Mississippi Oilfield Injury Lawyer
A rig floor, a wellsite, a pipe yard or a compressor station can turn one bad second into a year of surgeries, rehab and missed paychecks. Mississippi’s oil and gas workers, from the fields around Natchez and the southwest corner of the state to the Gulf Coast and the Hattiesburg area, deserve a clear picture of what happens after a serious injury. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and it handles oilfield injury claims for roughnecks, derrickhands, drivers, welders and service-company crews.
Here is what usually happens next. The employer or its insurer asks for a statement. A company-chosen doctor sees you first. Someone suggests the injury was “already there,” or that you were not following a safety rule. Those early moves shape the whole claim, and most of them happen before the injured worker has talked to a lawyer. A Mississippi oilfield injury lawyer can step in at that stage and keep the claim on solid footing.
Why Oilfield Claims Take More Than a Standard Comp Filing
Oilfield work does not fit neatly into the usual comp template. Crews are often employed by a contractor or staffing company, not the operator whose name is on the lease. Work moves between wells, between parishes and counties, and sometimes across the state line into Louisiana. Equipment belongs to one company, the site is controlled by another, and the paycheck comes from a third. Each of those relationships matters, because the answer to “who is my employer, and who else is responsible?” decides which benefits you can collect and whether a second claim exists.
The injuries are also heavier than the average office claim. Pulling and racking pipe wrecks shoulders and backs. Falls from derricks and catwalks break bones. Pressure releases and fires cause burns. Wage records can be messy too, with hitch pay, per diem, overtime and bonus structures that insurers love to undercount when they calculate your weekly benefit.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an Oilfield Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers throughout Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta and the Gulf Coast, as well as South Louisiana and communities across both states. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a side matter that comes in occasionally. The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for its clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking workers can work with the team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
That experience includes oilfield cases. The firm secured a $221,000 settlement 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. Beyond the oilfield, results include $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. 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.
The team includes Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers; Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe; and attorneys Andrew Rueff, Keaton Belk, Erin Heimlicher and Jared Martin. Clients describe an attorney who fought the insurance company at every step and a team that listened and made a hard process manageable.
Oilfield Injuries and Claims We Handle
- Shoulder and Upper-Body Tears: Handling drill pipe, tongs and heavy tools tears rotator cuffs and labrums. Insurers often call these degenerative or old sports injuries, so the medical record has to tie the damage to the work.
- Back, Neck and Spine Injuries: Lifting, twisting on the rig floor and vehicle wrecks on lease roads cause herniated discs. A pre-existing degenerative finding does not end a claim when the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Burns and Fire Injuries: Flash fires, hot fluids and equipment failures produce serious burns that require grafts, specialist care and long recovery. These often qualify as catastrophic injuries.
- Fractures and Crush Injuries: Dropped loads, pinch points and falls from height break feet, ankles, hips and hands, sometimes requiring multiple surgeries.
- Knee Injuries: Meniscus and ligament tears from climbing, slipping on wet steel and working on uneven pads are common and frequently disputed.
- Truck and Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Water haulers, vac-truck drivers and crew-change drivers get hurt on the road. A crash caused by another driver can support both a comp claim and a separate injury claim.
- Third-Party Liability Claims: When an operator, equipment maker or non-employer contractor caused the accident, you may have a personal injury case on top of your comp benefits, and the two claims need to be coordinated.
- Fatal Accidents: When a worker dies, surviving family members may have death benefits through comp and, in some cases, a wrongful death claim against a negligent outside party.
What to Do in the Days After an Oilfield Injury
Get medical care first. Then tell your employer about the injury, in writing if you can. In Mississippi, the report must go to the employer within 30 days of the accident. Do not treat that as a comfortable window. Supervisors forget, crews rotate off, and a late report hands the insurer an easy argument.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the well or site, the time, the equipment, who saw it, who you told and who sent you for treatment. Take photos if you can, and keep copies of pay stubs, hitch schedules, per diem records and any incident report you are handed. Ask for the names of coworkers who witnessed the accident before the crew scatters.
Be careful with recorded statements. Adjusters ask for them early, and an offhand answer about a prior ache or a skipped procedure can be used later. You are allowed to talk to a lawyer first.
The filing deadline is separate from the reporting deadline. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury date, the right to benefits is barred unless a claim is filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission during that period. A worker generally has two years from the injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. The rules appear in Miss. Code § 71-3-35.
Cases go before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body, not a courtroom. A claim is heard first by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. If either side appeals, the Full Commission reviews the record from that hearing; it is a review, not a second trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties, and the Mississippi Supreme Court often assigns those appeals to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals are decided on the record, the evidence that gets built at the first hearing is the evidence that counts.
The most common mistakes are waiting to report, accepting the company doctor’s first opinion without question, returning to work before a physician clears you, and signing paperwork that describes the injury as something other than what happened.
What Benefits Cover, and What Happens When Work Crosses State Lines
Mississippi comp covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage-loss benefits, with coverage starting from the first day of employment. Temporary and permanent total disability benefits are paid at two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by the state, and generally not beyond 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in most cases are also capped at 450 weeks. Because your average weekly wage drives every check, how the insurer counts overtime, hitch pay and per diem matters a great deal.
Many oilfield workers live in one state and work in another. A Mississippi resident may be hurt on a Louisiana lease, or the reverse, and the firm handles claims in both states. In Louisiana, notice must go to the employer within 30 days, a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, and that period can stretch to three years from the last payment when benefits have been paid. Louisiana injured workers may also receive supplemental earnings benefits if they return at reduced pay, which can run up to 520 weeks. Which state’s law applies depends on where the contract of hire was made, where you were hurt and where the employment is based, so sort that out early.
Questions Oilfield Workers Ask About Mississippi Injury Claims
How soon do I have to report an oilfield injury in Mississippi?
Within 30 days of the accident. Report it immediately and in writing when possible, and keep a copy.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally two years from the date of 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 is filed within two years, the right to benefits is lost.
What does workers’ compensation pay?
It pays reasonable and necessary medical care and wage-loss benefits of two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a state maximum that the state adjusts over time. Disability benefits generally cannot run past 450 weeks.
Does workers’ compensation apply if I work for a contractor and not the oil company?
Yes, coverage generally runs through the company that employs you. Whether another company on the site also bears responsibility is a separate question, and it may open the door to an additional claim.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Treatment choices can be limited, and insurers push injured workers toward their preferred providers. A lawyer can help you challenge a doctor who downplays the injury or clears you too soon.
Do I need a lawyer for an oilfield injury claim?
Not every minor claim requires one. But when benefits are denied, delayed or cut off, or the injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer makes a real difference. Oilfield claims often involve multiple companies and complicated wage records.
What if the insurer says my injury was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. Strong medical evidence answering that argument is central to the case.
Can I also sue someone besides my employer?
Possibly. If a negligent driver, equipment manufacturer or non-employer contractor caused the accident, you may have a personal injury claim alongside your comp benefits. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery but does not bar it. The general three-year limit for most negligence claims under Miss. Code § 15-1-49 applies, but do not rely on that without checking your specific facts.
What if I was hurt on a Louisiana job but live in Mississippi?
The right state’s law depends on the facts of your hire and employment. Louisiana has its own deadlines, including one year to file a formal claim, so prompt advice matters.
What if my employer fired me after I reported the injury?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. Tell your lawyer right away so the termination can be reviewed.
What if my loved one died in an oilfield accident?
Surviving family members may be entitled to death benefits through workers’ compensation. If a third party’s negligence contributed, a wrongful death claim may also exist; in Mississippi, negligence-based wrongful death claims generally carry a three-year limit.
What does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are collected only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
Serving Oilfield Workers Across Mississippi and South Louisiana
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured oil and gas workers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Gulf Coast and the Delta, and in north Mississippi communities across the state. The firm also serves workers in South Louisiana and north Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Shreveport, where many Mississippi-based crews also work. Whether you were hurt on a wellsite in the southwest part of the state, in a shop or yard, or on a job that crossed the state line, the firm can review your claim.
Talk With a Mississippi Oilfield Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a rig, a lease or a job site and the insurance company is questioning your claim, call to speak with a Mississippi oilfield injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, the consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless the firm recovers benefits for you. Reach out before the 30-day reporting window closes, or as soon as you can if it already has.
