Pascagoula Personal Injury Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims in Pascagoula and across Jackson County, from the Gulf Coast to the rest of Mississippi and South Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, and the firm also handles personal injury claims, including car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death.
Pascagoula is a working town. Shipyard hulls, refinery units, chemical plants, port terminals, and the trucks that feed all of them put thousands of people into hazardous jobs every day. When a Pascagoula personal injury lawyer is needed, it is often because one accident has two sides: a workers’ compensation claim against the employer’s insurer, and a separate injury claim against a negligent outside party. Getting those two claims to work together is a skill in itself.
A welder hit by a falling load because a subcontractor rigged it wrong, a driver rear-ended on Highway 90 while making a delivery, a contract worker injured on a plant owner’s unsafe premises: each of these can support more than one recovery. The sooner someone looks at the whole picture, the less likely it is that a deadline or a careless statement closes a door.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Pascagoula Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a law firm built around injured workers, serving clients in Pascagoula, Jackson County, and communities throughout Mississippi and Louisiana. Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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 your case, and you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
Partners 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which matters when a third-party injury claim needs a lawyer who is comfortable in front of a jury.
The results reflect the kind of injuries Gulf Coast industrial work produces: $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 struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stands up to the insurance company, and Brad Baskin is named often in their reviews.
Injury Situations We See From Pascagoula Workplaces and Roads
- Shipyard and Marine Fabrication Injuries: Welding, grinding, crane lifts, and work in confined hull spaces cause crush injuries, burns, and back and shoulder damage. Some of these workers fall under federal maritime or longshore rules rather than the state comp system, so identifying the right framework early matters.
- Refinery and Chemical Plant Accidents: Fires, flash burns, chemical exposure, and equipment failures injure both direct employees and contract crews. Contractors working for a plant owner may be able to pursue the owner or another contractor in addition to collecting comp.
- Truck and Delivery Driver Crashes: Heavy traffic on Highway 90, Highway 63, and Interstate 10 near the Jackson County line brings wrecks involving work vehicles. A driver hurt on the job may have comp benefits and a claim against the at-fault driver.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations are among the most common claims from heavy labor. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, and medical evidence is what answers that argument.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears come from repetitive lifting, pulling pipe, and climbing. Employers sometimes call them old sports injuries.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial sites produce severe burns and life-altering trauma that require long treatment and often support larger claims.
- Premises Liability on Job Sites: Unsafe walkways, missing guardrails, and poorly maintained equipment owned by someone other than your employer can create a separate negligence claim.
- Wrongful Death: When a workplace or highway accident kills a family member, survivors may have both comp death benefits and a wrongful death action against a negligent third party.
What to Do After an Injury in Pascagoula
Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how the injury happened and that it was work-related. Vague histories in early medical records get quoted back later.
Report the injury to your employer promptly. Under Mississippi law you must give notice within 30 days of the accident, and written notice is better than a verbal mention. Mississippi comp covers you from your first day on the job, with no waiting period.
Know the two-year clock. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury, the right to benefits is barred unless a claim has been filed with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. The filing is a Petition to Controvert, and the deadline can also run from the last compensation payment. Workers’ comp is handled by the Commission, not a court, through an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge, with review by the Full Commission on the record made at that hearing. It is not a new trial.
Third-party claims run on a different clock. Most Mississippi negligence claims must be filed within three years of when the claim accrued, and claims against a county or other government body carry a one-year limit and a notice requirement under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. If the injured person worked across the state line in Louisiana, that state’s rules apply: 30 days to report, one year to file a comp claim, and two years for most injury lawsuits arising from accidents on or after July 1, 2024.
Gather what you can: photographs of the scene and equipment, names of coworkers who saw it, the other driver’s insurance information, and your work schedule and pay records. Keep a list of every provider you see. Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster before talking to a lawyer, and do not sign medical releases broader than your injury.
Finally, do not go back to work before your doctor releases you, and do not assume benefits stopped because a nurse case manager or adjuster said so. Cutoffs without explanation are one of the most common problems we see.
When a Comp Claim and an Injury Lawsuit Overlap
Mississippi comp is a no-fault system, and in exchange it generally shields your employer from a lawsuit. It does not shield everyone else. A negligent driver, an equipment manufacturer, a property owner, or another contractor on the site can be sued for the full range of damages, including pain and suffering, which comp does not pay.
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so if you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated. Louisiana is different for newer accidents: for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing.
The comp insurer usually has a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, which is why the two claims must be coordinated. A settlement of one claim without attention to the other can cost you money or benefits. Handling both under one roof avoids that.
Comp wage benefits in Mississippi are two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted over time, for up to 450 weeks in total and permanent disability cases. Medical care for the work injury is covered in addition.
Pascagoula Injury Claim Questions
Do I need a Pascagoula personal injury attorney if I already have a workers’ comp claim?
If anyone other than your employer contributed to the accident, yes, it is worth a review. Comp does not pay for pain and suffering, and a third-party claim can. A lawyer can tell you whether one exists.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. In comp cases, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a work injury in Mississippi?
Within 30 days of the accident. Report as soon as you can, in writing if possible.
How long do I have to file a Mississippi workers’ comp claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment, by filing with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Late filing can end the claim entirely.
What if my employer says my injury is not work-related?
That is a common denial. The answer is medical evidence, witness accounts, and a clear record of how the injury occurred. A denial is not the final word; it can be challenged before the Commission.
What if I was a contractor, not a direct employee, at a plant or shipyard?
You may still be covered by your own employer’s comp policy, and you may have a claim against the plant owner or another contractor. The contracts on the site often determine who is responsible, so those details matter.
Can I sue my employer for a work injury in Mississippi?
Generally no, because comp is the exclusive remedy against the employer. The exceptions are narrow, and the stronger option is usually a claim against a negligent third party.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
In Mississippi your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, not barred. Comp benefits do not depend on fault at all. For Louisiana accidents on or after January 1, 2026, being 51 percent or more at fault bars an injury recovery.
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, raise it in your consultation so the firm can review your options.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Sometimes, but health insurers often seek reimbursement for work-related care, and using it can complicate the comp claim. Tell your providers it is a work injury and discuss billing with a lawyer before paying out of pocket.
What if the injury happened years of exposure rather than one accident?
Occupational conditions such as hearing loss, lung disease, or repetitive-motion injuries can be compensable. Mississippi’s discovery rule can delay when the clock starts for latent injuries in some civil claims, but report promptly once you connect the condition to work.
Do you handle wrongful death cases?
Yes. Mississippi generally allows three years for negligence-based wrongful death claims and one year for intentional torts. Louisiana allows the longer of one year from death or two years from the injury.
Serving Injured Workers and Accident Victims Across Jackson County and Beyond
The firm’s work for Pascagoula clients extends through all of Jackson County, including Moss Point, Gautier, Ocean Springs, Gulf Park Estates, Escatawpa, Vancleave, Latimer, Hurley, and the communities in between. Workers commuting from neighboring areas to the Pascagoula shipyard and industrial corridor are served too, including those living in Lucedale, Wiggins, Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, and Waveland along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The firm also represents clients across the rest of Mississippi, from Hattiesburg and Jackson to Madison, Southaven, north Mississippi, and the Delta, and across South Louisiana and the state, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport. If your injury happened on one side of the state line and your job is based on the other, the firm can handle both.
Talk With a Pascagoula Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt at work or in a crash and want to know whether you have a comp claim, an injury claim, or both, speak with a Pascagoula injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe. Call the firm any time, day or night. Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless the firm recovers benefits or a settlement for you.
Deadlines in these cases start running on the day of the accident. A phone call now costs nothing and tells you where you stand.
