Gulfport Shipyard Worker Injury Lawyer
A shipyard injury in Gulfport rarely fits the workers’ compensation system you would expect. Depending on where you were standing, what you were doing, and who signed your paycheck, your claim may fall under the Mississippi workers’ compensation system, a federal maritime-related program, or both. That sorting-out matters before anything else, because the wrong filing can cost you months. Gulfport shipyard worker injury lawyer representation starts with figuring out which rules govern your claim, and Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles injured workers’ cases across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Gulfport, Harrison County, and the Gulf Coast.
Shipyard work is hard on the body in specific ways: welders and fitters working in cramped hull spaces, riggers moving heavy loads overhead, painters and blasters exposed to dust and fumes, and laborers on staging, ladders, and wet steel decks. When something goes wrong, the injuries tend to be serious: crushed hands and feet, fractured legs, torn shoulders, herniated discs, burns, and hearing loss built up over years. The insurance company’s response is often just as predictable, and we cover how to meet it below.
Which System Covers a Gulfport Shipyard Injury?
Most workers assume a single comp system covers every job site. Shipyards are the exception. Mississippi’s workers’ compensation law applies to many Gulf Coast employees, and the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a court, administers those claims. Cases are heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing, and a party who disagrees can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record already built rather than holding a new trial. That means the evidence you and your lawyer put into the record at the first hearing is the evidence your case lives or dies on.
But some shipyard and maritime workers are covered by federal programs instead of, or in addition to, state comp, depending on whether the injury happened on or near navigable water and on the worker’s job duties. The details of that line are fact-specific, and getting it wrong can mean a missed deadline under the system that actually applied. Part of our first conversation with a shipyard worker is sorting out which door to knock on, and whether more than one is open.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Shipyard Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, serving Gulfport and Harrison County along with the rest of the Gulf Coast, Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients.
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 successfully 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.
Results matter more than adjectives. 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 injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Heavy-industry injuries like those are close cousins of what shipyard workers suffer. Clients consistently describe the same experience in their reviews: attorneys who listen, explain each step, and push back hard against the insurance company. We advance case costs, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and hablamos español.
Injuries and Claims We See From Shipyard and Industrial Work
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, twisting, and working bent over inside hull compartments produce lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and we answer with medical evidence tying the injury to your work.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears come from overhead welding, pulling heavy lines, and climbing staging. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries; the work history says otherwise.
- Fractures: Feet, ankles, hips, and legs break when loads shift, ladders fail, or workers fall from decks and scaffolds. These often need specialists and surgical repair, with long recovery periods.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Hot work, cutting torches, electrical contact, and fires create burn injuries and the kind of catastrophic trauma that changes a career permanently.
- Repetitive Strain and Occupational Illness: Years of grinding, blasting, and exposure to fumes, solvents, and noise can lead to hearing loss and breathing problems that develop slowly rather than in one incident.
- Third-Party Claims: When a negligent contractor, equipment maker, or outside driver contributed to your injury, you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits, and the two need to be coordinated.
- Wrongful Death: When a shipyard accident kills a worker, surviving family members may have rights to death benefits and, in some cases, a separate civil claim.
What to Do After a Shipyard Injury in Gulfport
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the injury happened at work and exactly how. Then report it to your supervisor right away. In Mississippi you must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident, and the sooner and the more clearly it is documented, the harder it is for anyone to dispute later. Put it in writing if you can, and keep a copy.
The filing deadline is a separate clock. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If benefits have been paid, the period can run from the date of the last payment. Coverage begins on your first day of employment, so a new hire is not excluded. If your yard sends you to a company-chosen doctor, go, but do not sign anything you have not read, and do not give a recorded statement to an adjuster before talking to a lawyer.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the location in the yard, the equipment involved, who saw it, and any safety lapses such as missing guards, poor lighting, or a rushed schedule. Photograph your injuries and the scene if you are able. Keep pay stubs and records of missed work. If you were hurt outside Mississippi’s system, for example on a vessel or by a Louisiana-based employer, deadlines may differ, in Louisiana, for instance, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. The most common mistakes we see are waiting too long to report, downplaying symptoms to a supervisor, returning to work before a doctor clears you, and assuming the first denial is the final word.
How Insurers Fight Shipyard Claims
The playbook is familiar. They argue the injury did not happen at work, that it came from a pre-existing condition, or that you are healthy enough to go back before your doctor agrees. Wage benefits can stop without warning. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum and not beyond 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability benefits are also capped at 450 weeks in most cases. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your work caused, worsened, or accelerated it, and answering that argument with strong medical proof is a core part of what we do.
If the Commission’s final award goes against you, the next step is an appeal on the record made before the Commission, and the deadline is tight: 30 days from the filing of the award and notice to the parties. The statute sends these appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because the appeal is limited to the existing record, the case is won or lost early.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gulfport Shipyard Injuries
Do I need a lawyer for a shipyard injury claim?
Not every claim needs one, but if benefits are denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys; you should have someone on your side too.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a shipyard injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident in Mississippi, and as soon as possible after that clock starts. Reporting immediately avoids arguments about whether the injury was work-related.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury if no benefits have been paid, or two years from the last payment if they have. Do not wait that long; evidence and witnesses fade.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if I already had back problems before the injury?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If the job caused, worsened, or sped up the problem, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this often, and medical evidence is how it is answered.
My employer says I am an independent contractor. Does that end my claim?
No. A label on paperwork does not decide your status. How much control the yard had over your work, tools, and schedule can show you were effectively an employee, and we look closely at that before accepting a denial on that basis.
What if a subcontractor or equipment failure caused my injury?
You may have a personal injury claim against that outside party in addition to comp benefits. Because the two claims affect each other, they should be handled together rather than separately.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Workers’ compensation is supposed to pay for reasonable and necessary treatment for a work injury. If the insurer denies or delays care, you may have to use other coverage temporarily, and a lawyer can work to get that care authorized and costs recovered where possible.
Can I choose my own doctor after a shipyard injury?
Rules about choice of physician and changing doctors apply, and the employer’s insurer often steers workers toward its preferred providers. Talk to us before switching, so a change does not hurt your claim.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own mistake usually does not bar benefits. Fault can matter in a separate third-party injury claim, where Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence and reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
Do you work with Spanish-speaking shipyard workers?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Gulfport Shipyard Workers and Gulf Coast Communities
We represent injured workers in Gulfport and across Harrison County, along with neighboring Gulf Coast communities in Hancock, Jackson, and Stone counties. That includes workers living in Biloxi, D’Iberville, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Diamondhead, Saucier, Lyman, and Wiggins. Our reach extends across Mississippi, including Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, and into Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, South Louisiana, and north Louisiana. Whatever yard, vessel, or industrial site you were hurt on, we can look at your claim.
Talk to a Gulfport Shipyard Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a Gulfport shipyard, a Gulfport shipyard injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can tell you which system covers your claim, which deadlines are running, and what your benefits should look like. 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 and let us deal with the insurance company while you focus on getting better.
