Central Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you were hurt at work anywhere between the Delta edge and the Pearl River, the next few weeks will shape whether your medical care and paychecks keep coming. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Central Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyer from our team handles claims for people in Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties and the communities around them.
Central Mississippi’s economy puts people in physically demanding jobs: construction crews building along the I-55 and I-20 corridors, truck drivers moving freight through the Jackson metro, nurses and surgical staff in the area’s hospitals, ironworkers, firefighters, and warehouse and plant employees. When one of those workers is hurt, the first question is usually whether the insurer will pay for treatment. The second is why the adjuster suddenly seems to doubt what happened. Both questions have answers, and most of them turn on deadlines and medical evidence.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Central Mississippi Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice. Most lawyers who accept comp cases are personal injury attorneys who take one when it happens to walk in. We work the other way around. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off early, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford 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 in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and routinely appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results matter more than adjectives. We 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 a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what stood out was that someone listened and stayed in the fight with the insurer at every step. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, we are paid only if we recover for you, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
Injuries and Claims We See Most in Central Mississippi
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are common among construction workers, drivers, and anyone lifting for a living. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, so the case depends on showing how repetitive work or a specific incident caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often need surgery and long recovery. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, which makes the medical history critical.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones from falls off scaffolding, ladders, or loading docks can require specialists and complex repair, with months away from work.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and oil field operations produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that can lead to permanent disability benefits.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job can all support a claim, though proving the work connection takes careful medical proof.
- Truck and delivery driver injuries: Drivers hurt in wrecks while on the clock may have a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver, and the two need to be coordinated.
- Occupational illness and repetitive trauma: Conditions that develop over time, rather than in a single accident, are still compensable when work caused or accelerated them.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Hinds, Madison, or Rankin County
Start by getting medical care and telling your supervisor what happened. Mississippi requires you to report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident, and doing it right away, in writing if you can, removes an easy argument for the insurer. Be specific about how and where it happened and which body parts hurt. Do not guess, and do not downplay symptoms because you hope they will fade.
Then think about the longer deadline. Mississippi generally gives you two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert (Form B-5) with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid and you have not filed within those two years, the right to benefits can be barred. These deadlines come from Miss. Code section 71-3-35. Coverage begins on an employee’s first day, so a new hire is protected too.
Mississippi workers’ comp claims are not heard in a regular trial court. The Commission administers the system, and cases are decided at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge or on review by the Full Commission, which meets in Jackson. When a decision is appealed to the Full Commission, it reviews the record made before the Administrative Judge; it does not hold a new trial. That is why building the record early, with treating-doctor opinions, witness statements, and work history, matters so much.
If the Full Commission rules against you, a party may appeal a final award within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties. The statute sends that appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and review is limited to the record from the Commission. Keep copies of everything: incident reports, medical records, pay stubs, and any letters from the insurer. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the adjuster before you have talked to a lawyer, and never return to work before your doctor clears you just because someone is pressuring you.
How Benefits Work and How Insurers Fight Them
Mississippi comp covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of your lost wages. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are paid at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, for no more than 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in the “other cases” category is also capped at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so ask us what applies to your date of injury rather than relying on an old number.
Insurance carriers follow a familiar playbook: the accident did not happen at work, the injury is really a pre-existing condition, you can go back to light duty, or benefits simply stop without warning. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your job caused, worsened, or sped up the problem. We answer these arguments with medical evidence, witness accounts, and a clear picture of what your job physically demands.
Sometimes a second party is involved, such as a negligent driver who hits your work truck or a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall. In Mississippi, personal injury claims are subject to pure comparative negligence, which reduces recovery by your share of fault instead of barring it, and most negligence claims carry a three-year limit. Our personal injury lawyers make sure your comp claim and injury claim work together instead of against each other.
Questions Injured Workers in Central Mississippi Ask
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and you should have someone protecting yours.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in comp cases are also limited and approved under state law.
How soon do I have to report my injury in Mississippi?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it as soon as you can, ideally in writing, because delay gives the insurer an argument.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid and nothing was filed in that window, the claim can be barred.
Am I covered if I just started the job?
Yes. Mississippi coverage applies from the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement, provided your employer is one required to carry coverage.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my back problem is just degenerative?
Degeneration alone does not defeat a claim. If your work caused, aggravated, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. Treating-doctor opinions explaining the connection are usually the deciding evidence.
Who actually decides my case, a judge or a jury?
Neither a jury nor a regular court judge. An Administrative Judge with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission hears the evidence, and the Full Commission can review that decision on the existing record.
My employer’s insurer wants me to see their doctor. Do I have to?
Be careful here. Treatment choices can affect your claim, and the doctor the insurer picks may be inclined to minimize your injury. Talk with us before agreeing to evaluations or accepting a release to work you disagree with.
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 carelessness usually does not eliminate benefits. Fault becomes more important in a separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi’s comparative negligence rule reduces the award by your percentage.
Do I get anything extra if I was hurt by someone outside my company?
Possibly. A negligent driver or an outside contractor can be liable in a separate personal injury claim on top of your comp benefits, and that claim can cover losses comp does not.
What happens if I speak mostly Spanish?
Hablamos español. Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Injured Workers Across Hinds, Madison, and Rankin Counties and Beyond
Our work for Central Mississippi families starts in Hinds County, including Jackson, Byram, Clinton, Terry, Bolton, Utica, and Raymond, and extends through Madison County communities such as Madison and Ridgeland. We also serve workers in neighboring Rankin County, in towns like Brandon, Pearl, Flowood, and Florence. Injured workers in the surrounding area, including Vicksburg, Yazoo City, Canton, and Brookhaven, can reach us as well.
Beyond the capital area, we represent workers throughout Mississippi: Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, Southaven and north Mississippi, and the Delta. The firm also handles claims in Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Wherever you were hurt, the same approach applies: build the medical record, answer the insurer’s arguments, and press for the care and wage benefits the law provides.
Talk to a Central Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you have been hurt on the job, you do not have to fight the insurance company by yourself. A Central Mississippi workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain your deadlines, and take over the dealings with your employer and its carrier. 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 your claim.
