Ridgeland Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
If you were hurt by a forklift or a crane while working in Ridgeland, you are probably dealing with two problems at once: a body that is not working the way it did, and an employer’s insurance company that wants to know exactly how it happened. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm that represents injured workers in Ridgeland, Madison County, and across Mississippi and South Louisiana, and heavy equipment injuries are a core part of that work.
A Ridgeland forklift and crane accident lawyer matters here because these are not ordinary workplace injuries. A tipped forklift can crush a leg or pelvis. A dropped load can end a career in seconds. A crane failure on a job site can involve the operator, a rigging crew, a general contractor, an equipment owner, and a manufacturer, all pointing at each other. The workers’ compensation claim is your foundation, but sometimes it is not the only claim you have, and how the two fit together can change what your case is worth.
Ridgeland sits in a corridor packed with warehouses, distribution operations, retail construction, and commercial development, and that means forklifts and cranes are working all around the area every day. Workers who run them, work beside them, or simply walk through the wrong aisle at the wrong time make up a steady share of serious injury claims in the region.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for Heavy Equipment Injury Claims
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Ridgeland, throughout Madison County, and in communities across Mississippi and Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a side matter taken when it happens to walk in the door. The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, 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 benefits or a settlement are recovered. The phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language, which matters on job sites where many equipment operators and warehouse crews speak Spanish.
Rob Lunsford, 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, which counts when a heavy equipment accident also produces a claim against a third party. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the team.
The results reflect the kind of injuries forklift and crane accidents tend to cause: $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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Heavy machinery injuries so often involve the back, shoulders, legs, and crush trauma that insurers fight hardest over, and the firm has built cases around exactly those medical records.
Common Forklift and Crane Injury Situations We See
- Forklift Tip-Overs and Rollovers: Sharp turns with a raised load, uneven pavement at a loading dock, or an overloaded mast can flip a forklift. Operators are sometimes thrown or pinned, leading to crushed legs, pelvic fractures, and severe back injuries.
- Pedestrian Strikes in Warehouses: Workers on foot get hit when a forklift backs out of an aisle, rounds a blind corner, or moves through a busy dock. Foot and ankle fractures and lower body crush injuries are common.
- Falling and Shifting Loads: Poorly stacked pallets, damaged forks, or an unbalanced load can come down on the operator or a coworker. These cases often produce neck, shoulder, and head injuries.
- Crane Load Drops and Rigging Failures: Worn slings, bad hitches, or a failed hoist can release a load onto workers below. Construction sites around Ridgeland and the Jackson metro area are a regular setting for these incidents.
- Crane Tip-Overs and Boom Contact: Soft ground, improper outrigger setup, or a boom touching a power line can cause catastrophic injuries, including burns, fractures, and spinal trauma.
- Caught-In and Crush Injuries: Being pinned between a machine and a wall, rack, or trailer is one of the most serious forklift injury patterns and frequently requires multiple surgeries.
- Repetitive and Cumulative Strain: Operators who spend years on vibrating equipment can develop back and neck conditions. Insurers call these degenerative; the medical evidence has to show how the work caused or worsened them.
- Injuries From Defective Equipment: Faulty brakes, failed hydraulics, and broken safety systems can point to a claim against a manufacturer or maintenance contractor in addition to workers’ compensation.
What to Do After a Forklift or Crane Accident in Ridgeland
Get medical care first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work and how. Records made in the first hours and days carry real weight later, and gaps in treatment are something insurers use to argue your injury was not serious or not work-related. If you are taken to a hospital in the Jackson metro area, make sure the work connection is written down at intake, not just the symptoms.
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi law requires you to notify your employer within 30 days of the accident, and waiting invites arguments about whether it happened on the job at all. You then generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is the agency that administers these claims, not a court. Exceptions can apply when benefits have already been paid, but do not count on one. You are covered from your first day of employment, with no waiting period.
If you are injured while working on a Louisiana job site, the timeline is different: the same 30-day notice rule applies, but a formal claim generally has to be filed within one year of the accident, and that year can be extended in some situations when compensation has been paid. If a medical treatment request is denied in Louisiana, there is a 15-day window to file a dispute form with the Office of Workers’ Compensation, so those denials cannot sit.
Then preserve what will disappear. If you can, photograph the machine, the load, the floor conditions, and any damage or missing guards. Write down the names of coworkers who saw what happened, the operator’s name if it was not you, and the equipment number or rental company if one is visible. Forklifts and cranes get repaired, returned, or sent back to a lessor quickly, and an inspection record or maintenance log can vanish with them. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you have talked with an attorney, and do not sign medical releases broader than what the claim actually needs.
Finally, follow your doctor’s instructions and keep your appointments. If the insurer sends you to its own doctor, go, but keep your own treating physician involved. If your claim is denied, an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Judge is the next stage in Mississippi, and a decision can be reviewed by the Full Commission, which looks at the record already made rather than starting over. Final awards can be appealed within 30 days, which is why the evidence built at the first hearing matters so much.
When a Forklift or Crane Accident Is More Than a Comp Claim
Workers’ compensation is generally your exclusive remedy against your own employer, but it is not always the end of the story. Heavy equipment is often owned by one company, operated by another, serviced by a third, and built by a fourth. If someone other than your employer helped cause the accident, you may have a separate personal injury claim that can recover damages workers’ compensation does not, including pain and suffering.
Typical third-party situations include a subcontractor’s crane operator dropping a load on another contractor’s crew, a leased forklift with a known brake defect, a maintenance company that signed off on faulty equipment, or a manufacturer whose safety system failed. In Mississippi, claims like these generally follow a three-year limitation period, and fault is shared under pure comparative negligence, meaning your recovery is reduced by your own share of blame rather than eliminated. Because the comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from a third-party recovery, the two claims have to be handled together. The firm’s personal injury practice exists for exactly this reason.
Weekly wage benefits in Mississippi are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory maximum and for no more than 450 weeks in total disability cases. Medical care is covered as reasonable and necessary. These numbers are the baseline, and a serious crush injury or spinal injury can run well past what wage benefits alone cover, which is another reason to look beyond the comp claim when someone else shares responsibility.
Questions Injured Workers Ask About Forklift and Crane Accidents
Do I have a workers’ compensation claim if I was the forklift operator and made a mistake?
Yes. Workers’ compensation does not turn on fault. If you were hurt in the course of your job, mistakes on your part generally do not defeat the claim. There are narrow exceptions, such as intoxication or willful self-injury, but ordinary error, fatigue, or a bad turn is not one of them.
Can I sue my employer for a forklift or crane accident?
Usually not. Workers’ compensation is typically the exclusive remedy against your employer. But you may be able to bring a separate claim against another company, such as an equipment owner, contractor, maintenance provider, or manufacturer.
How long do I have to report a forklift accident in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it right away and put it in writing if possible. Late notice gives the insurer an argument you do not need to hand them.
How long do I have to file my claim?
In Mississippi, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Workers’ Compensation Commission, with exceptions tied to benefits already paid. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident.
What if the insurance company says my back injury was already there?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the accident or the work aggravated, accelerated, or worsened the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. The answer usually comes down to medical evidence, including imaging, treating physician opinions, and your work history.
Will workers’ compensation pay my medical bills for surgery after a crush injury?
It covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, including surgery, therapy, and follow-up care. Insurers often push back on expensive procedures or specialist referrals, and a denial can be challenged through the Commission.
What happens if I was working for a staffing agency when the forklift hit me?
You may have claims against the staffing company’s insurer, the host employer, or both, depending on who controlled the work. Temporary workers are often hurt in warehouses by equipment they were not trained on, so the training records and who gave the instructions can matter a great deal.
Can I still have a personal injury case if I was partly at fault?
In Mississippi, yes. Comparative negligence reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault instead of barring it. Your workers’ compensation benefits are not reduced by fault at all.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim after a forklift accident?
Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from retaliation for filing a compensation claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell your attorney so the circumstances can be reviewed.
Will I need to go to a hearing, and how long does this take?
Many claims settle without a contested hearing, but when benefits are denied, the case goes before an Administrative Judge at the Commission. Timelines depend on medical recovery, because a case is usually not ready to resolve until your doctor knows how permanent the injury is.
What if the crane accident killed a family member?
Dependents may be entitled to death benefits under workers’ compensation, and there may also be a wrongful death claim against third parties. Mississippi generally allows three years for negligence-based wrongful death claims, and different rules apply if a government entity is involved.
Serving Forklift and Crane Accident Clients Around Ridgeland and Across Mississippi
Our work starts in Ridgeland and Madison County, including the commercial corridors, distribution facilities, and construction sites where heavy equipment runs every day. From Ridgeland we represent injured workers in neighboring Madison, Flora, Canton, and Gluckstadt, and across the Jackson metro area, including Jackson, Clinton, Pearl, Flowood, Brandon, Byram, and Terry. We also serve workers in Hattiesburg, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, in Southaven, and throughout the Delta and north Mississippi.
The firm’s reach extends into Louisiana as well, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. That matters for crane and forklift cases because heavy equipment work crosses state lines; an operator may live in Mississippi and be hurt on a Louisiana job site, or the reverse. Which state’s rules apply can change deadlines and benefits, and the firm handles claims in both.
Talk With a Ridgeland Forklift and Crane Accident Attorney
If a forklift or crane has injured you, the insurance company already has people working on its side of the story. A Ridgeland forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, tell you whether you have a comp claim, a third-party claim, or both, and handle the insurer so you can focus on recovery. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today and tell us what happened.
