Canton Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
Canton sits in Madison County, and the work that fills it, from the distribution and warehouse operations along the interstate corridor to the manufacturing floors, loading docks, and construction sites in the surrounding area, depends on heavy equipment moving loads that can weigh thousands of pounds. When a forklift tips, a load shifts, or a crane boom fails, the injuries are rarely minor, and the claim that follows is contested from the first week. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Canton forklift and crane accident lawyer from our team can take over the fight with the employer and its insurer while you focus on medical care.
Forklift and crane cases tend to produce the injuries that change what a person can do for a living: crushed feet and legs from pinning, spinal injuries from falls off a lift or a rolling machine, fractures from falling loads, and head trauma from struck-by incidents. The insurer’s response is often just as predictable. It questions whether the operator was authorized, suggests the worker caused the accident, blames a pre-existing back condition, or pushes a return to work before the treating surgeon has cleared one.
These cases also frequently involve more than one source of recovery. The comp claim against your employer provides medical care and wage benefits regardless of who was at fault, but a defective machine, a negligent equipment contractor, or a crane company that was not your employer can open a separate claim. How those two tracks fit together matters, and getting the sequence wrong can cost real money.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Forklift or Crane Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Madison County and the rest of Mississippi, along with communities throughout South Louisiana and the state of Louisiana. 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. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español) from the first call through the end of the case.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and routinely appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which matters when a third-party claim against an equipment owner or manufacturer needs a trial lawyer. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
The results show what we do with serious injuries. We secured $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. We recovered $385,000 for a project manager injured after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Heavy-equipment injuries often land in exactly these categories: spine, orthopedic trauma, and catastrophic harm. Clients regularly describe a team that listened, kept them informed, and stood up to the insurance company at every step.
Types of Forklift and Crane Injuries We Handle
- Forklift Tip-Overs and Rollovers: Sharp turns with a raised load, uneven dock plates, wet concrete, and overloaded forks can flip a lift truck. Operators are often pinned or thrown, producing crush injuries to the legs, pelvis, and torso, and sometimes fatal head injuries.
- Pedestrian Strikes in Warehouses and Yards: Workers on foot are hit by backing or turning forklifts in distribution centers, lumber yards, and manufacturing plants. Blind corners, missing spotters, and poor aisle design are common contributors, and fractures of the feet, ankles, and hips follow.
- Falling and Shifting Loads: Unsecured pallets, damaged racking, and loads stacked past the machine’s rated capacity come down on the operator or on a coworker nearby, causing back, neck, and spine injuries including disc herniations.
- Crane Boom and Rigging Failures: Mobile cranes, overhead bridge cranes, and tower cranes can drop a load when a sling, hook, or hoist fails or when a boom is overextended. Struck-by and crushed-between injuries are common on construction sites and industrial jobs.
- Crane Contact with Power Lines: A boom that touches an energized line can send current through the machine to riggers and signal workers on the ground, causing electrical burns and cardiac injuries.
- Falls from Lifts, Forks, and Crane Platforms: Workers raised on forks or personnel baskets that were never meant to carry them, or who fall while climbing onto equipment, suffer fractures and spinal trauma.
- Repetitive Strain and Cumulative Injuries: Operators who spend years on vibrating equipment can develop back and neck conditions. Insurers call these degenerative, and we show how the job caused or accelerated them.
- Fatal Equipment Accidents: When a worker dies, the family may be entitled to death benefits through comp, and may also have a wrongful death claim against a third party whose equipment or negligence contributed.
What to Do After a Forklift or Crane Accident in the Canton Area
Get medical care first, and say plainly that the injury happened at work. Madison County residents are served by hospitals in the Jackson metro area, and what you tell the first provider becomes the foundation of the claim. Describe every body part that hurts, even ones that seem minor, because insurers later point to gaps in early records as proof that an injury did not come from the accident. Follow every restriction your doctor gives you, and do not return to equipment work against medical advice.
Report the injury to your employer promptly, and in writing if you can. In Mississippi, notice must be given within 30 days of the accident, and Louisiana uses the same 30-day notice rule. The claim deadline is separate: 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. In Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though payments already made can extend that window. Late reporting is one of the easiest ways for an insurer to attack a legitimate claim, so do not wait to see whether the pain fades.
Preserve evidence while it still exists. Photograph the machine, the load, the floor, and the area if you are able, and write down the names of anyone who saw the accident. Note the equipment’s make, model, and any unit number, since inspection and maintenance records for the lift or crane may later decide whether a third party is responsible. Request the incident report your employer prepares, and keep your own copy of any statement you give. Be careful with recorded statements to the adjuster: you are not required to give one without preparing, and offhand remarks about prior back problems or how you were operating the machine can be used against you.
Mississippi comp claims are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is an administrative agency rather than a court. Cases are tried before an Administrative Judge, and an appeal to the Full Commission is decided on the existing record rather than a new trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed within 30 days to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. If your accident happened in Louisiana, claims go to a workers’ compensation judge at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration, with appeals to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal. Missing a short appeal deadline can end a case that should have been won, which is why early legal help matters.
Comp Benefits and Third-Party Claims After a Heavy-Equipment Accident
Workers’ compensation in Mississippi covers you from your first day on the job, with no waiting period, provided your employer is subject to the Act. Benefits include all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by the state, and payments are capped at 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in most cases are subject to the same 450-week ceiling. In Louisiana, supplemental earnings benefits apply if you return at reduced pay, and they can run until you are released to full duty, are earning your pre-injury wages, or reach the 520-week maximum.
Comp does not pay for pain and suffering, which is why the third-party question matters so much in forklift and crane cases. If a defective brake, a failed hydraulic component, or a faulty load sensor contributed to the accident, the manufacturer may be liable. If a rental company delivered an unmaintained machine, a general contractor ran an unsafe site, or an independent rigging crew made the error, those parties may owe damages beyond what comp pays. Your own employer is generally protected from a lawsuit by the comp system, but other companies are not.
Fault rules differ by state. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery against a third party is reduced by your share of fault rather than eliminated. Louisiana now bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, with lower percentages reducing the award. Louisiana’s tort deadline for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 is two years, while Mississippi’s general deadline for negligence claims is three years. Wrongful death deadlines vary, and claims against a county or governmental entity carry shorter limits with notice requirements. Coordinating a comp claim with a third-party suit also involves reimbursement rights the comp carrier may assert against any settlement, so the order and structure of the cases deserves careful planning.
Forklift and Crane Accident Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a forklift accident comp claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. Heavy-equipment injuries are usually serious and expensive, and insurers tend to scrutinize them closely.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
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 comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a forklift or crane injury?
Report it to your employer right away, and no later than 30 days after the accident in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Reporting late gives the insurer an argument to deny the claim, even when the injury is obvious.
How long do I have to file a claim?
In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. In Louisiana, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with an extension possible when payments have been made. Exceptions are narrow, so speak with an attorney early.
What if my employer says I was not authorized to operate the forklift?
Lack of formal certification does not automatically defeat a claim. Comp is generally a no-fault system, and if you were doing work for your employer, particularly if a supervisor assigned or tolerated it, the injury may still be covered. The facts around who directed the work and how common the practice was on the floor matter.
Can I sue someone besides my employer after a crane accident?
Often yes. A manufacturer, an equipment owner or lessor, a general contractor, or another subcontractor may be liable if their conduct or product contributed. That claim is separate from comp and can provide damages for pain, suffering, and other losses that comp does not pay.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
For the comp claim, fault generally does not matter. For a third-party claim in Mississippi, your share of fault reduces the recovery rather than barring it. In Louisiana, for accidents arising on or after January 1, 2026, being found 51 percent or more at fault bars recovery against a third party, while a smaller percentage reduces the award proportionally.
Will the insurer blame my back problems that existed before the accident?
Expect it. A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence connecting the event to your current symptoms is the central answer to this argument.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim after an equipment accident?
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 during your consultation so we can review your options.
What happens if a family member died in a forklift or crane accident?
Dependents may be entitled to death benefits through workers’ compensation, and a wrongful death claim may exist against a third party. Louisiana’s wrongful death period is generally one year from the death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer. Mississippi’s wrongful death period for negligence is generally three years, with shorter periods for some claims, including those against governmental entities. Because the rules differ and the deadlines can be short, families should speak with a lawyer quickly.
Can I get medical treatment while my claim is being fought?
If the insurer denies treatment, there are procedures to challenge that decision. In Louisiana, a denial of recommended treatment can be disputed by filing a request for review within 15 calendar days of written notice, and a medical director then decides. In Mississippi, disputes over care and benefits are taken to the Commission. Do not give up on a treatment recommendation simply because the first response was a denial.
Serving Injured Workers Across Canton, Madison County, and Beyond
Our work for injured heavy-equipment workers starts in Canton and Madison County and extends across the surrounding communities, including Flora, Madison, Ridgeland, and Gluckstrom, along with neighboring Hinds County communities such as Jackson, Clinton, Byram, and Raymond. We also represent workers in nearby Rankin County, including Brandon and Pearl, and in Yazoo County and Holmes County to the north and west. Distribution centers, manufacturing plants, lumber and building supply yards, and construction sites in this corridor generate lift truck and crane injuries that we handle regularly.
Beyond central Mississippi, we represent injured workers statewide, including the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, north Mississippi, and the Delta. Our reach extends into Louisiana as well, where we help workers hurt in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whether the accident happened on a loading dock in Madison County or an industrial site across the state line, the same team can handle both the comp claim and any third-party case that grows out of it.
Talk to a Canton Forklift and Crane Accident Attorney Today
If a forklift or crane left you injured, the insurer already has people working to limit what it pays. A Canton forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can explain how your comp benefits work, identify whether someone besides your employer should answer for the accident, and keep your deadlines under control. 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 talk through what happened and what comes next.
