Hattiesburg Warehouse Worker Injury Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Lamar County, and communities across south Mississippi, including the people who spend their shifts on dock plates, forklifts, pallet racking, and conveyor lines.
If you need a Hattiesburg warehouse worker injury lawyer, the first thing to know is that warehouse injuries rarely look like a single dramatic accident. They build up over months of lifting, twisting, and repetitive motion, then show up as a herniated disc, a torn rotator cuff, or a knee that gives out on a loading dock. Insurers lean on that gradual onset to argue the problem was already there. Our job is to connect the medical findings to the physical demands of the work and keep your treatment and wage benefits moving.
Hattiesburg sits at the crossroads of major highways and rail lines, which makes it a natural home for distribution centers, freight operations, and staffing-agency placements. That mix of employers also creates complications, such as temporary workers whose paychecks come from one company while a different company controls the floor, and incidents involving outside trucking contractors. Those details change who owes you benefits and who else may be responsible.
What Warehouse Injuries Look Like and Why Insurers Contest Them
Mississippi covers workers from the first day on the job, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. That means a worker in their first week on a warehouse floor is protected the same as someone with twenty years of seniority. Benefits include reasonable and necessary medical treatment and, while you cannot work, wage replacement of up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum. Total disability benefits cannot run longer than 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability payments in cases not covered by a specific schedule are subject to the same 450-week ceiling.
The disputes we see most often in warehouse cases follow a pattern. The carrier says the injury did not happen at work because no one saw it. It says the condition is degenerative and unrelated to the job. It questions why you waited to report. It sends you to a physician who clears you for work earlier than your own doctor would. Or it simply stops paying. Each of these has an answer, and the answer almost always depends on documentation: the timeline of your symptoms, your job duties, coworker accounts, and medical opinions that tie the injury to the work.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Warehouse Injury Claim
Most attorneys who accept comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in. We built our firm the other way around. Our attorneys bring over 75 combined years of experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients across Mississippi and Louisiana. We serve injured workers in Hattiesburg, throughout Forrest and Lamar counties, along the Gulf Coast, in the Delta, and statewide.
Rob Lunsford, our 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. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results matter more 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, and $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after he was struck in his work vehicle. Those are the kinds of spine and back cases that mirror what happens to people who lift and move freight for a living. Clients tell us they value being listened to and having an attorney who fights the insurance company at every step. We charge nothing up front, advance the costs of your case, and are paid only if we recover benefits for you. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and hablamos espanol.
Common Warehouse Injuries and Claim Situations
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting boxes, loading trailers, and repetitive bending lead to lumbar and cervical disc herniations. When the carrier points to degenerative disc disease, we show how years of physical work, or one specific incident, caused or aggravated the condition.
- Forklift and Powered Equipment Accidents: Pallet jacks, reach trucks, and forklifts cause crush injuries, fractures, and pinned limbs. These claims often involve fractures of the feet, ankles, and hips that require specialists and complex surgical repair.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Overhead stocking, pulling heavy loads, and constant squatting cause rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, so medical records and job history carry the argument.
- Falls From Docks, Ladders, and Racking: Gaps at loading docks, wet floors, and falls from elevated platforms produce fractures, head injuries, and spinal trauma. If an outside contractor’s unsafe conditions contributed, a separate personal injury claim may exist alongside comp.
- Struck-By and Caught-In Incidents: Falling inventory, shifting loads, and conveyor equipment cause serious crush and amputation-type injuries that can leave lasting restrictions on what you can do for a living.
- Burns and Chemical Exposure: Facilities that handle cleaning agents, batteries, or industrial products can expose workers to burns and respiratory harm. Burns and catastrophic injuries are a regular part of our caseload.
- Temporary and Staffing-Agency Workers: Workers placed through a staffing company are still covered from the first day. Determining which employer and which insurer is responsible is often the first fight in these claims.
- Truck-Related Injuries at the Dock: Drivers and dock workers hurt during loading, or by a negligent outside driver, may have both a comp claim and a third-party injury claim that must be coordinated.
What to Do Right After a Warehouse Injury in Hattiesburg
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can, and in every case within 30 days of the accident. That deadline appears in Mississippi’s notice rule, and missing it gives the carrier an easy argument. If you are hurt on the dock and a supervisor says to walk it off, report it anyway and keep a copy or a text message showing you did. Ask for the name of the company’s workers’ compensation carrier, and get medical care promptly. A gap between the incident and your first doctor visit is something insurers use to say the injury was not work-related.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the date, the task you were doing, the equipment involved, who saw it, and when your symptoms started. If a camera covers the area, note that, because footage can be overwritten. Take photos of the scene and your injury. Keep every medical record, restriction slip, and pay stub. Be careful with recorded statements to the adjuster; what you say about prior aches or how the incident occurred will be compared against your medical records later, and offhand answers can be taken out of context.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the date of injury, your right to benefits is barred unless you file a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within that time. In practice, the claim is started by filing a Petition to Controvert, and the two-year period can also run from the date of the last compensation payment. Waiting to see whether the carrier will handle things fairly is a common and costly mistake. Do not rely on payments continuing; they can stop without warning.
Claims in Mississippi are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is an administrative body and not a court. A contested case is tried before an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the decision. That review is based on the record already made, not a new trial, so the evidence gathered early matters enormously. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Our attorneys take claims through each of these stages when that is what it takes.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is Responsible
Workers’ comp is generally the exclusive remedy against your own employer, but it does not shield everyone else. If a negligent truck driver backed into you at the dock, a contractor left a hazard on site, or a defective machine failed, you may have a separate injury claim against that third party. Those claims can recover losses that comp does not cover, and the time limit is different from the comp deadlines. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so if you are found partly at fault your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated. Because the comp carrier may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, the two claims need to be handled together so one does not undercut the other. Our personal injury practice covers car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death for exactly this reason.
Hattiesburg Warehouse Injury Questions Answered
How soon do I have to report a warehouse injury in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, ideally the same day and in writing, so there is no dispute about when the employer knew.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Generally two years. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury, the right to benefits is barred unless you have filed a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. The period can also run from the last compensation payment, so it is best to speak with an attorney early.
What does workers’ comp pay for a warehouse injury?
It covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces a portion of your lost wages, up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Additional benefits apply for permanent disability.
What if my employer says I am an independent contractor or a temp?
Labels do not decide coverage. Whether you were an employee depends on how the work was actually controlled and performed. Staffing-agency workers are generally covered, and sorting out which company and insurer is responsible is something we handle regularly.
Does a pre-existing back condition ruin my claim?
No. If your work caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this argument constantly in warehouse cases, and strong medical evidence tying the problem to your job duties is how it is answered.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us in your consultation so we can review what options you have.
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 comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if the insurance company’s doctor says I can go back to work?
That opinion does not end your claim. Your treating physician’s restrictions and the demands of your actual job matter, and a disputed release to work can be challenged before the Commission. Do not return to duties your doctor has not cleared you for without talking to us first.
Can I bring a lawsuit against a trucking company or contractor involved in my injury?
Possibly. If someone other than your employer caused or contributed to the injury, a separate third-party claim may exist alongside comp. Mississippi generally allows three years for claims without a more specific limit, though shorter periods apply to some defendants, such as government entities, so the facts need to be reviewed quickly.
My hours were cut after my injury. Does that affect my benefits?
It can. Wage loss and reduced earning capacity are part of what a comp claim measures. Keep records of your pay before and after the injury, along with any light-duty offers, since those details shape the benefits you may be owed.
Do you represent warehouse workers who are not in Hattiesburg proper?
Yes. We represent injured workers throughout south Mississippi and statewide, and our team includes Spanish-speaking support so clients can work in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Representing Warehouse Workers Across Hattiesburg and South Mississippi
Our work for warehouse and distribution employees begins in Hattiesburg and Forrest County and extends through Lamar County, including Purvis and Lumberton, and west toward Petal and Sumrall. We also represent injured workers in Laurel, Columbia, Picayune, Poplarville, and across the Pine Belt, as well as families and workers from the Gulf Coast communities of Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula, and Ocean Springs.
Moving north, we serve workers in Jackson, Madison, Ridgeland, Brandon, and Pearl, and out to Meridian, Vicksburg, and the Delta. Our reach continues to Southaven and north Mississippi for those hurt on the job near the Tennessee line. We also represent injured workers in Louisiana, from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, which matters for warehouse and trucking employees whose work crosses state lines.
Talk With a Hattiesburg Warehouse Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a loading dock, a warehouse floor, or in a distribution center, a Hattiesburg warehouse injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which deadlines apply to you, and deal with your employer and its insurer so you can focus on getting well. Call us any time, day or night. Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers. That is all we do.
