Mississippi Industrial Explosion Injury Lawyer
The goal after a plant blast, refinery flash fire, or grain dust explosion is straightforward: get every medical bill covered, keep income flowing while you heal, and make sure no responsible party escapes accountability. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Mississippi industrial explosion injury lawyer from our team handles the compensation claim, the fight with the insurer, and any separate claim against outside companies that helped cause the blast.
Explosion injuries are rarely small. Burns, blast-wave trauma, shrapnel wounds, hearing loss, crush injuries from collapsing structures, and lung damage from smoke or chemical exposure often stack on top of each other. Treatment can mean skin grafts, multiple surgeries, long rehabilitation, and psychological care for post-traumatic stress. The insurer’s adjuster, meanwhile, is already asking for recorded statements and looking for reasons to shrink the claim.
Our firm serves injured workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. If you were hurt in an explosion at a mill, plant, rig, or job site anywhere in that territory, we can talk through what comes next at no cost.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Industrial Explosion Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is built around one thing: representing injured workers. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for our clients. Our work extends across Mississippi and Louisiana, and we take claims before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission and, when needed, up through the appellate courts.
Catastrophic injury is not unfamiliar territory for us. We secured a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker who suffered severe burns to his lower extremities, and our results include $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 injured when he was struck in his work vehicle. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee an outcome, but they show the kind of serious injury we are accustomed to litigating.
Founding partner Rob Lunsford 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, which matters when an explosion claim also involves a lawsuit against a third party. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Clients tell us what they value most: someone who listens, explains the process, and fights the insurance company so they do not have to. We charge nothing up front, advance the costs of the case, and are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Hablamos español.
Common Industrial Explosion Injuries and the Workplaces Behind Them
- Thermal and Chemical Burns: Flash fires and fireballs at refineries, chemical plants, and oil field sites cause deep burns that need debridement, grafting, and long-term scar and mobility care. Burns and catastrophic injuries on rigs, in plants, and on industrial sites are a core part of our caseload.
- Blast-Wave and Traumatic Brain Injuries: Pressure waves can injure the brain, lungs, and internal organs even when a worker has no visible wound. Symptoms such as headaches, memory trouble, or breathing problems may surface days later, which is why early documentation matters.
- Shrapnel, Crush, and Fracture Injuries: Ruptured vessels, flying debris, and collapsing walls cause fractures of the hips, ankles, and feet, along with lacerations and crush trauma that can require specialists and complex surgical repair.
- Spine, Neck, and Shoulder Injuries: Being thrown by a blast or struck by falling equipment often herniates discs or tears rotator cuffs. Insurers may then blame degenerative disc disease or an old injury, and we answer with medical evidence tying the damage to the explosion.
- Hearing Loss and Inhalation Injuries: Concussive noise damages hearing permanently, and smoke, dust, and chemical release can scar the lungs. Both are compensable work injuries when tied to the event.
- Combustible Dust and Gas Events: Sawmills, grain and feed operations, and food or wood processing facilities can ignite airborne dust, while pipeline, plant, and drilling work carries gas and vapor risks.
- Psychological Trauma: Post-traumatic stress after surviving or witnessing an explosion is a real injury that affects a worker’s ability to return to the site. Treatment records and a clear link to the event are essential.
- Fatal Explosions: When a worker does not survive, the family may be entitled to death benefits under the compensation system and may also have a wrongful death claim against responsible outside parties.
What to Do After an Explosion Injury at Work in Mississippi
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the injury happened at work and was caused by an explosion. Blast injuries can hide, so even if you walked away, get examined for hearing, lung, and head injuries. Those first records become the foundation of your claim.
Report the injury to your employer promptly. Mississippi requires notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident, and reporting in writing is the safest way to prove you did it. Do not wait to see how you feel. Separately, the law generally gives you two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission if no disability benefits have been paid in that time. These deadlines come from Mississippi Code section 71-3-35, and missing them can bar the claim entirely. Coverage begins your first day on the job, with no waiting period, though employers with fewer than five employees are generally outside the system.
Preserve what you can. Photos of the site and your injuries, names of coworkers who saw the blast, your pay stubs, and any messages from supervisors about the incident all help. Be careful with the insurer’s adjuster. A recorded statement given while you are medicated or in pain can be quoted back to you later, and casual remarks about prior back trouble or a missed safety step become ammunition. You are allowed to talk to a lawyer before giving one.
Workers’ compensation claims in Mississippi are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a regular court. A case is tried before an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the judge’s decision on the existing record, which is a review rather than a new trial. 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. Appellate courts look only at the record made before the Commission, which is why building the medical and witness record from the start matters so much.
If a third-party lawsuit is part of your case, it would be filed in the appropriate Mississippi circuit court or, in some cases, a federal court. Hinds County, for example, has its circuit court in Jackson, and the federal Southern District of Mississippi holds court in Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and Natchez. We will tell you which forum fits your claim.
Beyond Workers’ Compensation: Claims Against Equipment Makers and Contractors
Workers’ compensation is usually your exclusive remedy against your own employer, but explosions are rarely caused by one party. A manufacturer may have sold a defective valve, boiler, or pressure vessel. A contractor on site may have created the hazard, a maintenance company may have skipped an inspection, or a chemical supplier may have mislabeled a product. When someone other than your employer contributed to the blast, you may have a separate personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits.
Those claims can reach damages that compensation does not, including pain and suffering. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than barred. The general limitation period for claims with no other specified period is three years, and for latent injuries the clock may start when the injury is discovered or reasonably should have been. Mississippi also caps noneconomic damages in certain case types, though the caps do not reach economic losses like medical costs and lost earnings. Because the compensation carrier often has a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, we coordinate both claims so one does not undercut the other.
Evidence in these cases disappears fast. Equipment gets repaired or scrapped, and companies investigate internally. Getting a lawyer involved early helps ensure the failed component, maintenance logs, and incident reports are preserved.
Questions About Mississippi Industrial Explosion Claims
What benefits can I receive after an industrial explosion injury?
Mississippi compensation covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement while you cannot work. Wage loss is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by the state. Permanent injuries bring additional disability benefits.
How long do I have to report an explosion injury?
You should report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it right away and in writing if you can. Late notice gives the insurer an easy argument to deny the claim.
How long do I have to file a claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment if benefits were paid. The filing is a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If you are unsure whether your deadline has run, call us promptly.
How long can I collect disability payments?
Temporary total and permanent total disability benefits are generally capped at 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability payments in most cases are subject to the same limit. The weekly amount is also capped by a statutory maximum that is adjusted periodically.
Can I sue my employer for the explosion?
Usually not, because workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against a covered employer. You can, however, pursue outside companies such as equipment manufacturers or other contractors whose negligence helped cause the blast.
What if the insurer says my back or shoulder problem was already there?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the explosion caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. We answer this argument with medical records and physician opinions.
My symptoms did not show up until days later. Is the claim still valid?
Yes, blast injuries such as brain trauma, hearing loss, and lung damage often appear late. What matters is documenting the connection to the explosion through prompt medical evaluation, and reporting the event itself within the 30-day notice window.
What if I was partly to blame, for example by skipping a safety step?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own carelessness usually does not defeat the claim. In a separate third-party lawsuit, Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault rather than eliminating it.
Will health insurance pay while my comp claim is pending?
If the carrier denies or delays treatment, some workers use health coverage as a stopgap, but the health plan may seek reimbursement later. Talk with us before relying on it so your claim is not complicated.
Can I be fired for filing a claim after an explosion?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting your injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
What if a family member died in an industrial explosion?
Dependents may be entitled to death benefits through the compensation system. Where an outside party was at fault, a wrongful death lawsuit may also be available; Mississippi generally allows three years for negligence-based claims, and one year for intentional torts.
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 Industrial Explosion Injury Clients Across Mississippi
Industrial work in Mississippi stretches from the Delta to the coast, and so does our practice. From the Jackson metro and Madison, our team represents injured workers across Hinds County and the surrounding communities that supply the region’s plants, warehouses, and construction sites. We also serve clients along the Gulf Coast, where refining, shipbuilding, and chemical operations carry real explosion risk, and in Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt, home to timber, manufacturing, and energy work.
Further north, we represent workers in Southaven and the DeSoto County corridor, and across north Mississippi and the Delta, where agriculture, grain handling, and processing facilities create combustible dust hazards. Whether you were hurt in a sawmill, an oil field operation, a plant, or on a construction site, we can take your claim before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission and pursue outside parties wherever the responsible companies operate. We also represent injured workers in neighboring Louisiana, including the New Orleans area, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.
Talk With a Mississippi Industrial Explosion Injury Attorney Today
If an explosion at work has left you hurt, out of a paycheck, or facing an insurer that is questioning what happened, a Mississippi industrial explosion injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation and explain your options. 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 or send your case details, and let us deal with the insurance company while you focus on getting well.
