Mississippi Machine Accident Injury Lawyer
When a worker is hurt by a press, saw, conveyor, forklift, or other piece of industrial equipment in Mississippi, the claim usually goes through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission rather than a jury courtroom, and that single fact shapes almost everything about how the case is built. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for people hurt on the job across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Mississippi machine accident injury lawyer at the firm approaches these cases with that forum in mind from day one.
Machine injuries tend to be severe and fast. A hand pulled into a roller, a limb caught in an unguarded gear, a crushing event involving a loader or a lift, a burn from a pressurized system: these are the injuries that end careers and require multiple surgeries. They also produce disputes. Employers and insurers question whether the equipment was being used properly, whether the worker bypassed a safety feature, or whether a long-standing condition is really to blame. Mississippi’s compensation system generally does not turn on who was careless, which matters a great deal in a machine case where the insurer wants to talk about what you did wrong.
There is also a second question that many injured workers never hear about until it is too late: whether someone other than your employer, such as the manufacturer of a defective machine or a contractor who maintained it, can be held responsible in a separate claim. Sorting out both tracks early is one of the most valuable things a lawyer can do for you.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Machine Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta, as well as South Louisiana. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, works on a no recovery, no fee basis, advances the costs of the case, offers free consultations, answers its phones 24 hours a day, and speaks Spanish with clients who prefer it.
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 round out the attorney team.
The results matter here because machine injuries are often serious orthopedic and burn injuries. The firm 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 with back injuries after he was struck in his work vehicle, $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns to the lower extremities, and $195,000 for a derrickhand with complex left shoulder injuries from pulling large pipes. Clients describe attorneys who listen, stay responsive, and push back against the insurance company at every step.
Machine Accident Situations We See in Mississippi Workplaces
- Crush and Caught-In Injuries: Presses, rollers, augers, and conveyor systems in sawmills, poultry plants, and manufacturing facilities can crush or trap hands, arms, and legs. These often involve fractures, amputations, and multiple surgeries, and the insurer may argue a guard was removed or a lockout step was skipped.
- Forklift and Heavy Equipment Incidents: Warehouses, distribution centers, and construction sites around Jackson, Southaven, and the Gulf Coast generate tip-overs, pinning injuries, and pedestrian strikes. A third-party claim against an equipment owner or maintenance contractor may exist alongside the comp claim.
- Cutting, Sawing, and Amputation Injuries: Table saws, band saws, and industrial cutters in lumber and fabrication shops cause lacerations and partial or complete loss of fingers and hands, which raise questions about permanent disability and the ability to keep working in the trade.
- Drilling and Oilfield Machinery: Pipe-handling equipment, drawworks, and pressurized systems on rigs and in plants can cause shoulder tears, fractures, and serious burns. Our firm has recovered significant settlements for rig workers hurt in exactly these settings.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries from Machine Events: A sudden jolt, a falling load, or a violent equipment movement can herniate lumbar or cervical discs. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and the medical evidence has to answer that.
- Burns and Electrical Injuries: Equipment failures involving heat, steam, chemicals, or live current cause catastrophic injuries that require burn-center care and long recovery, with lasting scarring and nerve damage.
- Lockout and Maintenance Injuries: Mechanics and maintenance crews are hurt when a machine restarts or stored energy releases during repair. Diesel mechanics and plant maintenance workers are frequent claimants here.
- Defective Machine Claims: When a missing guard, faulty sensor, or design flaw caused the injury, a separate claim against the manufacturer or another outside party may add recovery beyond comp benefits.
What to Do After a Machine Injury at Work in Mississippi
Get medical care first, and tell the provider the injury happened at work and how it happened. Accurate early records carry a lot of weight later. Then report the injury to your employer promptly. Mississippi requires that the employer be notified within 30 days of the accident, and giving notice in writing, or at least confirming it by text or email, removes any argument about whether you did. Coverage under the Mississippi system begins on your first day of employment, so a new hire is not shut out for being new.
The deadline to file your claim is separate from the notice deadline. 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 have been paid and you have not filed within those two years, the right to benefits can be lost. These rules come from Miss. Code section 71-3-35, and waiting to see how you feel is one of the most expensive mistakes an injured worker can make.
Preserve what you can. Photograph the machine, the guards, the area, and your injuries if it is safe and possible. Write down the names of coworkers who saw it happen, and note whether the equipment had a history of problems, a missing safety device, or recent repairs. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you have talked to a lawyer, and do not sign medical releases broader than what the claim needs. Adjusters look for any statement that sounds like the worker caused the accident or had a prior problem with the same body part.
Once a claim is contested, it is heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. If either side disagrees with that decision, the Full Commission reviews it, but only on the record already made, which is not a new trial. That is why the evidence has to be built correctly the first time. A final Commission award can be appealed within 30 days to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and review is limited to the record from the Commission. Full Commission hearings take place in Jackson.
If you were hurt by a machine that someone else manufactured, installed, or maintained, do not assume comp is your only avenue. Mississippi generally allows three years for most negligence claims that have no shorter period, and pure comparative negligence means your own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than erasing it. Claims involving a county or government agency carry a one-year limit and notice requirements, so the identity of the responsible party changes the clock.
How Machine Injury Claims Get Disputed and What Benefits Apply
Mississippi workers’ compensation pays medical treatment that is reasonably necessary and wage-loss benefits. For temporary total and permanent total disability, the benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, for up to 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in most cases are also capped at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted periodically, so the figure that applies to you depends on your date of injury, and your attorney will calculate it with your actual wage records.
Machine cases get contested in predictable ways. The insurer may say the injury did not arise out of the job, that the worker was doing something outside normal duties, or that a prior back, shoulder, or knee problem explains the symptoms. A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim; if work caused, aggravated, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. The other common move is pressing you back to work before your treating doctor has released you, or cutting off payments without warning. Answering each of these takes medical opinions tied to the specific mechanism of injury, witness accounts, and a documented work history.
Permanent injuries need particular attention. A hand injury that leaves you unable to grip, or a spine injury that rules out heavy labor, can reduce your earning capacity well beyond the percentage a doctor assigns. Rushing into a settlement before your condition stabilizes can leave future surgeries and lost earnings uncovered, because settlements are generally final.
Questions About Mississippi Machine Accident Claims
Do I have to prove my employer was negligent to get workers’ compensation?
No. Workers’ compensation in Mississippi is generally a no-fault system. What matters is that the injury arose out of and in the course of your employment, not whether the employer or you made a mistake. That is why an insurer’s argument that you were careless usually should not defeat a comp claim.
How long do I have to report a machine injury to my employer?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, and do it in writing or confirm it in writing so there is a record.
How long do I have to file my claim with the Commission?
Generally two years from the date of the injury or the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid and no claim was filed within two years, the right to benefits can be barred.
What if the machine was defective? Can I sue the manufacturer?
Possibly. Comp generally limits claims against your own employer, but it usually does not stop you from pursuing a separate claim against a third party such as a manufacturer, an equipment lessor, or an outside maintenance contractor. Those claims have their own deadlines and rules, so it is worth having a lawyer evaluate the equipment and the facts early.
Will I get paid while I am out of work?
If you are disabled by the injury, you may receive weekly wage-loss benefits of two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to the statutory maximum for your date of injury. Insurers sometimes delay or stop payments, and an attorney can push to have them reinstated.
Can I be fired for filing a claim after a machine accident?
Mississippi protects workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you were terminated or punished after reporting your injury, tell your attorney during your consultation so the circumstances can be reviewed.
What if the insurer says I was not following safety rules when the machine hurt me?
Because comp is not fault-based, an alleged safety violation does not automatically eliminate your benefits. It can become a factual dispute, though, so you want evidence about training, whether guards were in place, and what supervisors actually expected. Do not discuss it with the adjuster without counsel.
What if I was hurt by a machine owned by another company on the same job site?
That situation often points toward a possible third-party claim in addition to your comp benefits. Contractors, equipment rental companies, and property owners may each carry separate responsibility, and under Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule your own share of fault would reduce, not bar, a recovery.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my employer’s insurer is already paying?
Often, yes. Payments can stop when the insurer decides you have reached maximum improvement or should return to work, and a settlement offered early can undervalue permanent impairment and future medical needs. A consultation is free, and the firm is paid only if it recovers benefits or a settlement for you.
What happens if the Administrative Judge rules against me?
You can seek review by the Full Commission, which examines the record made before the judge rather than hearing the case fresh. After a final award, an appeal can be taken to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, again confined to the Commission record. Because of that, the quality of the evidence at the first hearing is critical.
Do you represent Spanish-speaking workers hurt by machinery?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Machine Injury Clients Across Mississippi
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe represents injured workers statewide. In and around Hinds County, that includes Jackson, Clinton, Byram, Terry, Raymond, Bolton, Utica, and Edwards, and neighboring Madison County communities such as Madison and Ridgeland. Plants, warehouses, and construction sites throughout the Jackson metro generate machine claims, and the Full Commission itself sits in Jackson.
From there, the firm represents workers in Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt, across the Gulf Coast, in Southaven and the north Mississippi corridor, and throughout the Delta. Whether the injury happened in a sawmill, a poultry processing line, a shipyard, an oil field, or a distribution center, the claim runs through the same Commission, and the firm brings the same focus to each one. The firm also represents injured workers across South Louisiana and north Louisiana for those who are hurt across the state line.
Talk With a Mississippi Machine Injury Attorney Today
If a machine injured you at work, a conversation with a Mississippi machine injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can clarify which deadlines apply to you, what benefits you should be receiving, and whether someone besides your employer may be responsible. The consultation is free, the firm advances case costs, and you pay no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered for you. Call and speak with the team any hour of the day, and let the insurance company deal with someone whose only job is protecting injured workers.
