Jackson Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
A spinal cord injury suffered at work, on a job site, or in a crash on Interstate 55 or Lakeland Drive changes the next several decades of your life, and the first weeks are when the insurance company starts building its position. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Jackson spinal cord injury lawyer from our team handles the workers’ compensation and injury claims that follow paralysis, partial paralysis, and serious spinal trauma.
Spinal cord cases are not like ordinary back claims. Lifetime medical care, home and vehicle modifications, attendant care, and permanent loss of earning capacity all have to be accounted for, and the way a claim is built in the first months often decides whether those needs are ever paid for.
Many of these injuries arise from falls, struck-by accidents, and vehicle wrecks, which means more than one claim may exist. A worker hurt on the job may have workers’ compensation benefits against the employer and a separate injury claim against a negligent third party. Getting both right, and making sure they do not undercut each other, is where most of the work lies.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Spinal Cord Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and New Orleans. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits for you. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish.
Rob Lunsford, our founding partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, 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 also 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 work we do: $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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients regularly describe a team that listens, stays responsive, and stands up to the insurance company at every step. For a spinal cord injury, that kind of focus on serious injury claims is what the case demands.
How Spinal Cord Injuries Happen on the Job and on the Road
- Falls from height: Ladders, scaffolding, roofs, and elevated platforms on construction sites around Jackson and Madison are a leading source of vertebral fractures and cord damage. Ironworkers and roofers face this exposure daily.
- Struck-by and crush accidents: Falling materials, shifting loads, and equipment rollovers at plants, warehouses, and industrial yards can fracture the spine or compress the cord. Forklift and crane incidents belong here.
- Commercial vehicle wrecks: Truck drivers, delivery drivers, and workers driving for their employers are exposed on I-20, I-55, and U.S. 49. A driver hurt in a work wreck may have both a comp claim and a claim against the at-fault driver.
- Oil field and heavy industrial work: Rig accidents, pipe-handling injuries, and explosions can combine burns with spinal trauma. These are catastrophic injury cases that involve long hospital stays and ongoing specialist care.
- Cervical and lumbar disc injuries with cord involvement: Herniated discs that compress the spinal cord can cause weakness, numbness, and loss of function. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and the answer is medical evidence showing the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Healthcare and caregiving injuries: Nurses and aides injured lifting or repositioning patients can suffer serious spinal damage that ends a career.
- Premises and third-party hazards: A fall on an unsafe site controlled by a contractor or property owner can support a separate injury claim beyond workers’ compensation.
What to Do After a Spinal Cord Injury in the Jackson Area
Medical care comes first, and everything else follows from it. Ask the treating team to document how the injury happened in your own words, because early records carry weight when an adjuster later claims the accident did not occur at work. Tell every provider it was a work injury so billing is routed correctly from the start.
Report the injury to your employer right away. Mississippi and Louisiana both require notice within 30 days of the accident, and a missed notice window can jeopardize an otherwise valid claim. Put the report in writing if you can, and keep a copy. If you cannot do it yourself because of your condition, a family member or your attorney can make sure it gets done.
In Mississippi, the claim itself is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission in Jackson, which is an administrative body, not a court. If benefits have not been paid, the general rule is two years from the date of injury to file a petition with the Commission. If your claim is denied, it is heard first by an Administrative Judge, and an unfavorable decision can be reviewed by the Full Commission on the existing record, not in a new trial. A final award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. If a third party caused the injury, a separate lawsuit may be filed in Hinds County Circuit Court or in federal court at the Jackson courthouse of the Southern District of Mississippi. If a county or government agency may be responsible, the limit is only one year and special notice rules apply.
If you were hurt in Louisiana, the timeline is shorter. A formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and the case is heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. A denied medical treatment request must be challenged within 15 calendar days of written notice by filing Form 1009, and a later challenge of the medical director’s decision has its own 45-day clock. These short windows are why early legal help matters.
Avoid a few common mistakes. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer without talking to a lawyer. Do not sign broad medical releases that let the carrier dig through your entire history. Do not accept a quick settlement while your prognosis is still unclear, since spinal injuries often reveal their full effects over months or years. And do not post about your activities online, because adjusters look.
Benefits Available for a Spinal Cord Injury Under Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical treatment, which for a spinal cord injury can include surgery, hospitalization, inpatient rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, medications, medical equipment, and ongoing specialist care. The central fight is often over what counts as necessary: a power wheelchair, home modifications, an attendant, or a particular rehabilitation program may all be disputed.
Wage benefits replace part of your income while you cannot work. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits are two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally cannot exceed 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in other cases is likewise capped at 450 weeks. Coverage begins on your first day of employment with no waiting period.
In Louisiana, workers who return to work at reduced earnings may receive supplemental earnings benefits. These are two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, when you cannot earn at least 90 percent of what you made before. They run until you are released to full duty, you earn your pre-injury wages, or you reach the 520-week maximum, and weeks of temporary total disability count toward that total. Weekly rates are set by the date of the accident and fixed from then on.
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. That is one reason a third-party claim matters when someone other than your employer contributed to the injury. Louisiana’s comparative fault rules and Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule both reduce a recovery by your share of fault, and for Louisiana causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing. Careful investigation of how the accident happened protects against those arguments.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a spinal cord injury claim?
Given the lifetime cost of care involved, it is hard to justify going without one. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working to limit what it pays, and a spinal cord claim involves medical, vocational, and legal questions that are difficult to manage while recovering.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Report the injury to your employer within 30 days in both Mississippi and Louisiana. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file with the Commission if no benefits have been paid. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year, with possible extension to three years from the last payment if benefits were paid. Speak with an attorney quickly to confirm your deadline.
Will workers’ compensation pay for a wheelchair, home modifications, or attendant care?
These can qualify as reasonable and necessary medical care when prescribed or supported by your treating physicians. Insurers frequently push back, so the medical documentation supporting each item matters a great deal.
Can the insurance company say my spinal injury was already there?
They often try. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and strong medical evidence is how that argument is answered.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if a third party, not my employer, caused my injury?
You may have a personal injury claim in addition to workers’ compensation. Examples include a negligent driver who hit your work vehicle or a contractor whose unsafe site caused a fall. These claims are separate and can recover damages comp does not cover.
What happens if my claim is denied in Mississippi?
The case goes to an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge at the Commission. Either side can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record from the hearing rather than holding a new trial, and a final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days.
Is a Louisiana injury claim deadline different from the Mississippi one?
Yes. For Louisiana injuries on or after July 1, 2024, most negligence claims carry a two-year period, while the workers’ compensation claim itself generally must be filed within one year. Wrongful death follows the longer of one year from death or two years from injury. Mississippi negligence claims generally carry a three-year period, shorter against government entities.
Can I settle my case before I know how much recovery I will make?
You can, but it is rarely wise with a spinal cord injury. The full extent of lifetime medical needs and lost earning capacity may not be clear for a long time, and a settlement typically closes the door on later benefits. We review any offer against projected long-term costs first.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking clients?
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 Spinal Cord Injury Clients Across Jackson, Hinds County, and Mississippi
We represent injured workers from Jackson and the surrounding Hinds County communities, including Byram, Clinton, Terry, Raymond, Utica, and Bolton. Our work extends through the Jackson metro to Madison, Ridgeland, Flowood, Pearl, Brandon, and Richland, and across Rankin and Madison counties. Further out, we serve clients in Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, Southaven and north Mississippi, and throughout the Delta.
Our reach continues into Louisiana, where we represent clients hurt in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whatever the location of your injury, we handle spinal cord claims for workers in construction, oil field work, trucking, healthcare, firefighting, and general labor.
Talk to a Jackson Spinal Cord Injury Attorney Today
If you or a family member has suffered a spinal cord injury, a Jackson spinal cord injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which claims are available, and start protecting your deadlines right away. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today to schedule a consultation.
