Cut Off Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Getting your checks and your treatment started again is the goal when an insurer abruptly shuts off your benefits. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a cut off workers’ compensation lawyer from this team goes after the insurer when payments or medical care stop before they should have. We serve injured workers from the Gulf Coast and the Delta to Jackson, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.
A cutoff rarely comes with a warning that makes sense. The paycheck replacement stops arriving. A surgery that was approved last month is suddenly “under review.” A nurse case manager calls to say a doctor hired by the carrier thinks you can go back to work. Rent is due, the pharmacy wants payment, and nobody has told you what you did wrong, because often you did nothing wrong.
Some cutoffs are legitimate, such as when a doctor truly releases you or you have reached the end of the benefit period. Many are not. They rest on a one-sided medical opinion, a missed form, a claim that your condition is old, or a decision made in a claims office that never examined you. Each type has its own deadline and its own fix, and the clock starts running the day the benefits stop.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe When Your Benefits Have Been Stopped
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation as the center of its practice, not as a side matter that happens to walk through the door. 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 its clients. We represent injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and we answer our phones 24 hours a day. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case, and the Louisiana and Mississippi comp systems are both part of our daily work.
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 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 Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
That depth matters in a cutoff case because the fight is usually over medical evidence. Our results include a $685,000 settlement 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 he was struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stands up to the insurance company on their behalf.
Common Ways Workers’ Comp Benefits Get Stopped
- Wage Checks Stop After an Insurer Doctor’s Opinion: The carrier sends you to a physician it chose, that doctor says you can work, and temporary disability payments end. Your own surgeon’s restrictions are still in your chart, and that conflict is exactly what a hearing resolves.
- Treatment Denied Mid-Course: Physical therapy, injections, an MRI, or surgery gets refused after the carrier previously paid for related care. In Louisiana this goes through a utilization review process with its own short deadlines; in Mississippi it is fought through the Commission.
- Pre-Existing Condition Arguments: Insurers point to degenerative disc disease, an old knee surgery, or “an old sports injury” to shut off a back, shoulder, or knee claim. A condition your job worsened or accelerated can still be compensable.
- Return-to-Work Pressure: A light-duty offer that exceeds your restrictions, or a job that no longer exists, is used to justify ending benefits. Refusing an offer you cannot safely perform is a different matter than refusing work you can do.
- Supplemental Earnings Disputes in Louisiana: If you came back at lower pay, the carrier may claim you can earn more than you do. These benefits are based on the gap between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn, and insurers often challenge that figure.
- Benefits Ended at the Statutory Limit: Both states cap how long certain wage benefits run. Carriers sometimes count weeks wrongly or ignore that a serious injury may support a different disability classification.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Heart disease, lung disease, hypertension, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are often disputed after initial payments begin.
- Industrial and Oil Field Injuries: Burns, crush injuries, and shoulder injuries from pulling heavy pipe can require long recoveries, and carriers frequently push for early closure before the worker has stabilized.
What to Do in the First Days After Your Checks or Treatment Stop
Find out exactly what was stopped and why. Ask the adjuster for the reason in writing, and keep every letter, email, text, and voicemail. Do not accept a verbal explanation and move on. A written notice is what starts many of the deadlines that matter.
Keep seeing your own treating doctor and keep every appointment. Gaps in treatment are used against injured workers. If the carrier refuses to pay for care, tell the provider and tell us right away, because there are often ways to keep treatment moving while a dispute is pending. Do not agree to a recorded statement or sign a medical release that is broader than your injury without talking to a lawyer first.
Know the baseline deadlines. In both states you should have reported the injury to your employer within 30 days. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, though that can extend to three years from the last payment if benefits were paid. A cutoff does not reset those clocks in your favor, and the date of the last check is often the date that matters.
Louisiana treatment denials move fast. If a request for medical care is denied through utilization review, the dispute must be filed on Form 1009 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation within 15 calendar days of receiving written notice, and the OWC medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. If you disagree with that decision, you have 45 days from the date it was issued to file Form 1008. Missing these windows can end a good argument before anyone hears it.
In Louisiana, hearings are held before a workers’ compensation judge in one of the OWC district courts, and you elect the venue: the parish where you were hurt, the parish where you lived at the time, or the parish of your employer’s principal place of business. In Mississippi, the case goes to an Administrative Judge at the Commission, and a decision can be reviewed by the Full Commission on the existing record. Because that review is not a new trial, the evidence you build at the first hearing largely decides the outcome later.
Avoid the common mistakes: ignoring a notice because the insurer “will probably fix it,” signing a settlement or a form that closes medical benefits, going back to work beyond your restrictions, and posting about physical activity online. Call us before you do any of these.
How We Challenge a Termination of Benefits
The first question is whether the cutoff has a legal basis at all. We compare the insurer’s stated reason against your medical records, your work restrictions, the benefit type you were receiving, and the statutory limits that apply. A stopped check without a valid medical release or a legitimate legal ground is a violation, and in many cases we can press the carrier to reinstate payments before a full hearing.
When the carrier will not budge, we file the claim and build the evidence: treating physician testimony, imaging, vocational information, and your work history. If a defense doctor is the only thing standing between you and your benefits, we depose and challenge that opinion. In Mississippi, the case goes before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and if the Commission rules against a worker, an appeal can be taken to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of the award being filed and the parties being notified. The Supreme Court often assigns those appeals to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and review is limited to the record the Commission made.
In Louisiana, a final judgment from the workers’ compensation judge can be appealed to the appropriate circuit court of appeal. A suspensive appeal must be filed within 30 days and a devolutive appeal within 60 days, running from the day after the judgment is signed or notice of judgment is mailed, whichever is later. A party can then ask the Louisiana Supreme Court for review. These are the same courts our attorneys use when an unfair ruling needs to be challenged.
Weekly benefit amounts are tied to a percentage of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory maximum, and in Louisiana that maximum is set by the date of your accident. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits are capped at 450 weeks, and in Louisiana supplemental earnings benefits can run up to 520 weeks, with temporary total disability weeks counting toward that total. Understanding where you stand against those limits is part of showing a cutoff was premature, and part of deciding whether settlement makes sense.
Questions Injured Workers Ask After Benefits Are Cut Off
Can my employer’s insurer stop my workers’ compensation checks without telling me?
Insurers are expected to follow notice and procedural rules before ending or changing benefits, and a silent stop is a red flag. Even so, many workers learn about a cutoff only when a deposit does not arrive. Contact a lawyer immediately so the reason can be demanded in writing and the correct deadline can be identified.
How long do I have to challenge a cutoff?
It depends on the state and the type of dispute. In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the injury or the last payment to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, extending to three years from the last payment in some situations, and treatment denials in utilization review carry a 15-day window. Acting quickly protects every option.
Can the insurer cut me off because its doctor says I can work?
It can try, but a defense doctor’s opinion does not automatically override your treating physician. Hearings often turn on whose medical evidence is more credible, and a worker whose surgeon maintains restrictions has a real basis to contest the cutoff.
What if my treatment, not my wage checks, was denied?
Medical care disputes follow separate procedures. In Louisiana, a denial of requested treatment goes through utilization review, with a 15-day deadline to file Form 1009 and a 30-day window for the medical director to decide. In Mississippi, the dispute is brought to the Commission. In both states, reasonable and necessary treatment related to your injury is covered.
Can they stop benefits because of a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your work caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. We answer this argument with medical opinions that separate the baseline from the work-related change.
Do I need a lawyer if I think the cutoff was a mistake?
Sometimes a paperwork error is fixed with a phone call. If the carrier will not restore benefits promptly, or if the reason involves medical opinions, an attorney changes the dynamic. Consultations are free, and we are paid only if we recover benefits for you.
What happens if I went back to work at lower pay and my benefits stopped?
In Louisiana, supplemental earnings benefits are designed for this situation, paying a portion of the difference between your pre-injury wages and what you earn or are able to earn. If you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your prior wages, you may qualify. Carriers often dispute the numbers, so documentation of your earnings and job search is important.
Can I be fired for disputing a cutoff or filing a claim?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury or asserting your rights, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can my cutoff case also involve a claim against someone other than my employer?
Yes. If a negligent driver hit your work truck or a contractor created an unsafe site, you may have a separate personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits. Our personal injury attorneys coordinate both claims so they work together rather than against each other, and in Louisiana the time limits for those injury claims differ from comp deadlines.
Will the insurer’s cutoff affect my ability to settle?
It can, because a stopped check puts pressure on you to accept less. Resist signing anything before you understand what you are giving up, especially any release of future medical care. A cutoff challenge often increases the value of a case by getting the medical evidence on the record.
Does my immigration status or language matter in a cutoff case?
You can work with our team in Spanish, and we handle claims for workers in every industry. Hablamos espanol, from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Injured Workers Across Mississippi and South Louisiana
Our work stretches across both states. In Mississippi, we represent injured workers from Jackson and Madison through Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta, and north Mississippi, including construction workers, firefighters, truck drivers, ironworkers, oil field workers, nurses, and general laborers. In Louisiana, we take cutoff cases from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as workers in south Louisiana and north Louisiana communities between them.
Wherever you were hurt, the process is similar: report the injury, document what happened, and challenge any decision that cuts off care or wages before your recovery. If the insurer has stopped your benefits, we want to hear from you whether you work on a plant floor, an oil rig, a hospital unit, a delivery route, or a job site.
Talk to a Cut Off Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If your checks have stopped or your treatment has been denied, a cut off workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, identify the deadline that applies to you, and start pushing the insurer to restore what the law entitles you to. 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 or send us your case details, and let us deal with the insurance company while you focus on getting better. We help injured workers. That is all we do.
