities pursue that outcome. A Jackson motorcycle accident lawyer at our firm handles the insurance carriers, the liability fight, and the paperwork so you can concentrate on recovery.
Motorcycle cases are rarely simple. A rider on I-55, I-20, or Lakeland Drive has almost no protection, so injuries tend to be fractures, spinal damage, road burns, and traumatic injuries that mean surgery and long rehabilitation. Insurers know this, and they know juries sometimes carry a bias against riders, so adjusters often open by suggesting the rider was speeding, lane-splitting, or simply taking a risk. Answering that narrative with evidence is the real work of these cases.
There is one more wrinkle that many riders do not see coming. If you were on the job when the crash happened, say a courier, a delivery rider, or someone traveling between work sites, your wreck can involve both a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against the driver who hit you. Our firm has focused on injured workers for years, and we make sure those two tracks support each other instead of colliding.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Motorcycle Crash Case
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and we handle car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases alongside our comp work. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos espanol).
The people doing the work matter. 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 has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results tell you how a firm handles serious injuries. We secured $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 who suffered back injuries when he was struck in his work vehicle. That last result is close to home for riders: it involved a collision with a vehicle on the job and the medical proof needed to connect the crash to the injury. Clients consistently describe our team as easy to work with, attentive, and willing to fight the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Crash Types We See in Motorcycle Cases
- Left-Turn and Right-of-Way Collisions: A driver turns across a rider’s path at an intersection or pulls out of a parking lot and says they never saw the motorcycle. These are common on busy Jackson corridors like State Street, Northside Drive, and County Line Road, and liability usually turns on witness accounts, traffic camera footage, and the vehicle’s point of impact.
- Back, Neck, and Spinal Injuries: Herniated discs, vertebral fractures, and spinal cord damage are among the most expensive injuries to treat. Insurers often blame degenerative changes, so medical records from before and after the wreck carry great weight.
- Fractures and Orthopedic Trauma: Legs, ankles, wrists, collarbones, and hips take the impact when a rider goes down. These injuries can require specialists, hardware, and months of therapy, and they drive both medical expenses and lost earnings.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, labral tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common when a rider lands hard or a leg is pinned beneath the bike, and the insurer may claim they predated the crash.
- Road Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Sliding across pavement causes deep abrasions that scar and infect, and the worst wrecks cause brain injury or permanent disability. These cases call for life-care planning, not a quick settlement.
- Road Defects and Hazards: Potholes, loose gravel, uneven pavement, and construction zones are far more dangerous on two wheels. If a government entity is responsible for the roadway, special notice rules and a short deadline apply under Mississippi’s Tort Claims Act.
- Work-Related Motorcycle Crashes: Riders who are on the clock, running errands for an employer, or traveling between job sites may have a workers’ compensation claim plus a third-party claim against the at-fault driver.
- Wrongful Death: When a rider does not survive, the family may bring a wrongful death claim for funeral costs, lost income, and the loss of the person’s companionship.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Wreck in Jackson
Start with your health. Get seen by a doctor even if you feel okay, because adrenaline masks injuries and the first gap in your medical records is exactly where an adjuster will dig. If you can, call the police so a report is made, and ask for the officer’s name and report number. Jackson police and Hinds County deputies cover most local crashes, and the Mississippi Highway Patrol handles many on interstates and state routes. If you were hurt outside the city, the responding agency may differ, but the point is the same: get a report on file.
Gather what you can at the scene. Photograph the vehicles, skid marks, your helmet and gear, the road surface, and any traffic signals or signs. Get names and phone numbers from witnesses before they drift away. Keep your damaged helmet, jacket, and boots, because that gear is evidence of the force involved. Do not repair or sell the bike until it has been documented and inspected.
Be careful with insurance companies. The at-fault driver’s carrier will call quickly and sound friendly, and may ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and what you say can be used to argue you were partly to blame. Do not guess about speed, do not say you are fine, and do not sign a medical release that reaches back years. Refer them to your attorney instead.
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, meaning that if a jury finds you partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share rather than wiped out. That makes the fight over fault central to your case. Most injury claims that do not have a shorter special rule must be filed within three years of the accident, but a claim against a county or other government body carries a one-year limit and a notice requirement, so those cases cannot wait. If the crash happened in Louisiana, different deadlines and fault rules apply, and for crashes arising in 2026 and later, a rider found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing.
If your crash was work-related, a separate clock starts. In Mississippi you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and you generally have two years to file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Missing the report deadline can put the whole comp claim at risk, so tell your employer in writing right away.
How Our Attorneys Build a Motorcycle Case
The first job is to establish what actually happened before anyone rewrites it. We send preservation letters so businesses keep surveillance video, request traffic camera footage, pull the crash report, interview witnesses, and in serious cases bring in an accident reconstructionist to show speed, sight lines, and point of impact. When the other driver claims they never saw you, the physical evidence usually tells a different story.
The second job is proving the injury and its cost. We gather your medical records, talk with your treating doctors, and document how the injury affects your ability to work and live. If an insurer blames an old condition, we get the medical opinion needed to show the crash caused or worsened it. Lost wages, future surgery, rehabilitation, and permanent limitations all go into the value of the claim.
The third job is pressing the claim. Many cases settle, but only when the insurer believes you are ready to try the case. We negotiate from that position, and when an offer does not reflect the injury, we are prepared to file suit in the appropriate court, which for a Jackson crash is typically Hinds County Circuit Court in Jackson. We do not take a settlement just to close a file.
Common Questions About Jackson Motorcycle Accident Claims
How much does it cost to hire a motorcycle accident lawyer?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our fee is paid only if we recover money for you.
How long do I have to file a motorcycle accident lawsuit in Mississippi?
When no shorter rule applies, you generally have three years from the date of the accident. Claims against a county or other governmental body have a one-year limit and require formal notice first, so do not wait to find out which rule fits your case.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault instead of being barred. Insurers often try to inflate that percentage against riders, which is why evidence about speed, lane position, and visibility matters so much.
Does not wearing a helmet ruin my claim?
Not automatically. Fault for the crash and the extent of injuries are separate questions, and an insurer may argue a missing helmet made a head injury worse. How that argument plays out depends on the injuries and the medical evidence, so tell your attorney the full story at the start.
The other driver says they did not see me. Does that help or hurt?
It usually helps. Failing to see a motorcycle that was visible is often a failure to keep a proper lookout, which is a classic basis for negligence. We back that up with scene evidence and witness testimony.
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance or too little?
You may be able to turn to your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage if you carry it. We review your policy, the other driver’s coverage, and any other responsible parties, such as an employer or a vehicle owner.
Can I still recover if a pothole or road defect caused my crash?
Possibly, but claims against a government entity are subject to the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, with a one-year limit and notice requirements. These claims are harder to win and must move quickly.
My health insurance is paying for treatment. Does that affect my claim?
You can use health insurance to keep treating while the claim is pending, and you should not skip care to protect your case. Your insurer may have a right to be repaid from a settlement, which we address and negotiate as part of resolving the claim.
I was riding for work when I was hit. Can I get both comp and an injury claim?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation covers medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, and a separate claim against the at-fault driver can cover damages comp does not. Our attorneys coordinate the two so one does not undercut the other.
How long does a motorcycle accident case take?
It depends on the injury. A case cannot be fairly valued until you reach maximum medical improvement or your doctors can describe your long-term outlook, so serious injuries take longer. Cases that need to be filed in court take longer still, and we will give you a realistic sense of timing once we see your medical picture.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a minor motorcycle crash?
If you were hurt, missed work, or the insurer is already pushing blame onto you, a free consultation costs nothing and tells you where you stand. Injuries that seem minor at first sometimes turn out to need surgery, and early settlements close the door on later costs.
What if the crash was fatal?
Mississippi allows a wrongful death claim by eligible family members. Negligence-based claims generally carry a three-year limit, and noneconomic damages are capped at one million dollars in most wrongful death cases, though the cap does not limit economic losses.
Serving Motorcycle Accident Clients Across Jackson and Hinds County
We represent injured riders throughout Jackson and Hinds County, from downtown, Belhaven, Fondren, and the Eastover and Northeast Jackson areas through South Jackson, West Jackson, and the neighborhoods along Highway 80 and Terry Road. Our reach extends to nearby Hinds County communities including Byram, Clinton, Terry, Raymond, Utica, Bolton, and Edwards, and to neighboring areas such as Pearl, Flowood, Brandon, Ridgeland, and Madison across the county lines in Rankin and Madison counties.
Beyond the metro, we help riders and families across the state, including Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi. We also represent injured people in Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and across south and north Louisiana. Wherever your crash happened, we can review it and tell you how the law applies.
Talk With a Jackson Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a motorcycle, a conversation with a Jackson motorcycle accident attorney costs you nothing and can clear up where you stand before the insurance company shapes the story. 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 your consultation and let us start building your case.
