Southaven Forklift & Crane Accident Lawyer
A forklift or crane injury almost never comes down to one person’s mistake, and the person who got hurt is usually the last to learn who else was responsible. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and injury claims for workers hurt on the job in Southaven, throughout DeSoto County, and across Mississippi and Louisiana. If you need a Southaven forklift and crane accident lawyer, the first thing to know is that your claim may have two tracks: the comp claim against your employer’s insurer, and a separate injury claim against whoever else contributed.
Southaven sits in the middle of one of the busiest warehouse and distribution corridors in the mid-South. Forklifts move constantly through the distribution centers and logistics facilities in and around DeSoto County, and cranes show up wherever steel goes up, from commercial construction to industrial yards. Both machines carry heavy loads at height, and when something fails, the injuries are crushing, fractured, and often permanent.
The decisions you make in the first weeks, what you tell the adjuster, who you let treat you, and whether you sign anything, can shape the whole outcome.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Forklift or Crane Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm representing injured workers in Mississippi and Louisiana, including Southaven and the rest of DeSoto County, north Mississippi, and the Delta. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and you pay no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Hablamos español.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. 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 in 2026 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 that matter most for heavy-machinery cases are the serious ones. The firm 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 with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Forklift and crane injuries tend to produce exactly these kinds of injuries: spine damage, crush trauma, and burns. Clients repeatedly describe the team as responsive, professional, and willing to take on the insurance company at every step.
Common Forklift and Crane Injuries That Support a Comp Claim
- Crush injuries to legs, feet, and pelvis: A forklift tipping on a loading dock or running over a worker’s foot can fracture multiple bones and require specialist surgery. These injuries often leave lasting limits on standing and walking.
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Pallet-handling, sudden stops, and being struck by a load commonly cause lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease, and a pre-existing condition does not end a claim when work caused or worsened the injury.
- Struck-by and pinned-between accidents: Warehouse workers on foot are exposed to reversing forklifts, blind corners, and racked loads that fall. Pinning injuries to the chest and abdomen can be catastrophic.
- Falls from elevated forks or platforms: Workers lifted on forks or improvised platforms to reach high shelving can fall from significant height, producing head, spine, and hip injuries.
- Dropped crane loads and rigging failures: A failed sling, a swinging load, or a boom that contacts something can injure the riggers and ground crew working beneath. Construction and industrial sites are where these occur.
- Crane tip-overs and boom collapses: Unstable ground, overloading, and operator error can bring down an entire crane, hurting the operator and nearby workers and sometimes causing fatalities.
- Electrical contact and burns: Booms that touch power lines can cause severe burns and cardiac injury. Burns and catastrophic injuries are a regular part of the firm’s work.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Operators and spotters who brace, twist, or are thrown during an incident often suffer rotator cuff, SLAP, and meniscus tears that employers sometimes label old sports injuries.
What to Do in the Days After a Forklift or Crane Accident
Get medical care first, and tell every provider the injury happened at work. That connects the treatment to your claim from the start. If your employer sends you to a company clinic, go, but do not downplay symptoms or accept a quick release to full duty if you are still hurting.
Report the injury to your employer right away. In Mississippi, you must give notice within 30 days of the accident, and the same 30-day notice rule applies in Louisiana. Put it in writing if you can and keep a copy. Missing that window gives the insurer an easy reason to deny a claim that is otherwise strong.
Then watch the filing deadline. In Mississippi, if no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury, your right to benefits can be barred unless you file a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission within that time. The petition is filed with the Commission, which is an administrative body and not a court. Cases are heard by an Administrative Judge, and the Full Commission reviews those decisions on the existing record rather than holding a new trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court often assigns the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. If your accident happened on a Louisiana job site, the rule is different: a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident, with possible extension if benefits were paid.
Preserve evidence while it still exists. Photograph the machine, the load, the floor or ground conditions, and any warning signs or missing guards. Write down the names of coworkers who saw it. Ask who owned or leased the forklift or crane, who maintained it, and whether an operator certification or inspection record exists. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer before you understand what it will be used for, and do not sign broad medical releases.
The biggest mistake workers make is going back too soon or letting benefits lapse quietly. If the insurer stops paying, denies treatment, or pushes a return to work your doctor has not cleared, that is the moment to call.
Third-Party Claims When a Machine, a Contractor, or an Operator Is to Blame
Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your own employer, which means you generally cannot sue them for negligence. But forklifts and cranes are frequently owned, leased, repaired, or operated by someone else, and that opens a second claim.
Consider who else touched the equipment. A rental company that supplied a poorly maintained lift, a manufacturer whose brakes or load sensors failed, a general contractor who ran an unsafe site, or a separate crane operator hired from another company can all be responsible. A third-party claim can recover damages that comp does not pay, including pain and suffering, which can matter enormously in a permanent-injury case.
Fault rules affect these claims. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than barred. In Louisiana, for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a person found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, while a lower share reduces the award proportionally. Louisiana’s injury deadline is generally two years for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. Mississippi’s general three-year period under Section 15-1-49 applies to many negligence claims, though a claim against a government entity carries a one-year limit and notice requirements. Coordinating the comp claim and the injury claim matters because settling one the wrong way can damage the other.
If a worker dies in a forklift or crane accident, the family may have both comp death benefits and a wrongful death claim against a negligent third party. Mississippi generally allows three years for negligence-based wrongful death. In Louisiana, the period is one year from death or two years from the injury, whichever is longer.
Frequently Asked Questions About Forklift and Crane Accident Claims
Do I need a lawyer after a forklift accident at work?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits are denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or the injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer makes a real difference. The insurer has adjusters and attorneys working for it, and you should have someone working for you.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and fees are collected only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a crane or forklift injury?
Report it to your employer within 30 days of the accident in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Do it immediately if you can, and put it in writing.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or two years from the last compensation payment, you must file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Exceptions depend on whether benefits were paid, so get advice early.
What does workers’ compensation pay for?
It covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment and replaces part of your lost wages while you cannot work. In Mississippi, disability benefits are generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a weekly maximum, and temporary and permanent total disability can run up to 450 weeks.
Can I sue my employer for a forklift accident?
Generally no. Comp is the exclusive remedy against your employer. You can, however, pursue other responsible parties such as an equipment manufacturer, a rental company, or a contractor.
What if the forklift driver was a coworker?
A coworker’s negligence typically does not give you a lawsuit against that coworker, but your comp benefits still apply. If the equipment or site was controlled by a separate company, that company may be a third-party defendant.
Does it matter if I was partly at fault?
Comp is a no-fault system, so your own mistakes generally do not bar benefits. Fault matters only in a third-party injury claim, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage and Louisiana can bar recovery at 51 percent or more for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026.
The insurer says my back problem is degenerative. Is my claim over?
No. If the accident caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Answering that argument with solid medical evidence is a core part of this work.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting the injury, tell the firm during your consultation.
Will my health insurance pay while the claim is pending?
That depends on the plan, and health insurers often seek reimbursement if comp later pays. Bring your insurance information to the consultation so the treatment and billing can be handled in a way that does not hurt your claim.
What if my claim is denied?
You can contest it before the Commission in Mississippi, or before an Office of Workers’ Compensation judge in Louisiana, and appeal if the ruling is wrong. Louisiana has tight appeal windows, including 30 days for a final judgment appeal that suspends the ruling, so do not wait.
Serving Forklift and Crane Injury Clients From Southaven Across Mississippi and Louisiana
We represent injured workers in Southaven and throughout DeSoto County, including neighboring communities such as Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Hernando, and Walls, and across north Mississippi. We also serve workers from Tupelo and Oxford to the Delta, along with Madison, Jackson, Hattiesburg, and the Gulf Coast.
In Louisiana, our work extends to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and the rest of South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Warehouse distribution, port and industrial work, oil field operations, and construction all generate forklift and crane injuries, and we handle these claims wherever they arise in either state.
Talk With a Southaven Forklift and Crane Accident Attorney
If a forklift or crane hurt you at work, you do not need to sort out the insurer, the deadlines, and the possible third-party claims by yourself. A Southaven forklift and crane accident attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain what benefits and claims are available, and take on the insurer for you. Our phones are answered around the clock, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call today to talk through your case.
