Kemper County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A Kemper County worker hurt on the job does not file a lawsuit in the county courthouse; the claim goes to a state commission in Jackson instead. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles Kemper County workers’ compensation lawyer work for injured employees in De Kalb, Scooba, Electric Mills and the rest of the county, and across Mississippi and Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of our practice, not something we take on when a case happens to walk in.
That distinction matters in a county like Kemper, where many jobs are physical: timber and logging, hauling, plant and power-generation work, road and utility crews, and farm labor. These jobs produce the injuries insurers love to dispute, such as worn-out backs, torn shoulders, crushed feet and knees that give out after years of lifting. The rules, deadlines and tactics that decide those claims are specific, and getting one wrong can cost a worker the whole claim.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Kemper County Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Kemper County and the communities around it. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, you owe no fee unless we recover for you, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with us in their own language.
Our team is led by Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe are partners 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 show what that focus produces: $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 tend to describe the same things in their reviews: an attorney who listened, stayed in contact, and stood up to the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We Handle for Kemper County Workers
- Back, neck and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are the most common serious claims from lifting, hauling and equipment work. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and the answer is medical evidence showing that the job caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears and meniscus tears are common among loggers, mechanics and laborers. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and the claim turns on the timing of the work event and the medical records.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips and other bones from falls, struck-by incidents and equipment accidents often require specialists and surgical repair, which means extended time off work and a fight over what treatment is covered.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Plant, power, oilfield and industrial sites produce burns, crush injuries and amputations that call for long-term medical care and careful valuation of permanent disability.
- Truck and driving injuries: Delivery drivers, haulers and anyone driving for work on Highway 16, Highway 45 and the county’s rural roads may have both a comp claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress and job-linked cancers are claims we handle for those who serve their communities.
- Occupational illness and repetitive trauma: Conditions that build up over years of work can be compensable, and the date you discovered the problem and its connection to work can affect your deadlines.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Kemper County
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi gives you 30 days from the accident to give notice, and a late report hands the insurer an easy argument. Ask for a copy of whatever you submit, and keep names, dates and the names of any coworkers who saw what happened.
Get medical treatment and tell every provider that the injury happened at work. Describe it the same way each time, because the insurer will compare your first account to every later one. Do not accept a quick “return to work” note from a company-chosen clinic if you are still hurting, and do not sign statements or medical releases the adjuster sends without having someone review them.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits are being paid, the right to benefits is generally barred unless a claim is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the injury. A worker generally files a Petition to Controvert, and the clock can also run from the last compensation payment. Do not assume the insurer’s voluntary payments protect you indefinitely.
Kemper County is in east-central Mississippi, but your case will not be heard in a local courtroom. The Commission, which administers the law and is made up of three members appointed by the Governor, decides claims. Disputed cases are heard at an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, and either side can seek review by the Full Commission in Jackson, which looks at the record made before the judge rather than starting over. A final Commission award can then be appealed within 30 days, and appeals are decided on the existing record, so the evidence you build at the hearing stage is the evidence you live with.
If you live in Mississippi but were hurt while working in Louisiana, or the reverse, different rules and a different forum may apply, so tell us where the injury happened. In Louisiana, notice is due within 30 days and a formal claim generally within one year of the injury.
The most common mistakes are waiting to report, giving a recorded statement without preparation, returning to work before a doctor clears you, and letting the filing deadline slip because benefits were being paid. Each is avoidable with an early call.
How Insurers Fight Kemper County Claims, and How Those Fights Are Won
Insurance carriers rely on a familiar set of arguments. They say the injury did not happen at work, that it was already there, that you reported it too late, or that you are healthy enough to go back. A Mississippi workers’ compensation attorney answers each with evidence: treating-physician opinions tying the injury to the job, witness accounts, employer records and your work history.
Pre-existing conditions deserve special attention in labor-heavy areas. A worker with years of heavy lifting often has some spinal wear on imaging, and insurers treat that as a reason to deny. The law does not. If work caused, worsened or accelerated the condition, benefits can still be owed, and the case becomes a question of medical causation that we build with the right records and testimony.
Benefits themselves include reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement. For total disability, temporary or permanent, Mississippi pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a statutory weekly maximum, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in non-scheduled cases is also capped at 450 weeks. You are covered from your first day of employment, with no waiting period.
Some injuries also involve someone other than your employer, such as a negligent driver or a contractor on a job site. A third-party claim can sit alongside your comp claim and is governed by different deadlines, so the two need to be coordinated rather than handled separately.
Kemper County Workers’ Compensation Questions
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim in Kemper County?
Not every claim requires one. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers working for it, and you should have someone doing the same for you.
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 my injury?
In Mississippi you must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, because a delay gives the insurer a defense even when the injury is real.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally 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 have been paid in two years and no claim was filed, the right to benefits is barred.
Does my employer have to carry workers’ compensation?
In Mississippi, employers with five or more employees must provide coverage, and covered workers are protected from their first day. If you work for a very small employer, coverage may be a question worth asking us about.
Can I be fired for filing a 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, tell us so we can review it.
What if my employer says I can choose my own doctor?
Be careful with that offer and ask us before treating, because who directs your care can affect your claim. We can explain your rights over medical treatment and what to do if the insurer refuses a recommended procedure.
Will I get paid while the insurer decides whether to accept my claim?
Not necessarily. Disputed claims can leave workers without wages for months. Part of our work is pushing for benefits to start and, where they were stopped, for them to resume while the dispute is resolved.
What if my injury developed slowly from years of work?
Repetitive trauma and occupational illness can be compensable, but they raise timing questions about when you knew the condition was work-related. Do not assume you are too late; have the dates reviewed promptly.
Can I file a workers’ comp claim and also sue someone else?
Often yes, when a third party such as a negligent driver or contractor caused the injury. The two claims run on different rules and deadlines, and a settlement in one can affect the other, so they should be planned together.
What if I was hurt on a job in Louisiana but live in Kemper County?
The location of the injury and where you were hired can control which state’s rules apply. Louisiana requires notice within 30 days and a claim generally within one year, so do not wait to sort it out.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking workers?
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.
Serving Injured Workers From De Kalb Across Kemper County and East Mississippi
Our work for injured employees starts in Kemper County: De Kalb, the county seat, along with Scooba, Electric Mills, Wahalak, Sciple, Preston and the rural communities in between. We also represent workers in the neighboring counties of Lauderdale, Neshoba, Noxubee and Winston, including Meridian, Philadelphia and Macon, as well as Newton and Clarke counties.
Across Mississippi, we serve injured workers from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast, the Delta and north Mississippi. In Louisiana, our reach extends from New Orleans and South Louisiana to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport and north Louisiana. Wherever a Kemper County worker was hurt, on a local job site or a project far from home, we can help.
Talk With a Kemper County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, you do not have to take on the insurance company yourself. A Kemper County workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain your deadlines, and start pushing for the medical care and wage benefits the law provides. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call today or send us your case details to get started.
