New Albany Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in New Albany, throughout Union County, and across north Mississippi, along with the rest of the state and south Louisiana. Our clients are the people who keep this part of the state running: furniture and upholstery plant workers, truck drivers hauling out of the region, warehouse and distribution employees, nurses, construction crews, and laborers whose bodies take the daily wear of the job.
If you are searching for a New Albany workers’ compensation lawyer, the first thing worth knowing is that Mississippi comp is not a lawsuit in the ordinary sense. Nobody has to be at fault. Your claim runs through an administrative system, and it is the insurance carrier, not your employer, that usually decides whether you get treatment and a paycheck while you heal. That is where most of the trouble starts.
Carriers deny claims by arguing the injury did not happen at work, by pointing to an old back problem, or by pushing a return to work before the doctor agrees. A worker in a plant off a Union County highway deals with the same carrier playbook as one in Jackson. Knowing the playbook is the difference between a claim that stalls and one that moves.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a New Albany Comp Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm. Most lawyers who take comp cases are personal injury attorneys who handle a work injury only when one walks in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients across Mississippi and Louisiana. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and you owe no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and we speak Spanish (hablamos espanol) from the first call through the end of the case.
Our team includes Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers; Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, Partners, both recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers; and attorneys Andrew Rueff, Keaton Belk, Erin Heimlicher, and Jared Martin. Best Law Firms ranked the firm in 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson.
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 his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what stood out: an attorney who listened, who fought the insurance company at every step, and who answered when they called.
Injuries and Claims We See From Union County Workplaces
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting, bending, and repetitive motion on manufacturing floors and in warehouses produce lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Carriers often blame degenerative disc disease, and we answer with medical evidence showing the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among workers who pull, lift overhead, or climb. When an employer calls it an old sports injury, the medical timeline becomes the case.
- Fractures: Falls from loading docks, ladders, and equipment break feet, ankles, hips, and other bones, and often require specialists and surgical repair that carriers are slow to approve.
- Truck and delivery driver injuries: Drivers hurt in a wreck on the job may have a comp claim and a separate claim against the at-fault driver. Coordinating the two protects both.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Plant, industrial, and oil field work can cause severe burns and life-altering harm that call for long-term medical care and permanent disability benefits.
- Nurses and healthcare workers: Patient lifting and long shifts cause back and shoulder injuries in hospital and care-facility staff.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job can all support a claim.
- Wrongful death: When a workplace accident takes a life, family members may be entitled to death benefits and may also have claims against third parties.
What to Do After a Work Injury in New Albany
Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can, and no later than 30 days after the accident. Waiting risks the claim. Ask for medical care, get it documented, and tell the doctor exactly how the injury happened and that it happened at work. Vague histories get used against you later.
Mississippi gives you two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, unless the carrier has paid disability benefits, in which case the time generally runs from the last payment. Coverage begins on your first day on the job, with no waiting period. Do not assume a verbal report or an employer’s promise to handle it is enough.
Keep your own record: photographs of the scene, names of coworkers who saw the accident, copies of every medical note, and a log of missed work. Do not give a recorded statement to the adjuster before you understand what it will be used for, and do not sign anything that releases your rights. Be wary of any push to return to work before your treating doctor clears you.
The Commission, not a court, hears these claims. A dispute goes to an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. A party unhappy with that decision can seek review by the Full Commission, which works from the record already made rather than hearing the case fresh. That makes the first hearing the one that counts, so the evidence has to be built before it, not after. A final Commission award can then be appealed within 30 days, and the Mississippi Supreme Court may send the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Benefits Mississippi Comp Can Provide
Medical care is the foundation: all reasonable and necessary treatment for the work injury, including surgery, therapy, and medication. Wage replacement for total disability, whether temporary or permanent, is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum and not beyond 450 weeks. Partial disability benefits follow similar limits. These figures are set by statute and adjusted over time, so the number that applies to you depends on your wages and your injury date.
Disputes tend to center on three questions: whether the injury arose from the job, how much permanent impairment remains, and whether you can return to your old work or must settle for reduced earning ability. Each is a medical and vocational question, and each can be won or lost on the quality of the records.
When Another Party Is Also Responsible
Comp pays regardless of fault, but it does not cover pain and suffering. If a negligent driver, an outside contractor, or a defective product contributed to your injury, you may also have a personal injury claim. Our firm handles car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death, and we make sure the comp claim and the injury claim support rather than undercut each other. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence on the injury side, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than erasing it.
New Albany Workers’ Comp Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim needs one. But if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time, an attorney can change the outcome. The carrier has adjusters and lawyers 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. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Within 30 days of the accident at the latest, and sooner is better. Report in writing so there is a record.
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 if disability benefits were paid. The filing is a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us so we can review your options.
What if the insurer says my injury was pre-existing?
A prior condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated it, benefits may still be owed. Strong medical opinions tying your work to the change in your condition are the core of the response.
Who decides my case, a judge or a jury?
Neither in the usual sense. An Administrative Judge with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission hears the evidence. There is no jury. Review by the Full Commission is on the existing record, not a new trial.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Doctor selection rules can shape your case, and the first treating physician often carries heavy weight. Talk with us before you settle on a provider or accept a referral you do not understand.
Will my health insurance pay while my claim is pending?
Many workers rely on health insurance during a denial, and the comp carrier may later owe reimbursement. Keep every bill and explanation of benefits, and do not assume a denial means you must pay out of pocket for good.
What if I was hurt in a wreck driving for work?
You may have two claims: workers’ compensation and a personal injury claim against the other driver. Both have their own deadlines and rules, and how one resolves can affect the other, so coordinate them from the start.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injury seems minor?
Often yes, because minor injuries can turn out to need surgery or leave permanent restrictions. A free consultation costs nothing and tells you whether the carrier is handling your claim fairly.
Do you handle claims if I was hurt in Louisiana?
Yes. We represent injured workers in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Louisiana generally requires a report within 30 days and a formal claim within one year.
Serving New Albany and Communities Across North Mississippi
Our work for injured people starts in New Albany and across Union County, including Myrtle, Ecru, Blue Springs, Sherman, and the smaller communities around them. From there we represent clients in neighboring Pontotoc, Tippah, Benton, Lee, Itawamba, and Prentiss counties, and in towns such as Pontotoc, Ripley, Tupelo, Oxford, Corinth, and Booneville.
We also serve workers across the rest of Mississippi, including Southaven and the DeSoto County area, the Delta, Jackson and Madison, Hattiesburg, and the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana, we represent clients in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and throughout north Louisiana and south Louisiana. Wherever the injury happened, the comp system and the carrier tactics are familiar to us.
Talk to a New Albany Workers’ Comp Attorney Today
If you were hurt on the job, you do not have to take on the insurance company by yourself. A New Albany workers’ comp attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain where your claim stands, and tell you what comes next. Call us any time, day or night, for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. We help injured workers, and that is all we do.
