Biloxi Shipyard Worker Injury Lawyer
A welder pinned by a shifting steel plate, a pipefitter whose lungs have been breathing fumes for twenty years, a painter who fell from staging inside a hull: shipyard injuries rarely look like office-job claims, and insurers do not treat them that way. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Harrison County and the Gulf Coast communities around Biloxi, and a Biloxi shipyard worker injury lawyer from our team can look at your claim before the carrier defines it for you.
The first thing to settle in any shipyard case is which compensation system applies to you. Many workers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are covered by the state workers’ compensation act. Others, depending on where they work and what they do, may fall under a federal program for maritime workers. Getting that wrong can cost you months, so the analysis starts with your job duties, your work location, and who actually employs you, not with the paperwork the employer handed you.
Shipyard work also produces injury patterns that cause disputes: repetitive trauma that builds over years, hearing loss from grinding and riveting, exposure to welding fumes and coatings, and falls from scaffolds or ladders. Each one invites a different denial argument, and each one needs medical proof built a certain way.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Shipyard Injury Claim
Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off early. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in. We built the firm the other way around. We serve Biloxi, the rest of Harrison County, the Gulf Coast, and communities across Mississippi and South Louisiana, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients.
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 tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results matter most for heavy-industry work. We secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, and $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes. Shipyard claims share DNA with those cases: physical labor, heavy loads, burns, and insurers who call the injury age-related. Clients tell us they felt heard and that their attorney fought the carrier at every step. We charge nothing up front, advance the costs of the case, and are paid only if we recover for you. Consultations are free, phones are answered around the clock, and hablamos español.
Shipyard Injuries and Conditions We See on Gulf Coast Claims
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting plate, hauling cable, and working in cramped hull compartments herniate lumbar and cervical discs. Carriers often blame degenerative disc disease, so the medical record has to connect years of physical work or a specific incident to the injury.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Overhead welding, grinding, and crawling through tight spaces lead to rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus damage. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Hot work, flash fires, and exploding equipment cause severe burns. These claims often involve long treatment and permanent disability questions.
- Fractures and crush injuries: Feet, ankles, hips, and hands are caught by moving loads, falling tools, and shifting materials, and may need specialists and complex surgery.
- Falls from staging and ladders: Work at height on hulls, decks, and scaffolds produces serious spinal and head trauma.
- Hearing loss: Years of grinding, chipping, and pneumatic tools can cause occupational hearing loss that develops gradually rather than in a single event.
- Exposure-related illness: Welding fumes, paints, solvents, and dust can cause lung and other conditions that surface long after the exposure.
- Third-party injuries: When a subcontractor, equipment maker, or negligent driver caused your injury, you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits.
What to Do After a Shipyard Injury 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 the same 30-day notice rule applies in Louisiana. Waiting invites the carrier to argue the injury did not happen at work. Name every body part that hurts, even if one injury seems minor, because a missing complaint in the first report becomes the insurer’s exhibit later.
Get medical treatment and tell the provider the injury is work-related. Describe exactly how it happened. Follow restrictions and keep every appointment. Gaps in treatment are another favorite denial argument. Keep your own record too: the date, the location in the yard, the equipment involved, and the names of coworkers who saw it. Photos of the scene and any defective equipment are worth taking if it is safe to do so.
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. Coverage begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period. Do not treat the two years as a comfortable cushion. Evidence fades, witnesses leave the yard, and employers rotate crews.
Be careful with recorded statements. Adjusters are friendly, but their questions are built to find a gap between your account and the paperwork. You can speak with a lawyer first. And do not sign anything from the carrier, including settlement paperwork or medical releases broader than your injury, until someone on your side has read it.
If your claim is denied, it goes before the Commission, which is not a court. An Administrative Judge hears the evidence at a hearing. A party who disagrees can seek review by the Full Commission, which reviews the existing record rather than starting over. After that, a final award can be appealed within 30 days, and appeals are decided only on the record the Commission built. That is why the medical evidence and testimony at the first hearing matter so much.
State Comp, Federal Maritime Coverage, and Why the Distinction Matters
Shipyard workers sit at a crossroads of legal systems. State workers’ compensation covers many Gulf Coast employees, but maritime work can bring federal coverage into play, and some injuries on or near vessels raise additional claims against parties other than your employer. We evaluate which framework fits before filing, because filing in the wrong forum can burn time against your deadlines.
Mississippi wage-loss benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Temporary and permanent total disability are each capped at 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability payments in most cases also cannot run beyond 450 weeks. Medical care for the work injury is covered. These caps make the early work on your claim, particularly proving your wage and your restrictions accurately, worth getting right.
Many shipyard workers live in Mississippi but are hired through companies with operations in Louisiana, or are hurt on projects that cross the state line. Louisiana runs its own system, with a one-year filing window in most cases and supplemental earnings benefits for workers who return to reduced pay. Because we practice in both states, we can look at which jurisdiction may apply to you rather than assuming.
Shipyard Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a shipyard injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. Shipyard claims often involve serious injuries and aggressive carriers.
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 workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident in Mississippi. The same 30-day notice rule applies in Louisiana. Do it immediately and in writing whenever possible.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment, filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid in that time and no claim was filed, the right to benefits can be lost.
Can my employer fire me for filing?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review it.
What if the insurer says my condition was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence is how that argument gets answered.
My hearing loss came on slowly from years in the yard. Can that be a claim?
It can be. Gradual conditions are harder to date than a single accident, which is why the carrier will fight over when the injury occurred and whether work caused it. Audiology testing and work history do the heavy lifting.
Can I still get comp if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own mistake usually does not erase your right to benefits. Fault matters more in any separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
What if a subcontractor or equipment maker caused my injury?
You may have a personal injury claim against that outside party in addition to your comp benefits. We handle both so the two claims support rather than undercut each other.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
That depends on the plan, and many group plans resist paying for work injuries. Tell us before you accept bills or reimbursement demands so we can sort out who owes what.
What happens if my claim is denied?
You can contest it. In Mississippi that means a hearing before an Administrative Judge at the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, then possible review by the full Commission, and appeal beyond that. We take cases through those stages.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking workers?
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 Biloxi Shipyard Workers Across the Gulf Coast and Beyond
Our work for Biloxi injured workers reaches across Harrison County and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. From Biloxi and Gulfport through D’Iberville, Long Beach, and Pass Christian, we represent shipyard and industrial workers who commute to yards along the coast. We also serve clients in neighboring Jackson County, including Pascagoula and Ocean Springs, and across Hancock County in Bay St. Louis and Waveland.
Beyond the coast, our attorneys handle claims in Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta, and throughout north Mississippi. In Louisiana, we represent injured workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as across South Louisiana and north Louisiana, which matters for yard workers whose jobs cross the state line.
Talk With a Biloxi Shipyard Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a shipyard, you do not have to sort out the forum, the deadlines, and the insurance company’s tactics alone. A Biloxi shipyard injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which claim fits, and start building the medical and wage evidence your case needs. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and tell us how you were hurt.
