Southaven Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
A construction worker hurt on a job site in DeSoto County needs three things to happen quickly: the medical care approved, the wage checks started, and the insurance carrier kept from steering the claim toward a denial. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm that handles construction injury claims for workers in Southaven and across Mississippi and Louisiana, and it is built to get those three things moving.
Construction claims are rarely simple. A fall from scaffolding, a crush injury on a framing crew, a back that finally gives out after years of lifting block: each one invites the carrier to ask whether it happened at work, whether it was already there, or whether the worker was really an employee at all. A Southaven construction worker injury lawyer has to be ready for all of those arguments before the first one is made.
Southaven sits at the top of Mississippi’s growth corridor along the Tennessee line, where warehouse shells, subdivisions, retail pads, and road work keep crews busy. That mix of general contractors, subcontractors, staffing agencies, and day labor is exactly where coverage disputes start, and where the right documentation in the first weeks makes a real difference.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Southaven, Horn Lake, Olive Branch, and the rest of north Mississippi, along with Jackson, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, the Delta, and communities across Louisiana. Workers’ compensation is the center of the firm’s practice, not a side file. Its attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for injured clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call, which matters on job sites where many crews are bilingual.
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 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 construction workers suffer. The firm secured $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck. Past results do not guarantee an outcome, but they show the firm has taken serious spine and orthopedic cases through to resolution. Clients consistently describe a team that listens, communicates, and stands up to the insurance company.
Construction Injuries We Handle for Southaven Workers
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, carrying, and bending all day wears on discs, and carriers often blame degenerative disc disease. The answer is medical evidence showing that the work caused or aggravated the condition.
- Falls From Height: Scaffolds, roofs, ladders, and open floor edges produce fractures of the ankles, hips, wrists, and spine that can require specialists and repeated surgery.
- Shoulder and Knee Tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common from overhead work and awkward footing, and employers sometimes call them old sports injuries.
- Crush and Struck-By Injuries: Equipment, falling materials, and trench or wall failures cause fractures and amputations that may qualify as catastrophic injuries.
- Burns and Electrical Injuries: Welding, live lines, and industrial hot work can cause severe burns and nerve damage with long recoveries.
- Repetitive Strain and Occupational Conditions: Hearing loss, vibration injuries, and cumulative joint damage develop over time and raise questions about when the claim clock started.
- Vehicle Crashes on the Job: Project managers, truckers hauling materials, and crew drivers hurt in a wreck may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the at-fault driver.
- Misclassified and Subcontracted Workers: A worker labeled an independent contractor, or hired through a staffing company, may still be an employee entitled to coverage.
What to Do in the Days After a Job Site Injury
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the injury happened at work. That one sentence in the chart carries weight later. Then report the injury to your employer, in writing if possible. Mississippi gives a worker 30 days from the accident to notify the employer. Do not treat that as a target. Report it the same day, name the foreman or supervisor you told, and keep a copy.
Coverage starts on your first day on the job in Mississippi, with no waiting period, so a new hire hurt in week one is not out of luck. Mississippi generally requires employers with five or more employees to carry coverage. If your employer denies that you work for them, or says a subcontractor is responsible, do not accept that answer. Gather what you have: texts from the foreman, pay stubs, timesheets, the names of coworkers who saw it happen, and photos of the site and your injury.
The second deadline is the one people miss. 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 Commission in that window. A worker generally files a Petition to Controvert, Form B-5, with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Paid benefits can change how that clock runs, so do not rely on a rule of thumb.
Mississippi claims are not heard in a county courtroom. The Commission administers the system, and disputed claims go to an Administrative Judge for an evidentiary hearing. An appeal to the Full Commission is a review of the record already made, not a new trial, so what gets built before the first hearing matters. Beyond the Commission, a party can appeal a final award to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Two common mistakes cost construction workers dearly. The first is returning to full duty before your doctor clears you because the foreman or adjuster pushes. The second is giving a recorded statement to the carrier without knowing how the questions will be used. Both can be turned into a pre-existing condition or a non-work injury argument. If you are hurt on a job in Louisiana, the notice rule is also 30 days, but a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident.
Benefits Available After a Construction Accident
Workers’ compensation pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment, from emergency care and surgery to therapy and prescriptions. It also pays wage-loss benefits while you cannot work. In Mississippi, temporary and permanent total disability benefits run at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally cannot exceed 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in non-scheduled cases is also capped at 450 weeks. Because the weekly maximum is adjusted over time, an attorney can calculate what your own rate should be.
The average weekly wage calculation deserves scrutiny in construction. Overtime, per diem, and irregular weather-dependent hours can all be mishandled, and an underpaid rate stays underpaid for the life of the claim. Vocational rehabilitation may also be available when a worker cannot return to heavy labor, which is often the real question after a serious back or shoulder injury.
When Someone Other Than Your Employer Is at Fault
Workers’ compensation generally protects your employer from a lawsuit, but it does not protect everyone on the site. A negligent driver, an equipment manufacturer, a property owner, or a different contractor whose crew created the hazard may be liable in a separate injury claim. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, which reduces a recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. The firm handles both claims, and coordinating them matters because a settlement in one can affect reimbursement rights in the other.
Questions Southaven Construction Workers Ask
Do I need a lawyer after a construction accident?
Not every claim needs one, but you should talk to a lawyer if benefits are denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if you will be out of work for a long time. The carrier has adjusters and attorneys working for it, and you should have someone on your side.
How long do I have to report a construction injury in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report it immediately and in writing so there is no dispute later about whether or when you did.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or the last compensation payment to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid within two years of the injury and no claim was filed, the right to benefits is barred.
What if my employer says I am an independent contractor?
The label on your paperwork does not decide the question. What matters is how the work actually operated: who directed it, who supplied tools, and who controlled the schedule. Many workers called contractors are legally employees.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation.
What if the carrier says my injury was pre-existing?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically end a claim. If the job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical opinions tying the work to the injury are the core of the response.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Doctor selection rules and the carrier’s role in approving treatment can shape your case. Before agreeing to a physician, an independent evaluation, or a treatment change, speak with an attorney, because those choices affect the medical record the claim depends on.
Will I get paid while my claim is pending?
If the carrier accepts the claim, wage benefits begin on schedule. If it contests the claim, payments can stall until a hearing resolves the dispute. This gap is why prompt filing and a well-documented record matter so much.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is not a fault-based system, so carelessness on your part generally does not defeat a claim. Fault matters in a separate injury claim against a third party, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage of responsibility.
Can I still get benefits if I am an undocumented worker or only speak Spanish?
Language is not a barrier at this firm, which serves Spanish-speaking clients throughout the case. Questions about immigration status and benefits can be complicated, so raise them in a confidential consultation rather than assuming you have no claim.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and it is paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
What if I was hurt on a Louisiana job site?
The firm also represents workers in Louisiana, where claims are heard by workers’ compensation judges and generally must be filed within one year of the accident. Report the injury to your employer within 30 days there as well.
Serving Construction Workers Across Southaven and North Mississippi
From Southaven in DeSoto County, our team represents injured construction workers on job sites throughout the county, including Horn Lake, Olive Branch, Hernando, Walls, and Nesbit. We also serve workers in neighboring Marshall, Tate, and Tunica counties and the surrounding north Mississippi communities. Across the state, the firm handles claims from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Louisiana workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and across south and north Louisiana can also turn to the firm for help with denied and delayed claims.
Talk With a Southaven Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt on a construction site, you do not have to manage the carrier, the employer, and your recovery at the same time. A Southaven construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC can review what happened, check your deadlines, and start protecting your benefits. Call us any time, day or night. The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
