Gulfport Work Injury Lawyer
A work injury claim that starts in Gulfport belongs to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not to a Harrison County courtroom, and that single fact shapes almost everything about how these cases are won or lost. The Commission is an administrative body, so the claim is built on medical records, wage records, and testimony put into a record that later reviewers will read. At Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC, our workers’ compensation attorneys handle injured-worker claims for people hurt on the job in Gulfport, Harrison County, and across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, along with the rest of Mississippi and Louisiana.
If you are looking for a Gulfport work injury lawyer, you are probably dealing with one of a few problems: a claim the carrier has denied, a doctor you did not choose, a check that stopped arriving, or a supervisor who suddenly remembers the accident differently than you do. Gulfport has a working waterfront, a busy port, shipyards, casinos, hotels, hospitals, and a steady stream of construction, so the injuries we see run from crushed hands on a dock to ruined backs in a hotel laundry. Whatever the setting, the first weeks of the claim tend to decide how the rest goes.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Gulfport Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers in Gulfport, throughout Harrison County, and across Mississippi and South Louisiana. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle a work injury when one happens to walk in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients.
The people behind that work matter. Rob Lunsford, our 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 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 tell the story better 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 they value being listened to and having an attorney who goes toe to toe with the insurance company. You pay nothing up front, we advance the costs of your case, consultations are free, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and hablamos espanol.
Gulfport Injury Types and Claim Situations We Handle
- Port and Waterfront Injuries: Longshore-style work, cargo handling, warehouse work, and vessel-adjacent jobs produce crush injuries, falls, and repetitive trauma. Which compensation system applies can depend on exactly where and how you were working, so the facts of the job need early attention.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims we see, and carriers often blame degenerative disc disease. We answer that argument by showing how years of physical work or a single incident caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are routine in construction, hospitality, and industrial work. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and the medical evidence has to meet that head on.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones often need specialists and complex surgical repair, which makes the choice of treating physician and the approval of surgery central issues.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and offshore-related operations along the Coast can produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that call for long-term medical and wage benefits.
- 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.
- Truck and Delivery Driver Crashes: Drivers hurt on Highway 49, Interstate 10, and Interstate 110 while working may have a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver.
- Third-Party Liability Claims: When a negligent contractor, property owner, or driver contributed to your injury, a personal injury claim can sit alongside your comp benefits, and the two need to be coordinated.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Gulfport
Start with your medical care and your paper trail. Get treated, tell the provider the injury happened at work, and describe the mechanism honestly and completely. Then report the injury to your employer. Mississippi gives you 30 days from the accident to give notice, but do it immediately and do it in writing if you can, with a date on it. Verbal reports get forgotten or disputed.
Next, understand the filing deadline, because it is separate from the reporting deadline. Generally you have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were ever paid and you let those two years pass without filing, the claim can be barred. Coverage begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period, so a new hire hurt in week one is covered like anyone else.
Keep a simple file: the incident report, names of coworkers who saw it, your work schedule, pay stubs, every medical record and bill, and a log of missed work. Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier’s adjuster before you understand what you are being asked, and do not sign medical releases broader than the injury at issue. Be careful about social media, since a single photo of you lifting something can be used against a back claim.
Understand where a dispute goes. Mississippi claims are not tried in Harrison County Circuit Court. They are heard by an Administrative Judge of the Commission, and the Full Commission reviews that record on appeal; it is a review, not a new trial. A final award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of filing and notice, and the Supreme Court often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals look only at the record, the hearing is where your case is truly made, which is why preparing medical testimony and evidence early matters so much.
The most common mistakes we see are waiting to report, going back to work before the doctor releases you, treating with a provider who downplays the injury, and accepting a low settlement because bills are piling up. A call to us before any of those happen is free.
How Mississippi Wage and Medical Benefits Work
Medical benefits cover reasonable and necessary treatment for the injury, including surgery, therapy, and prescriptions. Wage replacement for temporary total and permanent total disability is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that the state adjusts over time, and those benefits cannot run beyond 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in other cases are also capped at 450 weeks. Your average weekly wage is calculated from your earnings before the injury, and carriers sometimes calculate it too low, so check the number on your first check.
Pre-existing conditions do not end a claim. If work caused, aggravated, or accelerated a condition, benefits may still be owed. Likewise, Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a claim, so a firing after you report an injury deserves a conversation with us.
Gulfport Work Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a Gulfport workers’ compensation claim?
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 a long time, an attorney can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its side.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance case costs, 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 my injury?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Reporting right away is far safer, because delay gives the carrier an argument that the injury did not happen at work.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the date of the last compensation payment. Missing that window can bar your right to benefits, so do not assume the carrier’s payments protect you indefinitely.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Medical care is a frequent point of conflict, and the carrier will usually push its preferred providers. Who treats you shapes the medical evidence the Commission sees, so talk to us before settling on a doctor or accepting a release to work you disagree with.
What if my claim was denied?
A denial is a starting position, not a final answer. Common reasons include disputing that the accident happened at work, blaming a pre-existing condition, or claiming late notice. We build the medical and witness evidence to answer those arguments and take the claim before the Commission.
What if the injury happened gradually, like years of heavy lifting?
Repetitive trauma and occupational conditions can be compensable. The difficulty is proof, because there is no single accident date. Medical opinions tying the condition to your job duties become the heart of the case, and the timing of your notice and filing needs careful analysis.
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 so we can review your options.
Can I sue someone besides my employer?
Often, yes. Your employer is generally shielded from a lawsuit by the comp system, but a negligent driver, property owner, or subcontractor is not. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your own share of fault reduces a third-party recovery rather than erasing it. Deadlines on those claims differ from the comp deadlines, and the general limit for negligence-type claims is three years.
I live in Gulfport but was hurt working in Louisiana. Which state’s law applies?
It depends on where the job was based and where the injury occurred, and sometimes more than one state’s system is available. Louisiana generally requires a formal claim within one year of the accident, with notice to the employer within 30 days, so the shorter clock may control. Because we practice in both states, we can sort this out early.
Will I still be paid while the claim is pending?
If the carrier accepts the claim, weekly disability checks should begin. If it disputes the claim, you may go without wage benefits until the dispute is resolved, which is why prompt filing and a strong evidentiary record matter. Talk to us about bridging options for medical bills and household costs.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?
Even a seemingly minor injury can become serious, and a back or shoulder problem that looks small can turn into surgery. A free consultation costs nothing and tells you whether the carrier is handling the claim fairly.
Serving Gulfport Injured Workers Across the Gulf Coast and Beyond
We represent injured workers in Gulfport and throughout Harrison County, including Biloxi, D’Iberville, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Saucier, Lyman, Orange Grove, and Handsboro. Along the Coast we also serve clients in Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula, Moss Point, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, and Diamondhead, as well as Hattiesburg and the communities in between. Across Mississippi our work reaches Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta, and north into the rest of north Mississippi.
Our reach continues into Louisiana, where we help workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Gulf Coast workers often cross state lines for jobs in shipbuilding, offshore support, industrial maintenance, and construction, so a single injury can raise questions under both Mississippi and Louisiana law.
Talk With a Gulfport Work Injury Attorney Today
If you have been hurt on the job, you do not have to fight the insurance company alone. A Gulfport work injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and start building the evidence your claim needs. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today and tell us what happened.
