Long Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A shoulder gives out on a Gulf Coast job site, a supervisor says to “give it a few days,” and by the time you see a doctor the adjuster is asking whether the injury really happened at work. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Long Beach, Harrison County, and the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Finding a Long Beach workers’ compensation lawyer matters most when the claim has already started to go sideways: a denial letter, a doctor chosen by the insurer who clears you too early, or checks that simply stop. Long Beach sits in a coastal economy of port and marine work, shipyard and industrial labor, construction and rebuilding, hospitality, and trucking along the corridors that feed Gulfport and Biloxi. Those jobs produce the injuries that insurers fight hardest: backs, shoulders, knees, and burns.
Because Long Beach is in Mississippi, your claim runs through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body rather than a court. That distinction shapes everything from how fast you must act to who decides your case.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Gulf Coast Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, and communities throughout Mississippi and South Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a sideline taken on when a case happens to walk in. Its attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you owe nothing unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language, which matters on a Coast where so much of the labor force works in construction, seafood, and hospitality.
Rob Lunsford, 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 complete the attorney team.
The results reflect the kinds of injuries Gulf Coast workers suffer: a $685,000 settlement 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 an oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, stays responsive, and stands up to the insurance company at every step.
Injuries and Claim Types We Handle for Long Beach Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, pulling, and repetitive bending on docks, job sites, and in warehouses lead to herniated lumbar and cervical discs. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, so the claim turns on medical evidence showing the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among tradesmen, mechanics, and laborers. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries, and the response is documented work history and treating-physician opinions.
- Fractures: Falls from scaffolding, ladders, and equipment break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, often requiring specialists and surgical repair that extend time away from work.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial plants, marine and offshore-related work, and welding and fabrication sites produce serious burn and crush injuries with long recoveries and permanent consequences.
- Truck and Vehicle Crashes on the Job: Drivers and delivery workers on Highway 90 and Interstate 10 who are hurt behind the wheel may have a comp claim and a separate claim against a negligent driver.
- First Responder Claims: Firefighters and other first responders may develop hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, or cancer tied to the work.
- Denied and Terminated Claims: Disputes over whether an accident happened at work, whether a condition is pre-existing, or whether benefits can be cut off before a doctor releases you.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Long Beach
Start with the medical care you need, then protect your claim in writing. Mississippi requires you to report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it right away and put it in writing, with the date, the place, and what happened. A verbal mention to a foreman is easy for an insurer to say never occurred. Keep a copy, and keep a record of who you told.
The filing deadline is separate and more dangerous. 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 never filed within those two years, the right to benefits is barred. Reporting the injury is not the same as filing a claim, and plenty of workers lose their case believing the employer’s paperwork protected them. Coverage begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period, so a recent hire has the same rights as a twenty-year veteran.
Gather what an adjuster will later demand: the names of witnesses, photos of the spot where you were hurt, your pay stubs, your medical records, and a list of every provider you have seen. Be careful with recorded statements to the insurance company. Adjusters ask questions designed to shift blame toward a prior injury or an off-the-job cause, and an offhand answer about an old knee problem can be quoted back to you for years.
If the claim is denied, benefits are reduced, or you are pushed back to work before your doctor clears you, that is when to call a lawyer rather than wait. Disputed claims are heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. Either side can ask the Full Commission to review the result, but that review is based on the record already made, not a new trial. This is why the evidence must be built early. After a final award, an appeal goes up within 30 days, and the Mississippi Supreme Court, which often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, considers only the record made before the Commission.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and How Long They Last
Workers’ compensation in Mississippi pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of your lost wages. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally run no longer than 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in the ordinary case is subject to the same 450-week ceiling. The maximum weekly amount is adjusted periodically, so the figure that applies depends on when you were hurt.
The fight is rarely over the formula. It is over whether the injury is work-related, how disabled you actually are, and whether the insurer’s chosen physician is giving an honest picture. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated it, benefits may still be owed, and answering that argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of this work.
When a Third Party Is Also to Blame
Workers’ compensation is generally your remedy against your employer, but it does not shield a negligent outsider. A driver who hits your work truck, a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall, or the maker of a defective tool can be sued separately. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so a share of fault on your part reduces a third-party recovery rather than eliminating it. The firm also handles personal injury, car and truck accident, premises liability, and wrongful death cases, so the comp claim and the injury claim can be coordinated rather than undercutting each other.
Long Beach Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one. But if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests, and you should have someone doing the same for you.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are collected only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report an injury and file a claim in Mississippi?
Report to your employer within 30 days of the accident. File a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission generally within two years of the injury or the last compensation payment. Miss. Code Section 71-3-35 sets these deadlines, and missing them can bar the claim entirely.
Who decides my case if the insurance company denies it?
The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a jury and not a regular trial court. An Administrative Judge hears the evidence, and either party can seek review by the Full Commission, which works from the existing record.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go, demoted, or had hours cut after reporting an injury, tell your attorney during the consultation so the circumstances can be reviewed.
What if my injury was caused by a pre-existing condition?
That does not automatically end a claim. If work caused, aggravated, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Expect the insurer to raise it, and expect the answer to depend on medical opinions and your work history.
How long can I receive weekly disability checks?
Temporary total, permanent total, and most permanent partial disability benefits are capped at 450 weeks in Mississippi. The weekly amount is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a maximum that is adjusted from time to time.
The insurance company’s doctor says I can go back to work, but mine disagrees. What happens?
That conflict is one of the most common disputes in comp cases. Do not simply return to duty against your treating doctor’s restrictions or sign off on a release you disagree with. Medical opinions, work restrictions, and your actual job duties become the evidence at a hearing, and a lawyer can press for the treatment and wage benefits the law allows.
I work in Long Beach but live or was hired in Louisiana. Which state’s law applies?
It can depend on where you were hired, where you were hurt, and where the employment is based. The firm handles claims in both Mississippi and Louisiana, so a call can sort out which system governs. In Louisiana, you must report within 30 days and generally file within one year of the accident.
Can I still get benefits if my employer says I was partly at fault?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own carelessness does not ordinarily defeat a claim. Fault matters mainly in a separate third-party injury case, where Mississippi’s comparative negligence rule reduces recovery by your share rather than barring it.
Will health insurance cover my treatment while the claim is pending?
Often you can use health insurance to get care started while a denial is fought, but the health plan may seek reimbursement if the comp claim later succeeds. Tell your lawyer about every payer so the money can be sorted out before a settlement.
Serving Long Beach and Harrison County Workers’ Compensation Clients
Long Beach sits in Harrison County on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the firm represents injured workers there and throughout the surrounding area. From Long Beach, we help workers in neighboring Gulfport and Biloxi, along with Pass Christian, D’Iberville, and Diamondhead nearby on the Coast. The reach extends inland to Hattiesburg and north to Southaven and the Delta, and across the state to Jackson and Madison.
The firm also represents injured workers in Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport, as well as South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whether the injury happened on a Coast job site, a drilling operation, or a highway between states, the same team handles the claim before the right agency and takes it up on appeal when needed.
Talk With a Long Beach Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job in Long Beach, you do not have to argue with the insurance company on your own. A Long Beach workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and deal with your employer and its insurer while you focus on recovery. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today to talk through your claim.
