Pascagoula Burn Injury Lawyer
Getting a burn injury claim paid usually comes down to three things: medical care that continues until you have healed, wage benefits that keep arriving while you cannot work, and a settlement that reflects the scarring, lost function, and lost earning power you are left with. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Pascagoula burn injury lawyer from our team can pursue each of those pieces for workers hurt in Jackson County and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Pascagoula sits in the middle of some of the most heat-intensive work in the state: shipbuilding, refining, chemical processing, and port operations. Welding arcs, hot work in confined compartments, pressurized steam lines, caustic chemicals, and electrical faults all produce burns that go well beyond a quick trip to urgent care. Deep partial-thickness and full-thickness burns often mean skin grafts, months of dressing changes, pain management, and rehabilitation, and the scars can limit how a worker’s hands, arms, or legs function for the rest of a career. Insurers know this, which is why burn claims draw close scrutiny from the first week.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Workplace Burn Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles injured workers’ cases in Mississippi and Louisiana, and workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice rather than a sideline to other work. Our attorneys bring more than 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off too early, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking workers can work with our team in their own language from the first call. Burn injuries are a regular part of that docket: the firm obtained a $221,000 settlement for a land-based oil rig worker who suffered severe burns to the lower extremities.
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 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. Other results include a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, a $600,000 settlement for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and a $385,000 settlement for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck. Clients consistently tell us they valued being listened to and having an attorney who fought the insurance company at every step.
Types of Burn Injuries We Handle for Pascagoula-Area Workers
- Thermal burns from hot work: Welding, cutting, and grinding in shipyard compartments and fabrication bays throw sparks and molten metal that ignite clothing and cause deep burns to the arms, face, and torso. A Pascagoula workers’ compensation attorney will look at whether fire watch procedures and protective gear were actually in place.
- Chemical burns: Refinery and chemical plant workers face acids, caustics, and solvents that continue damaging tissue until they are fully removed. Delayed decontamination and missing safety showers often become central facts.
- Electrical burns: Contact with energized equipment or arc flash events can cause entry and exit wounds, internal tissue damage, and cardiac or nerve problems that surface days later, long after the visible burn has been treated.
- Steam and hot-liquid scalds: Ruptured steam lines, boiler releases, and hot process fluids cause scalds that frequently require grafting, especially to the hands and forearms.
- Flash fires and explosions: Vapor releases in industrial settings can injure several workers at once and cause burns combined with blast trauma, inhalation injury, and fractures.
- Inhalation and airway injuries: Smoke and superheated gas exposure can damage the lungs even when skin burns look modest, and these injuries can produce lasting breathing limitations.
- Burns with a third-party cause: When a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, or negligent driver caused the burn, a separate personal injury claim may exist alongside workers’ compensation.
What to Do After a Serious Burn at Work in Pascagoula
Get medical treatment first, and make sure the treating provider records that the burn happened at work and describes how. For anything beyond a minor burn, that usually means a hospital burn evaluation, since deep burns can look less severe in the first hours than they turn out to be. Follow every instruction on wound care, restrictions, and follow-up visits. Gaps in treatment are one of the first things an insurer points to when it argues the injury was not serious or not work-related.
Then report the injury to your employer in writing. In Mississippi, you must report a work injury within 30 days of the accident, and the sooner you do it, the harder it is for anyone to question what happened. Write down the date, time, location, equipment involved, and the names of anyone who saw it. Photograph the burns as they look now and as they change, and keep the clothing and protective gear you were wearing. If a supervisor or safety manager prepares an incident report, ask for a copy. Do not sign anything the insurer sends you or give a recorded statement before understanding what it will be used for.
Workers’ compensation claims in Mississippi are heard by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is an administrative body and not a court. A contested claim is filed there by petition, generally within two years of the date of injury or the last compensation payment, and is first heard by an Administrative Judge. A decision can be reviewed by the Full Commission, which examines the record already made rather than holding a new trial, and a final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days of its filing and notice to the parties. That court often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals are limited to the existing record, the medical evidence and testimony gathered at the hearing level matter enormously.
Louisiana also requires notice to the employer within 30 days and generally one year to file a formal claim, with possible extension when benefits have been paid. An attorney can sort out which state’s system governs your claim before a deadline passes.
How Burn Injuries Are Valued in Workers’ Compensation
Mississippi workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical care related to the injury, and it covers workers from their first day of employment with no waiting period. For burns, that can include surgery, skin grafts, wound care, pressure garments, physical and occupational therapy, pain management, and psychological treatment for the trauma that often follows. Insurers sometimes balk at treatment later in the recovery, such as scar revision or specialized therapy, so documenting why each service is medically necessary is part of the work.
Wage replacement is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum set by law. Temporary total disability and permanent total disability benefits are each limited to 450 weeks, and permanent partial disability payments in most cases are also limited to 450 weeks. The amount depends on your wages, your doctor’s work restrictions, and the permanent impairment assigned once you reach maximum medical improvement. Burns complicate this because disfigurement, sensitivity to heat, reduced grip, and limited motion can make a return to the same job unrealistic even when a physician lets you back to some form of work. Showing how those limits affect your actual earning capacity, not just a percentage on a form, is where many burn cases are won or lost.
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. If someone other than your employer contributed to the burn, such as an equipment manufacturer, a contractor on a shared site, or a negligent driver, a separate claim against that party can seek damages workers’ compensation does not allow. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence for those claims, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than eliminating it. Our firm coordinates both claims so one does not undermine the other.
Common Reasons Burn Claims Get Disputed
Insurance carriers tend to argue a handful of things in burn cases. They may say the incident was not reported in time, that the worker violated a safety rule, that the injury happened away from work, or that scarring and limitations are cosmetic rather than disabling. They may push you back to work before your doctor clears you, send you to a physician of their choosing, or stop paying benefits without warning. We build burn cases with treatment records, photographs over time, witness accounts, and work history so each of those arguments has an answer in the file.
Burn Injury Questions Answered
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation burn claim?
Not every claim requires one, but burn injuries tend to involve long treatment, permanent scarring, and disputes over how much work you can still do. 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 make a major difference.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
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 for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a burn injury at work?
In Mississippi, you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. Louisiana has the same 30-day notice requirement. Reporting immediately in writing is the safest course.
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 benefits were paid, to file a petition with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no benefits were paid and no claim was filed within that window, the right to benefits can be lost.
Will workers’ compensation cover skin grafts and long-term scar treatment?
Medical care that is reasonable and necessary because of the work injury is covered, which can include grafting, wound care, therapy, and treatment for lasting effects. Carriers sometimes contest later-stage care, which is why your doctor’s records should tie each treatment to the burn.
What if my burn was partly my own fault?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so carelessness on your part does not ordinarily bar benefits. If you also have a claim against a third party, Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces that recovery by your share of fault instead of eliminating it.
Can I sue my employer for a burn injury instead of filing for comp?
In most cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against a covered employer. Claims against other parties whose negligence or defective equipment contributed to the burn are a separate matter and may proceed in addition to your comp benefits.
Can I be fired for filing a claim after a burn?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting the injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Does a pre-existing skin or health condition end my claim?
No. If your job caused or worsened the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this argument often, and answering it with solid medical evidence is a regular part of our work.
What happens if the insurer says I can go back to work but my hands still do not work right?
A release to work from the insurer’s doctor is not the end of the question. Your treating physician’s restrictions, functional testing, and your actual job demands all matter, and benefits should not be cut off simply because a form says you can return. We challenge premature releases before the Commission.
Will my health insurance pay while my comp claim is being fought?
Sometimes, but health insurers usually want reimbursement if the comp carrier is later found responsible. Tell us about any bills you are paying out of pocket or through other coverage so we can address them as part of the claim.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos espanol, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Burn Injury Clients in Pascagoula and Across Jackson County
Our work for burn-injured workers starts in Pascagoula and Jackson County, including Moss Point, Gautier, Ocean Springs, Gulf Hills, Vancleave, Escatawpa, Hurley, and St. Martin, where shipyard, refinery, and port workers live and commute. We also serve injured workers across the Mississippi Gulf Coast in neighboring Harrison County, including Biloxi, Gulfport, D’Iberville, and Long Beach, as well as Hancock County, Stone County, George County, and Pearl River County. Moving inland, we represent clients in Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta, along with communities across north Mississippi.
Because the Gulf industrial corridor does not stop at the state line, we also represent injured workers throughout Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and South Louisiana communities where offshore, refinery, and plant work produce serious burn injuries.
Talk With a Pascagoula Burn Injury Attorney Today
If you were burned on the job, you do not have to manage the insurance company while you are healing. A Pascagoula burn injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain which deadlines apply to you, and start working on your medical care and wage benefits. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today to talk through your case.
