Peco Foods Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A job at a poultry processing plant puts a worker’s body through the same motions thousands of times a shift, and the injuries that follow often build up slowly instead of happening in one dramatic moment. That is why a Peco Foods Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyer needs to understand repetitive trauma and cumulative injury claims as well as sudden accidents. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and we handle claims for people hurt in processing plants, on production lines, and in the maintenance and trucking operations that keep those plants running.
Peco Foods operates poultry processing and related facilities in Mississippi, and the work in those environments is physical, fast, and cold, wet, or both. Knife work, lifting, line speed, forklift traffic, wet floors, and heavy machinery all create injury risk. When a worker reports a hurt shoulder, a numb hand, or a back that gave out, the employer’s insurance carrier will often look for a reason to question the claim instead of simply paying it.
Mississippi workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, so you do not have to prove your employer did something wrong. You have to show the injury arose out of and in the course of your employment. How you document that, and how quickly you act, shapes everything that follows.
The Injuries That Plant Work Produces
Poultry and food processing leaves a recognizable medical pattern. Workers who stand at a line making the same cut, pull, or grip all day develop conditions that are every bit as real as a fall from a ladder, but harder to pin to a single date. Carriers know this and tend to argue that such conditions come from age, hobbies, or life outside work. Our attorneys build these claims with medical opinions tying the condition to the physical demands of the job, which is the evidence that answers that argument.
Acute accidents happen too. Wet floors, moving equipment, conveyor systems, and heavy product handling cause falls, crush injuries, fractures, and lacerations. The firm has handled burns and catastrophic injuries from industrial settings, and we know the difference between a claim that can be resolved quickly and one that will require a long fight over medical care.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Plant Injury Claim
Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off before they should have been, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one comes through the door. We built the firm the other way around.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford 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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and attorneys Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team.
The results matter for a worker in physical industries. The firm secured $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 injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for an oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stays with them through the insurance company’s pushback. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Hablamos español.
Common Peco Foods Injury Claims We Handle
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting product, bending at the line, and slipping on wet floors can cause or aggravate lumbar and cervical disc herniations. When the carrier points to degenerative disc disease, we show how years of physical work or one incident caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder Injuries: Repetitive overhead and reaching motions can lead to torn rotator cuffs and SLAP tears. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and the medical record is how that argument gets answered.
- Knee Injuries: Standing on concrete, twisting, and awkward lifting can produce meniscus and ACL tears, which often require surgery and a long recovery before any return to work.
- Fractures: Falls, forklift incidents, and equipment strikes break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, and complex fractures can require specialist care and repeat surgery.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Hot water, steam, chemicals, and machinery in industrial settings cause severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for long-term medical and wage benefits.
- Disputed or Denied Claims: Carriers argue the accident did not happen at work, blame a pre-existing condition, push a worker back before the doctor clears them, or stop paying without warning.
- Third-Party Injuries: When a negligent driver, an outside contractor, or a defective equipment maker contributed to the injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp benefits.
What to Do After a Plant Injury in Mississippi
Report the injury to your employer right away, and in no event later than 30 days after the accident. Do it in writing if you can, and keep a copy. Supervisors sometimes wave off a small complaint or tell a worker to wait and see, and a worker who waits loses the cleanest proof that the employer knew. For gradual injuries, report as soon as a doctor connects the condition to your work.
Get medical care and be specific with the provider about how and where you were hurt. What you say at the first appointment becomes the foundation of your medical record. If you are sent to a company-selected doctor, tell that doctor everything, including prior problems with the same body part, because hiding them hands the insurer an argument later. Keep records of every visit, restriction, and prescription.
Do not sign anything or give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you understand what it means. Adjusters are paid to limit what the carrier owes. Write down witnesses, who was working near you, what equipment or floor conditions were involved, and the date and time.
Mississippi covers workers from the first day on the job, with no waiting period. Your claim is heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a regular court. Generally you have two years from the date of injury or from the last compensation payment to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. That clock matters most when benefits were never paid, because in that situation failing to file within two years can bar the claim altogether.
Hearings are held before an Administrative Judge. An appeal goes to the Full Commission, which reviews the record made before the judge instead of holding a new trial, so the evidence you build at the first hearing is the evidence you live with. From there, a party may appeal a final award within 30 days of its filing, and the Mississippi Supreme Court may decide the case or assign it to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because the appeal rests on the existing record, the strength of the first hearing often decides the case.
How Benefits Work and Where Carriers Push Back
Mississippi comp pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of lost wages. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are paid at two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally cannot run longer than 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits are likewise capped at 450 weeks. Because the maximum is adjusted periodically, the number that applies to you depends on your date of injury and wages.
The most contested point in plant cases is often medical care: which doctor, which treatment, whether surgery is approved, and when you are released to work. A worker pushed back onto the line before healing risks re-injury and a weaker claim. Settlement is a major decision too. A settlement can close out your right to future medical care in a way that cannot be undone, so the value of that care, especially after a spine or shoulder surgery, has to be weighed carefully before you agree to anything.
Questions Workers Ask About Peco Foods Injury Claims
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
You must report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Reporting immediately is far better, since delay gives the carrier an opening to question whether the injury happened at work.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the date of the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert. If no disability benefits were paid in those two years and no claim was filed, the right to benefits is generally lost.
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a workers’ compensation attorney can make a major difference. The carrier has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury is just wear and tear from age?
A pre-existing or degenerative condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and strong medical evidence is how that is proven.
Can a repetitive motion injury qualify even without a single accident?
Yes. Cumulative injuries from repeated work tasks can be compensable. The key is medical testimony linking the condition to your job duties, along with prompt reporting once you learn the cause.
Who picks my doctor?
Treatment choices are one of the most disputed parts of any claim. Do not assume the first doctor you are sent to is the only option; talk with an attorney before treatment decisions lock you in.
What if the carrier wants me back on the line before my doctor releases me?
Do not return to duties beyond your restrictions. Going back too early can worsen the injury and be used against you later. Follow your doctor’s written restrictions and tell us about any pressure to work outside them.
Can I also sue someone other than my employer?
Possibly. Mississippi comp generally protects the employer from a lawsuit, but a negligent outside driver, contractor, or equipment manufacturer can be a separate target. We coordinate both claims so they do not undercut each other. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery instead of barring it.
Will my claim be affected if I do not speak English?
No. 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 Plant and Industrial Workers Across Mississippi
Poultry and food processing work spreads across the state, and so does our representation. We serve injured workers in the Jackson metro area, including Madison, and from the Gulf Coast to Hattiesburg, Southaven, north Mississippi, and the Delta. If you were hurt at a plant, a distribution center, or on the road for work, we represent workers in every corner of Mississippi, along with South Louisiana and communities including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. A claim before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission looks the same whether you live near a plant in the Delta or in the Jackson area, and our attorneys take Mississippi claims through every stage, including appeal.
Talk to a Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt working for Peco Foods, you do not have to handle the insurance carrier on your own. A Peco Foods workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain your deadlines, and take over the dealings with your employer and its insurer. Call us any time, day or night. Consultations are free and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
