Montgomery County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Montgomery County, Mississippi, and across the Delta, north Mississippi, and the rest of the state, along with injured workers throughout Louisiana. Our clients are people hurt on job sites, in plants, behind the wheel of work trucks, and in the kind of physical jobs that wear a body down, who suddenly find themselves cut off from a paycheck and arguing with an insurer.
If you are searching for a Montgomery County workers’ compensation lawyer, the first thing to know is where your claim will actually be decided. Mississippi comp claims do not go to the county courthouse. They go to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body that hears evidence through Administrative Judges, with the Full Commission reviewing appeals. Where you live in the Delta does not change that, and it does not change the clock that started the day you were hurt.
Employers and carriers know that distance and delay work in their favor. A worker in a small Delta community may be told to wait for a report, wait for an adjuster’s call, or wait for a doctor the insurer picked. Waiting is how deadlines pass and how pre-existing condition arguments take root. The decisions you make in the first few weeks matter more than most people realize.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Mississippi Comp Claim
Workers’ compensation is the center of this firm’s practice, not a side matter taken on when a case happens to walk in. Our attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and we have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We represent injured workers in Mississippi and Louisiana, and that includes Montgomery County and the surrounding Delta communities.
Rob Lunsford, our 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 reflect the kind of injuries that actually come through the door: $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 his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what they value is being listened to and having someone stand up to the insurance company for them.
You pay nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. 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.
Injuries and Claims We Handle for Montgomery County Workers
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common comp injuries, especially in warehouse, trucking, and manual labor jobs. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease; we answer with medical evidence showing how the work caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears often follow repetitive lifting, pulling, or a single bad fall. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries, and that argument needs a direct medical response.
- Fractures: Broken feet, ankles, hips, and other bones can require specialists and complex surgical repair, and they can keep a worker off the job for months.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and oil field work produce severe burns and life-altering injuries that call for long-term medical care and careful valuation.
- Truck and vehicle accidents on the job: Delivery drivers, truckers, and workers in company vehicles are hurt on rural highways every day. Comp benefits may be only part of the picture when another driver caused the wreck.
- Agricultural and general labor injuries: The Delta’s economy runs on physical work, and hand, back, and crush injuries follow. Mississippi covers workers from their first day on the job, with no waiting period.
- Denied or cut-off benefits: Claims denied outright, benefits stopped without warning, and workers pushed back to work before a doctor clears them all fall within the appeals work we do.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Heart and lung disease, hypertension, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job are claims we handle for those who serve their communities.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Montgomery County
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi gives you 30 days from the accident to notify your employer, and missing that window gives the carrier an easy argument. Do not assume a supervisor’s verbal acknowledgment is enough. Keep a copy of anything you send.
Get medical care and tell every provider the injury happened at work. Be specific about how it happened and which body parts hurt, because early records become the backbone of the claim. Gaps in treatment and vague histories are what adjusters seize on later.
Know the filing deadline. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission, and the clock can also run from the last compensation payment. Notice and limitation rules are in Mississippi Code Section 71-3-35. Employers sometimes tell workers a claim is being handled, and two years pass quietly. A filing is what protects your rights.
Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you understand what is at stake, and do not sign medical releases broader than you need to. Do not return to work against your doctor’s restrictions, and do not stop treating because the carrier stopped paying. Write down who saw the accident, who you told, and what each person said.
If the carrier denies the claim, the case moves toward a hearing before an Administrative Judge at the Commission. If you lose there, you can ask the Full Commission to review the record, which is a review of what was already presented, not a new trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed within 30 days, and the Mississippi Supreme Court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals rest on the record built earlier, the evidence you gather at the start decides how far a case can go.
What Mississippi Comp Benefits Actually Cover
Medical care comes first: reasonable and necessary treatment for the work injury, including surgery, therapy, and medication. Wage replacement for total disability runs at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally cannot exceed 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability benefits in other cases also stop at 450 weeks. The weekly maximum is adjusted over time, so ask us what applies to your injury date.
Work injuries sometimes involve a second party, such as a negligent driver or a contractor who left an unsafe site. In those situations you may have a separate injury claim alongside your comp benefits, and the two need to be handled together so one does not undercut the other. Our firm also handles personal injury, car and truck accident, premises liability, and wrongful death cases.
Questions Montgomery County Workers Ask About Comp Claims
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 change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys protecting its interests.
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. Fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it sooner, and put it in writing.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury or from the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If you are unsure which date controls, call us before the time runs.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if my employer says my injury is from a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence is how that argument gets answered.
Does Mississippi comp cover me if I just started the job?
Yes. Coverage starts on the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement, as long as your employer is covered by the law.
Where will my case actually be heard?
Before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a county court. Disputed claims go to an Administrative Judge, and appeals go to the Full Commission, which meets in Jackson.
Can I pick my own doctor?
Treatment choices in comp claims have rules, and the carrier will try to steer you to its own providers. Talk with us before you accept a doctor selected by the insurer or agree to any independent exam.
What if I live in Montgomery County but was hurt working in Louisiana?
That can raise questions about which state’s law applies. Louisiana generally requires notice to the employer within 30 days and a formal claim within one year of the accident. Our firm handles claims in both states, so we can sort out where your claim belongs.
Can I get comp benefits and sue someone else too?
Often, yes, when a third party such as a negligent driver or a contractor caused your injury. The comp claim goes through the Commission, and the injury claim goes through the courts, and we coordinate the two.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?
A call costs nothing, and many injuries that look minor turn into surgery or permanent restrictions. Getting the paperwork and medical record right early protects you if the injury gets worse.
Serving Injured Workers From Winona and Across the Delta
Montgomery County sits in the Mississippi Delta region, and we represent injured workers from Winona and Duck Hill through the surrounding communities. We also work with clients in neighboring counties, including Grenada, Carroll, Attala, Leflore, and Sunflower, and in towns across the Delta and north Mississippi.
Our reach continues across the state, to Jackson and Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Gulf Coast, and into Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and the rest of south and north Louisiana. Wherever the injury happened, the questions are the same: who pays for treatment, who replaces the paycheck, and what the insurer will try to blame.
Talk With a Montgomery County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you were hurt at work, the deadlines are already running. A Montgomery County workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain what the carrier is likely to argue, and tell you what to do next. Consultations are free, our phones are answered around the clock, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call us today.
