Marion County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Marion County, Mississippi, and across the Mississippi and Louisiana communities around it. Our clients are the people who keep Columbia and Foxworth running: mill and timber workers, truck drivers, construction crews, nurses, and general laborers who got hurt on the job and now face a stack of medical appointments, a reduced paycheck, and an insurance adjuster asking questions that sound friendlier than they are.
If you are looking for a Marion County workers’ compensation lawyer, the first thing to know is that your claim will not be decided at the Marion County courthouse. Mississippi comp claims go through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body, and cases are heard by an Administrative Judge or, on review, by the Full Commission. That distinction affects where your hearing happens, how evidence is presented, and how any appeal is handled.
The other thing to know early is timing. Mississippi gives you 30 days to report your injury to your employer and two years to get a claim on file with the Commission if benefits are not being paid. Missing either one can end a claim that would otherwise be strong.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Marion County Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that serves injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including Marion County and the Pine Belt and south Mississippi communities around it. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients.
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. 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 team of attorneys handling these claims.
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, $385,000 for a project manager injured when he was struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us the difference was having someone who answered their questions and stood up to the insurance company at every step.
The terms are simple. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish: hablamos español.
Common Work Injuries and Claims We Handle for Marion County Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, loading, and years of physical labor wear down the lumbar and cervical spine. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease; we build the medical record to show how the job caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among workers who pull, climb, and kneel all day. Employers sometimes label these old sports injuries, which we answer with the treating physician’s causation opinion.
- Truck Driving and Vehicle Crashes: Log hauling and freight driving put workers on rural highways and Highway 98 corridors where a wreck can produce both a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver.
- Timber, Mill, and Industrial Injuries: Heavy equipment, saws, and machinery cause crush injuries, amputations, and fractures that often require specialists and complex surgery.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Plants, oil field work, and industrial job sites produce serious burns and life-altering injuries with long recoveries and high medical costs.
- Fractures: Falls from ladders, trailers, and scaffolding break feet, ankles, hips, and wrists, and the healing timeline drives how long wage benefits last.
- Occupational Illness and Repetitive Trauma: Hearing loss, lung conditions, and cumulative injuries that develop over time can be compensable even without a single dramatic accident.
- Firefighter and First Responder Claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job require careful medical proof.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Marion County
Start with the report. Tell your supervisor about the injury as soon as you can, and do it in writing or confirm it in writing afterward. Mississippi requires notice to your employer within 30 days of the accident, and a documented report heads off the “it didn’t happen at work” argument. Get medical care right away, tell the provider the injury happened at work, and describe every body part that hurts, not just the worst one. Gaps and omissions in early records become the insurer’s ammunition later.
Coverage in Mississippi begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement, so being new on the job does not disqualify you. Keep copies of everything: incident reports, work restrictions, pay stubs, and the names of coworkers who saw what happened. Be careful about recorded statements to the adjuster before you have spoken with a lawyer, and do not return to work against your doctor’s restrictions because someone is pressuring you.
If the insurer denies or stops paying, the formal step is a Petition to Controvert filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. You generally have two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment to file it. The Commission sits in Jackson, and your case goes before an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. Either side can ask the Full Commission to review the judge’s decision. That review is based on the record already made, not a fresh trial, which is why building the evidence correctly at the first hearing matters so much.
A final award of the Commission can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties, and the Supreme Court often assigns those appeals to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appellate courts look only at the record from the Commission. If you work across the state line in Louisiana, different rules apply: notice within 30 days, a claim filed within one year of the injury, and hearings before the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration.
How Mississippi Wage-Loss and Medical Benefits Work
Mississippi comp pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to your injury and replaces part of your lost wages. Temporary total and permanent total disability benefits pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a weekly maximum set by the Legislature, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability payments in most other cases are also capped at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so the number you hear from a coworker may be out of date.
The fight is rarely about whether these benefits exist. It is about whether the insurer will pay them. Typical tactics include disputing that the accident happened at work, blaming a pre-existing condition, sending you to a doctor who releases you early, or ending checks without warning. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your job caused, worsened, or accelerated it. Answering that argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of our work.
When Another Party Caused Your Work Injury
Comp covers you regardless of fault, but it does not stop you from pursuing someone other than your employer. A driver who rear-ends your work truck, a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall, or a manufacturer of defective equipment can all be liable. Those claims run on a separate track with a separate clock. Mississippi generally allows three years for most negligence claims under its general limitations statute, and pure comparative negligence reduces your recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. Our firm also handles personal injury, car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, so the comp claim and the injury claim are coordinated rather than working against each other.
Marion County 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 if 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 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 in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report it as soon as possible and keep proof that you did.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the date of the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert. If no disability benefits were ever paid, the right to benefits is lost unless a claim is filed within the two years.
Is my employer required to carry comp coverage?
In Mississippi, employers with five or more employees must provide coverage, and workers are covered from their first day. If your employer is a small operation, talk to us before assuming you have no claim.
What if the insurer says my injury is pre-existing?
That is one of the most common denial arguments. If work caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits, and the treating doctor’s opinion on causation is often the deciding evidence.
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 during your consultation so we can review your options.
Where will my hearing take place if my claim is contested?
Mississippi comp disputes are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not the county circuit court. An Administrative Judge hears the evidence first, and the Full Commission, which sits in Jackson, handles review.
What happens if I lose at the Commission?
You can seek Full Commission review of the Administrative Judge’s decision, and then appeal a final award to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days. Those appeals rely on the existing record, so the hearing itself is the most important stage.
Can I receive comp benefits and also sue a third party?
Often yes. If someone other than your employer caused the injury, such as a negligent driver or an unsafe contractor, you may have a separate injury claim in addition to comp. The two need to be handled together so a settlement in one does not damage the other.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Group health plans often resist paying for injuries that should be covered by comp, and they may seek reimbursement later. Tell your providers the injury is work-related and let us help sort out who pays what while the claim is pending.
I live in Marion County but my injury happened in Louisiana. What now?
Louisiana rules govern an accident there: report to your employer within 30 days and file a claim generally within one year of the accident. We handle claims in both states, so we can sort out which state’s law applies to you.
Serving Marion County Workers and Surrounding Communities
Our workers’ compensation team represents injured workers in Columbia, the Marion County seat, and in Foxworth, Sandy Hook, Kokomo, Goss, Improve, and the rural communities along the Pearl River and Highway 98 corridors. If you were hurt at a mill, on a logging job, on a construction site, or behind the wheel on a county road, we can help.
We also represent workers in neighboring Walthall, Lamar, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Pearl River, and Forrest counties, and in nearby communities such as Hattiesburg, Poplarville, Picayune, and Tylertown. Beyond south Mississippi, we serve injured workers in Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, and across Louisiana in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and South Louisiana and north Louisiana communities.
Talk With a Marion County Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt on the job and the insurance company is denying, delaying, or cutting off your benefits, speak with a Marion County workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC before the deadlines close in. 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 tell us what happened. We help injured workers, and that is all we do.
