Jackson Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Getting answers about what went wrong in a hospital or clinic, and being paid for the harm it caused, usually depends on decisions made in the first weeks after the injury. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana injury firm that handles workers’ compensation and personal injury claims for people across the Jackson area, Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties, and communities throughout both states. If you are searching for a Jackson medical malpractice lawyer, the first thing worth knowing is that this is not an ordinary injury claim, and the timeline and caps on damages are not the ones you may have read about for a car wreck.
Mississippi gives a patient two years to bring a medical negligence suit. Noneconomic damages in these cases are capped at a set amount, though the cap does not apply to economic losses like medical bills and lost income. Those two rules shape how a case is built, how it is valued, and how quickly it has to move.
One point that surprises many people: if you were hurt at work and the harm came from the medical care you received for that injury, you may be dealing with a comp claim and a separate negligence question at the same time. Sorting out how those claims fit together is a large part of what a firm with our background does.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice, and What Does Not
A bad outcome is not the same as malpractice. Surgery can fail, a drug can cause a reaction, and a cancer can progress despite good care. A malpractice claim exists when a provider fell below the standard of care that a reasonably careful provider in the same field would have met, and that failure caused you harm you would not otherwise have suffered. Both pieces matter. Proving a mistake without proving it changed your outcome will not carry a case.
That is why these cases are built on medical records and qualified expert review rather than on how angry anyone feels about a result. A Jackson medical malpractice attorney has to separate the complications that come with a procedure from the errors that should never have happened, and has to be honest with you about which side of the line your situation falls on.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Injury Claims Involving Medical Care
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in Mississippi and Louisiana, serving Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and communities across both states. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. 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 Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language.
The people behind that work matter. 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 has argued insurance and injury cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Our results reflect serious injuries and hard-fought claims, including $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 struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for an oil rig worker with severe burns. Those are workers’ compensation and injury outcomes, and they show the kind of medical-evidence work we do every day: reading records, working with treating physicians, and answering an insurer’s claim that an injury was something else. That same discipline is what a malpractice question demands.
Situations Where Medical Care Goes Wrong
- Surgical Errors: Wrong-site procedures, damage to nerves or organs, retained instruments, and operations that should not have been performed. Hospitals in the Jackson area draw patients from across central Mississippi, so these cases often involve large facilities and multiple providers.
- Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis: A missed cancer, stroke, infection, or heart condition that gets worse while treatment is postponed. The harm in these cases is usually the progression that earlier action would have prevented.
- Medication Errors: Wrong drug, wrong dose, or ignored interactions and allergies, whether in a hospital, clinic, or pharmacy.
- Birth Injuries: Harm to a mother or child during labor and delivery, including oxygen deprivation and delayed response to fetal distress. Claims involving a child raise their own timing questions that should be reviewed promptly.
- Emergency Room Failures: Patients sent home with a condition that needed admission, or who waited too long for a test or specialist.
- Anesthesia Mistakes: Errors in dosing, monitoring, or airway management during a procedure.
- Treatment of a Work Injury Gone Wrong: A botched surgery or poor care following a job injury can leave you worse off than the original accident, and it can complicate your workers’ compensation benefits at the same time.
- Wrongful Death from Medical Negligence: A death caused by a provider’s failure to meet the standard of care, where the family has its own time limits to meet.
What to Do After Suspected Medical Negligence in Jackson
Start by getting the care you need, even if that means seeing a different provider. A second opinion from someone outside the facility that treated you protects your health and often clarifies what happened. Then ask for your records. You are entitled to request your complete chart, including imaging, lab results, operative notes, and discharge paperwork. Write down what you remember while it is fresh: who said what, when symptoms started, what you were told, and what you were not told. Keep a running file of bills, pay stubs, and any days you missed from work.
Watch the calendar. Mississippi allows two years for a medical negligence claim, and the clock matters even when you are still unsure whether a mistake occurred. Claims against a county hospital or other governmental entity carry a one-year limit and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, which makes early review especially important if your care came from a public facility. If the same care involved a workers’ compensation injury, separate deadlines apply there too: report the injury to your employer within 30 days and file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years.
Cases filed in Jackson typically land in the Hinds County Circuit Court, which sits as the Seventh Circuit Court District, or in the Southern District of Mississippi’s Northern Division at the federal courthouse in Jackson when the claims or parties call for it. Where the case belongs depends on who is being sued and what is alleged, which is one reason to have a lawyer look at it before anything is filed.
A few mistakes cost people the most. Do not sign a release or accept a quick payment from a hospital or its insurer before you understand the full extent of your injury. Do not give a recorded statement to a provider’s insurance company without advice. Do not post about the care you received on social media. And do not wait to see whether you feel better; a delay can both worsen your health and weaken your case.
How Damages Work in Mississippi Malpractice Cases
Economic damages cover the measurable losses: past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced earning ability. These are not limited by the statutory cap. Noneconomic damages, which compensate for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, are capped at a fixed amount in medical malpractice cases, so the strength of the economic proof often determines how much a case is truly worth.
Mississippi also uses pure comparative negligence, which means a patient’s own share of fault reduces the recovery rather than eliminating it. That matters in cases where a provider will argue you ignored instructions or delayed seeking care. A claim does not disappear because a defendant points a finger at you; the question becomes how much fault, if any, a jury would assign.
Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice in Jackson
How long do I have to file a medical malpractice claim in Mississippi?
Two years. That deadline is shorter than the three-year period that applies to many other negligence claims, so do not assume the longer number applies to care you received from a doctor or hospital. Claims against governmental entities have an even shorter one-year limit and require formal notice.
What do I need to prove to win a malpractice case?
That the provider owed you a duty of care, that they breached the accepted standard, and that the breach caused your injury. Expert medical testimony is typically required to establish the standard and the breach, which is why the early work in these cases is so heavily medical.
Is there a cap on what I can recover?
Yes, for noneconomic damages. Mississippi limits pain-and-suffering style damages in medical malpractice cases to a fixed amount. The cap does not apply to economic damages such as medical bills and lost income, which can be recovered in full when proven.
What if I was partly at fault?
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but not barred. Providers sometimes argue a patient did not follow instructions or reported symptoms late, so your own records and timeline matter.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you pay a fee only if we recover for you.
Can I bring a claim if the mistake happened while treating a work injury?
Possibly. If a provider’s negligence made a job injury worse, you may have workers’ compensation benefits and a separate negligence question. The two interact, and handling them together protects both. Our firm’s day-to-day work is in workers’ compensation, so we know how comp carriers respond to these situations.
What if the patient died?
Wrongful death claims arising from medical negligence have their own timing rules, and in Mississippi the malpractice limit still applies. Families should have the death reviewed as early as possible rather than waiting for the grief to settle.
Do I have a case if the surgery simply did not work?
Not automatically. A bad result is not proof of negligence. A claim requires showing that the provider fell below the standard of care and that the failure caused harm. A records review is how that question gets answered honestly.
Will my health insurance cover corrective treatment while a claim is pending?
Often yes, and you should not postpone needed treatment while a claim is under review. Your insurer may seek reimbursement from a later recovery, so keep every bill and every explanation of benefits.
How long does a malpractice case take?
Longer than most injury cases. Records have to be gathered, experts retained, and the providers’ insurers are rarely quick to pay. A case that is tried takes longer still. A firm that is candid about this at the start is more useful than one that promises speed.
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 Medical Negligence Clients in Jackson and Across Mississippi
We represent clients in Jackson and throughout Hinds County, including the communities around the capital, from Byram and Clinton to Raymond, Terry, Bolton, Edwards, and Utica. Just across the county line, we also serve people in Madison, Ridgeland, and Flowood, as well as Brandon and Pearl in neighboring Rankin County. Our reach extends from the Gulf Coast to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, and into Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and the rest of South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Wherever the care happened, the medical records and the calendar are the first things we look at.
Talk With a Jackson Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If you believe a doctor, hospital, or other provider caused you harm, a conversation with a Jackson medical malpractice attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Call us any hour of the day, tell us what happened, and we will tell you plainly whether we can help and what deadlines apply. If we take your case, there is no fee unless we recover for you.
