Diamondhead Personal Injury Lawyer
Residents of Diamondhead who get hurt in a wreck on Highway 603, on a job site along the Gulf Coast, or on someone else’s property have a decision to make early: who is going to handle the insurance company? Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana law firm that represents injured people in workers’ compensation claims, car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases, serving Diamondhead, Hancock County, and communities across the Mississippi Gulf Coast and beyond.
Choosing a Diamondhead personal injury lawyer matters most when your injury sits in a gray zone. A worker hit by a distracted driver while running a company errand has a workers’ compensation claim and possibly a separate injury claim against the driver. A contractor’s unsafe scaffolding can hurt someone who works for a different company entirely. Those overlapping claims follow different rules, different deadlines, and different decision-makers, and a mistake in one can damage the other.
Hancock County’s economy feeds these cases. Gulf Coast construction, marine and port work, trucking along Interstate 10 and Highway 603, and the steady stream of hurricane-season repair work all put people in physically risky jobs and on crowded roads. When something goes wrong, the question is rarely just “what happened” but “which insurer owes what, and by when.”
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Diamondhead Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people in Diamondhead, Hancock County, the wider Mississippi Gulf Coast, and throughout Mississippi and South Louisiana. Most lawyers who take workers’ compensation cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in the door. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of your case, and you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language, since the firm speaks Spanish (hablamos español).
The people behind that record matter. Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both 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 has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results give that experience some weight. The firm 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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. That project manager case is the kind of overlap Diamondhead drivers and workers face: a work vehicle, a negligent driver, and two sets of rights to coordinate. Clients consistently describe the same things in their reviews: attorneys who listen, who take the time to understand their situation, and who stay in the fight with the insurance company at every stage.
Injury Types and Claim Categories We Handle for Hancock County Clients
- Car and Truck Accidents: Interstate 10 freight traffic, beach-season congestion, and two-lane stretches of Highway 603 produce rear-end collisions, lane-change crashes, and commercial truck wrecks. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so being partly at fault reduces your recovery by your percentage rather than eliminating it.
- Work-Related Injuries With a Third-Party Claim: A negligent driver who hits your work truck, or a contractor whose unsafe site causes your fall, can create a personal injury claim alongside your workers’ compensation benefits. Coordinating the two keeps one from undercutting the other.
- Premises Liability: Falls in stores, rental properties, and commercial lots, along with inadequate lighting, broken stairs, and unaddressed hazards. If the property belongs to a county or governmental agency, a one-year limit and a notice requirement under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act apply.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Herniated lumbar and cervical discs are among the most common serious injuries after crashes and heavy labor. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, so medical evidence tying the injury to the event is central.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears frequently follow falls, collisions, and repetitive overhead or lifting work, and insurers sometimes label them old sports injuries.
- Fractures and Burns: Broken ankles, feet, and hips can require specialists and surgical repair, while burn injuries from industrial and oil field settings can be catastrophic.
- Wrongful Death: When a fatal accident takes a family member, Mississippi allows a negligence-based wrongful death claim, and noneconomic damages in most such cases are capped by statute while economic damages are not.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Heart and lung disease, hypertension, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job can qualify for benefits.
What to Do After an Injury in Diamondhead, and How the Case Unfolds
Start with medical care, even if you feel you can wait. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap between the incident and your first treatment gives an insurer room to argue something else caused your pain. Tell the doctor exactly how you were hurt and every body part that hurts, because the first records become the foundation of everything that follows. If the injury happened at work, report it to your employer promptly. Mississippi requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and that deadline applies even when the injury seems minor.
If a car or truck was involved, call law enforcement so a report exists, photograph the scene, vehicles, and visible injuries, and collect names and contact information from witnesses. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and be careful what you say to your own. Adjusters are trained to find language that shifts fault or minimizes injuries, and in Mississippi even a modest fault percentage reduces what you recover.
Deadlines differ by claim type, and this is where overlapping claims get tricky. A Mississippi workers’ compensation claim must be filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, generally within two years of the injury or the last compensation payment, as provided in Miss. Code § 71-3-35. Most other injury claims with no special limitation, including ordinary negligence cases, must be filed within three years under § 15-1-49. Claims against a county or governmental agency carry just one year. A wrongful death claim based on negligence generally has three years, while one based on an intentional act has one. Missing the right deadline can end a valid claim no matter how strong the facts are.
Most injury cases move through a predictable arc. First comes treatment, during which your medical picture develops. Next is a demand to the insurer once your condition is understood, followed by negotiation. When the insurer will not offer fair value, a lawsuit is filed. Cases arising on the Gulf Coast can end up in state court in the county where the incident or defendant is located, or in the Southern District of Mississippi, whose Southern Division covers Hancock County with court held at Gulfport. Workers’ compensation disputes work differently: they are heard by an Administrative Judge at the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, with review by the Full Commission, which examines the record from the earlier hearing rather than holding a new trial. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days, and the appeal rests on the record already made.
One mistake worth avoiding is settling too early. The first offer usually arrives before the full extent of an injury is known, particularly with spine and joint injuries that may need surgery months later. Once you sign a release, the claim is over.
When Workers’ Compensation and a Personal Injury Claim Overlap
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. In Mississippi it covers an employee from the first day on the job, with no waiting period, and pays medical treatment plus wage replacement of up to two-thirds of average weekly wages, subject to a statutory weekly maximum. Disability benefits for temporary total and permanent total disability are limited to 450 weeks. In exchange for that no-fault coverage, you generally cannot sue your own employer for negligence.
But a third party, someone other than your employer or co-worker, is a different story. If a negligent driver, an equipment maker, or a separate contractor caused your injury, you may pursue them for the full range of damages that comp does not pay, including pain and suffering. The two recoveries interact, since a comp carrier may have a right to be reimbursed from a third-party settlement, so how the claims are structured and timed has real financial consequences. This is exactly why the firm’s combined comp and personal injury practice matters: one team sees both claims and keeps them working together rather than against each other.
The same logic applies if your injury occurred across the state line. The firm also handles Louisiana claims, where tort cases for injuries on or after July 1, 2024 have a two-year period under Civil Code art. 3493.1, and a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault is barred from recovery for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. Louisiana’s rules differ meaningfully from Mississippi’s, which is a reason to know where an accident happened before assuming which deadline applies.
Diamondhead Personal Injury Questions, Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a car accident claim in Diamondhead?
Not every fender-bender requires one, but if you have a significant injury, missed work, or the insurer is disputing fault, a lawyer changes the dynamic. The insurance company has adjusters and attorneys working for it, and you should have someone doing the same for you.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you owe a fee only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. In workers’ compensation matters, attorney fees are also limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to file an injury lawsuit in Mississippi?
For most negligence-based injury claims with no shorter period, three years from when the cause of action accrued under Miss. Code § 15-1-49. For latent injuries or diseases, the clock starts when you discovered, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury. Shorter limits apply to claims against governmental entities and certain other claim types.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than eliminated. If a jury found you 20 percent responsible, your award would be reduced by 20 percent. Insurers often try to inflate that percentage, which is why evidence about how the crash actually happened matters.
Can I file both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim?
Yes, when someone other than your employer or a co-worker caused the injury. Comp pays regardless of fault, and the third-party claim can recover additional damages. Reimbursement rights and timing need careful handling so the claims do not conflict.
How soon must I report a work injury in Mississippi?
Report it to your employer right away and no later than 30 days after the accident. You then generally have two years from the injury or last compensation payment to file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, raise it during your consultation so the firm can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury is a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the accident or your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still recover. Strong medical evidence connecting the event to your current symptoms is how that argument gets answered.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often yes, and many people use it so treatment is not delayed. Health insurers and some other payers may later claim reimbursement from a settlement, so keep records of what was paid and discuss that with your attorney before accepting any offer.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injuries seem minor?
It can be, especially when symptoms are delayed. Back, neck, and joint injuries often worsen over days or weeks, and an early settlement closes the door on later costs. A free consultation lets you find out whether your situation justifies representation.
What happens if a family member died in an accident?
A wrongful death claim may be available. In Mississippi, negligence-based claims generally have three years and intentional-act claims one year, and noneconomic damages are capped in most such cases while economic damages are not. Louisiana has its own timing rules, so where the death occurred matters.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking clients?
Yes. The firm speaks Spanish, and clients can work with the team in Spanish from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Diamondhead and Hancock County Injury Clients Across the Gulf Coast
The firm represents injured people in Diamondhead and throughout Hancock County, including nearby Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Kiln, and Pass Christian along the coast. Beyond Hancock County, we serve clients in the neighboring Mississippi Gulf Coast communities of Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, and Pascagoula, and inland in Hattiesburg and across south Mississippi. Our reach continues to Jackson and Madison, up to Southaven in north Mississippi, and across the Delta.
The firm also represents injured workers and accident victims across the state line in Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, and throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whether your injury came from a highway wreck, a job site, or an unsafe property, the firm’s attorneys can evaluate your claim wherever in Mississippi or Louisiana it arose.
Talk to a Diamondhead Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in Diamondhead or elsewhere in Hancock County, a conversation with a Diamondhead personal injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC costs nothing and can clarify which deadlines apply to you and how any workers’ compensation and injury claims should fit together. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless the firm recovers benefits or a settlement for you. Call today and tell us what happened.
