Greenwood Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A workers’ comp claim from Leflore County does not go to the courthouse downtown. It goes to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body that decides these disputes through its own hearing process, with its own deadlines and its own rules about evidence. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation for injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Greenwood workers’ compensation lawyer from our firm can take a claim from the first report to the employer all the way through a hearing and appeal.
Greenwood sits in the Delta, where the work that hurts people tends to be physical: cotton and soybean operations, grain handling, trucking and freight moving along the highways that cross the region, warehouse and distribution jobs, manufacturing, and healthcare. Back, shoulder, and knee injuries dominate. So do the insurer’s favorite responses: the injury was already there, it happened at home, or you waited too long to say anything.
The decisions you make in the first weeks, what you report, who you tell, which doctor you see, and what you sign, shape the rest of the claim. Below is how to make those decisions well.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Delta Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Greenwood and Leflore County, the Delta, and communities from north Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, as well as across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice, not a side matter that arrives when a personal injury client happens to be hurt at work. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos español).
The results show what the work looks like: $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 he was struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Smaller claims matter too; our results include settlements for shoulder, knee, neck, and hip injuries, and clients regularly write about how closely the team stayed in touch.
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 regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team. That trial experience matters because an insurer that knows your lawyer will actually try the case tends to negotiate differently.
Injuries and Claims We Handle for Greenwood Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, loading, and repetitive bending around farm equipment, warehouses, and trucks produce herniated discs in the lumbar and cervical spine. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, so the medical evidence has to show how the job caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among laborers, mechanics, and drivers. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and the claim turns on the timeline and the treating surgeon’s opinion.
- Fractures: Falls from equipment, trailers, and elevated platforms break feet, ankles, hips, and wrists, and often require specialists and more than one surgery, which stretches out the period when wage benefits matter most.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial plants, oil and gas work, and agricultural machinery can cause burns, amputations, and crush injuries that change a worker’s ability to ever return to the same job.
- Truck Driver and Delivery Injuries: Wrecks on the road, loading dock injuries, and years of strain from cab and cargo work all qualify when they arise from the job, and a crash with another driver may support a separate injury claim.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are claims we pursue for those who serve.
- Denied and Cut-Off Benefits: Claims denied outright, wage checks that stop without warning, and workers pushed back to duty before a doctor clears them are all situations that call for a challenge before the Commission.
What to Do in the First Weeks After a Work Injury in Greenwood
Report the injury to your employer in writing, and do it quickly. Mississippi gives you 30 days from the accident to give notice, but waiting invites the argument that the injury happened somewhere else. Keep a copy. If a supervisor tells you not to bother with paperwork, that is a reason to do it more carefully, not less.
Get medical care and tell every provider the injury happened at work. The history recorded at that first visit becomes the foundation of your claim. Describe the incident, the body parts affected, and the symptoms plainly. Do not minimize pain to seem tough; adjusters read those notes line by line.
Know the clock. Mississippi workers are covered from the first day on the job, with no waiting period. If no disability benefits have been paid, the claim is barred unless a petition is filed with the Commission within two years of the injury. If benefits have been paid, the two years can run from the last payment. Do not let a few weeks of check payments lull you into thinking the deadline has stopped mattering.
Be careful with recorded statements and with forms from the insurance carrier. The adjuster is not neutral. Statements about earlier back trouble, an old injury, or what you were doing before the incident get quoted back later. Talk with a lawyer before giving a recorded statement or signing a settlement document or return-to-work release.
If the carrier denies the claim, the next step is a petition to controvert filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission in Jackson. The dispute is heard at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge. If either side is unhappy, the Full Commission reviews the record made at that hearing; it is not a new trial, so what gets put into evidence the first time matters enormously. A final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and the Supreme Court often assigns those cases to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appeals are decided on the existing record.
What Benefits Are Available and How Insurers Fight Them
A Mississippi comp claim covers reasonable and necessary medical care, wage replacement, and, where it applies, vocational rehabilitation. Temporary and permanent total disability pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a statutory weekly maximum, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in most cases are also capped at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted from time to time, so ask about the current figure when you speak to a lawyer.
The disputes that come up most often are predictable. The insurer says the injury is pre-existing; the answer is that a job that worsens or accelerates a condition can still support benefits. The insurer sends you to its own doctor and then relies on that doctor’s release to end your checks. The insurer questions whether the incident happened at work at all, especially if it was unwitnessed. A Greenwood employee who works for a small farm operation or a staffing agency may also face confusion about who the actual employer is, and whether coverage was in place.
A lawyer builds the answers into the file: treating-physician opinions, imaging, witness statements, and a work history that shows what your body did every day before the injury. When the injury also involves a third party, such as a negligent driver who hit your work vehicle, a separate personal injury claim may exist, and it needs to be coordinated with your comp claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Greenwood Workers’ Compensation
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Greenwood?
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 an extended time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The carrier has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests.
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. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, and do it in writing so there is a record.
What is the deadline to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the date of the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. If no disability benefits were paid and no claim was filed within the two years, the right to benefits is barred.
Which agency decides my claim?
The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a regular court. Cases are heard by an Administrative Judge, and the Full Commission reviews appeals from those decisions on the existing record.
What if my employer says I was not covered?
Mississippi employers with five or more employees must carry coverage, and benefits begin from the first day of work. Coverage disputes, including questions about who the real employer is, are something we investigate early.
Can I be fired for filing a 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 look at your options.
What if I already had a bad back before the injury?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If work caused, worsened, or accelerated it, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence is how that argument is won.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Selection of treating physicians is a frequent point of dispute, and the rules affect whose opinion carries weight later. Speak with us before you agree to switch doctors or sign anything that limits your treatment options.
Will I get paid while my claim is being fought over?
Sometimes the insurer pays while it investigates and sometimes it does not. If checks stop or never start, a petition to controvert puts the dispute in front of an Administrative Judge, and a lawyer can press for medical care and wage benefits while it is pending.
What if I was hurt in Louisiana but live in Mississippi?
Which state’s law applies depends on where the injury happened and where the employment is based. We practice in both states and can sort that out at the start. Louisiana generally requires a formal claim within one year of the accident and notice to your employer within 30 days.
Do you handle Spanish-speaking clients?
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.
Is a settlement worth it, or should I keep my benefits open?
That depends on your medical future, your ability to return to work, and what the carrier is offering. Settlements can close out future medical benefits, so a decision made too early can cost you. We review the full picture before advising you.
Serving Injured Workers From Greenwood Across the Delta and Beyond
Our work for Greenwood and Leflore County clients reaches the surrounding Delta communities, including Itta Bena, Schlater, Sidon, Carrollton, and Money. We represent injured workers in neighboring areas such as Indianola, Greenville, Cleveland, Clarksdale, Grenada, Belzoni, Yazoo City, and Winona, and in the larger markets of Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, and Southaven. The same attention goes to workers on the Gulf Coast and in north Mississippi.
Across the river, we also represent injured workers throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. Whether you were hurt in a Delta field, a plant, a warehouse, or on a highway, we can take your case wherever the facts and the law lead.
Speak With a Greenwood Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job and the insurer is stalling, denying, or cutting you off, talk to a Greenwood workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe before you give a statement or sign anything. Consultations are free, you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Call us, or send your case details, and we will tell you where your claim stands and what to do next.
