Biloxi Back & Spine Injury Lawyer
A back injury claim from a Biloxi worker rarely turns on whether the pain is real. It turns on whether the insurance carrier will accept that the job caused it, and Harrison County workers who lift, climb, and haul for a living hear “degenerative disc disease” more often than almost any other denial reason. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and injury claims for people hurt on the job across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Biloxi, Gulfport, D’Iberville, Ocean Springs, and the rest of the Gulf Coast. When you need a Biloxi back & spine injury lawyer, that focus matters, because spine cases are won or lost on medical evidence and on how well the work history is told.
Biloxi’s economy puts a lot of bodies at risk. Casino resort staff push heavy carts and lift luggage and kitchen stock, shipyard and marine workers wrestle steel and rigging, construction crews work through hurricane rebuilding, and truck drivers and delivery workers spend their days on I-10 and US-90. A herniated lumbar disc, a cervical injury that sends numbness down an arm, or a fractured vertebra can end a physical career, and the claim that follows is often the only income a family has while the worker recovers.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Spine Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm, not a general practice that takes comp cases when they happen to arrive. The firm represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, from Harrison County and the Gulf Coast to the Delta and north Mississippi, and has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered, phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
Back and spine cases are a large part of that track record. The firm obtained $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. It also recovered $385,000 for a project manager who suffered back injuries when his work vehicle was struck, and $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck on the job. Smaller results matter too: $175,000 for a delivery driver with a lumbar injury, $145,000 for a retail supervisor with a back injury, and six-figure recoveries for neck injuries.
Rob Lunsford, 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 regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. Clients describe the same things in their reviews: lawyers who listened, who answered questions, and who fought the insurance company at every step.
Back and Spine Injuries We See in Gulf Coast Workers’ Comp Claims
- Lumbar disc herniations: Lifting, twisting, or a sudden fall can rupture a disc in the lower back, causing sciatica, leg weakness, and the need for injections or fusion surgery. Casino housekeeping and kitchen staff, warehouse workers, and construction laborers are common claimants.
- Cervical and neck injuries: Disc injuries in the neck can cause arm pain, numbness, and grip weakness. They often follow vehicle collisions, falls from scaffolding, or repetitive overhead work on marine and industrial sites.
- Aggravation of degenerative disease: Carriers love to call a back injury “age-related wear.” A work incident that made a quiet condition symptomatic, or accelerated it, can still be compensable, and medical opinions tying the change to the job are the heart of these claims.
- Vertebral fractures and traumatic spine injuries: Falls from ladders, roofs, and equipment, and crushing incidents at shipyards and job sites, can fracture vertebrae and require surgical stabilization and long recovery.
- Work vehicle crashes: Delivery drivers, truckers, and employees running errands on I-10 or US-90 may have both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Repetitive strain and cumulative injuries: Years of bending, lifting, and vibration from heavy equipment can wear down the spine gradually, which makes documenting work history essential.
- Post-surgical complications: Failed fusions, hardware problems, and chronic pain after surgery can extend medical needs and affect the disability rating the carrier must pay on.
What to Do After a Spine Injury at Work in Biloxi
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and a late report gives the carrier an easy argument. Name the specific incident, the body parts hurt, and how it happened. Then get medical care and tell every provider that the injury happened at work, because the first chart note often becomes the carrier’s favorite exhibit. If you describe the pain as “back soreness” and skip the lifting incident, expect that note to be quoted back to you.
Keep a record: the date and time, who saw it, who you told, the names of coworkers, and copies of every work restriction and prescription. Do not give a recorded statement to the adjuster before talking with a lawyer, and do not assume that because the employer filed paperwork, a claim is on file with the state. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid and no claim is filed within two years of the injury, the right to benefits can be lost entirely.
Workers’ compensation claims in Mississippi are not heard in a county courthouse. They are decided by the Commission, first at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, and then, if either side appeals, on review by the Full Commission, which examines the record already made rather than holding a new trial. A final award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may send the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals rest on the existing record, the evidence you build early, especially your medical testimony, decides how far a case can go.
Avoid the mistakes that sink spine claims: returning to full duty before your doctor clears you, skipping physical therapy or injections the carrier is questioning, posting activity on social media that looks inconsistent with your restrictions, and signing a settlement before you know whether surgery is coming. A lump-sum settlement generally ends your right to future medical care on that injury, so it should only be signed once the long-term picture is clear.
How Insurers Fight Back and Neck Claims
The pre-existing condition argument is the carrier’s main defense in spine cases. An MRI showing disc bulges in a 45-year-old with a physical job is almost guaranteed to show some degeneration, and the insurer will point to it. The answer is not to deny the history but to explain it: a worker with a degenerative spine who was working without restrictions before the incident, and who cannot work after it, has a strong story that the job changed things. Treating physicians, and sometimes surgeons, can address causation, and the earlier that opinion is in the file, the harder it is to dislodge.
Carriers also order independent medical examinations from doctors who regularly work for insurers, then use those opinions to cut off treatment or push a return to work. They may deny surgery recommendations, argue that the accident did not happen as described, or cut off wage benefits when a light-duty release arrives. Each of these has a counter, but it needs medical records, witness statements, and work history lined up before the hearing.
Wage benefits in Mississippi are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and temporary and permanent total disability benefits are capped at 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability payments are also limited to 450 weeks in most cases. Coverage begins the first day of employment, with no waiting period, so a new hire hurt in week one is covered.
Common Questions About Biloxi Back and Spine Injury Claims
How long do I have to report a back injury at work in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Do it immediately and in writing when possible. Delay does not always end a claim, but it hands the carrier a defense you do not need to give them.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or from the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years and no claim has been filed, the right to benefits can be barred.
Does workers’ comp cover back surgery?
It covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the work injury, which includes surgery, injections, physical therapy, medications, and diagnostic testing. Carriers often contest surgery recommendations, so a treating surgeon’s opinion on causation and necessity is critical.
What if the insurance company says my back problem is degenerative?
That does not automatically defeat your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. Medical evidence comparing your condition and function before and after the incident is the usual way to answer that argument.
How much will I receive in wage benefits?
Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Partial disability benefits are calculated differently. Your actual rate depends on your earnings in the period before the injury.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Mississippi workers generally have some say in who treats them, but the rules about changing physicians and referrals can be technical. Talk to a lawyer before switching providers or accepting a referral from the insurer, since those choices shape the medical record.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were terminated, disciplined, or pushed out after reporting a back injury, tell your attorney so the timing and circumstances can be reviewed.
What if I was hurt in a work vehicle crash on I-10 or US-90 and the other driver was at fault?
You may have two claims: workers’ compensation against your employer’s carrier, and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver. The two have to be coordinated, because the comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery.
How long does a contested spine claim usually take?
It varies with how quickly you reach maximum medical improvement and how hard the carrier fights. A case that needs surgery and a hearing before an Administrative Judge takes longer than one that settles after treatment ends. Rushing to settle before your condition stabilizes is one of the costliest mistakes injured workers make.
Should I settle before I know whether I need surgery?
Generally not. A lump-sum settlement can close out future medical benefits for that injury, so the settlement figure should account for likely future care. A lawyer can help estimate that cost before you sign anything.
I live in Biloxi but was hurt on a job in Louisiana. Which state’s law applies?
It depends on where the job was based, where you were hired, and where the injury occurred. Louisiana generally requires notice within 30 days and a formal claim within one year of the injury, which is shorter than Mississippi’s period, so questions like this should be raised right away.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my back injury is only a few weeks of lost time?
If the claim is being paid without dispute, you may not need one. If benefits are denied, reduced, or cut off, or if your doctor is talking about surgery or permanent restrictions, an attorney is worth consulting early. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless you recover.
Serving Back and Spine Injury Clients Across Biloxi and the Gulf Coast
For Biloxi clients, our reach starts in Harrison County and extends along the whole coastline. We represent injured workers in Biloxi, Gulfport, D’Iberville, Long Beach, Pass Christian, and Diamondhead, as well as in neighboring Jackson County communities such as Ocean Springs, Pascagoula, Moss Point, and Gautier. Workers in Hancock County, including Bay St. Louis and Waveland, and in Stone, George, and Pearl River counties can reach the same team.
Beyond the coast, the firm serves Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, and takes Louisiana claims in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and across south and north Louisiana. Whether your injury came from a casino floor, a shipyard, a construction site, or a delivery route, the same attention goes into the medical proof.
Talk With a Biloxi Back and Spine Injury Attorney
If a back or neck injury at work has left you in pain, out of work, or facing a denial, a Biloxi back and spine injury attorney from Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation and explain where you stand. Call any time, day or night, and your consultation is free. You pay nothing unless we recover benefits for you, and we advance the costs of your case. Hablamos español.
