Southaven Manufacturing Plant Injury Lawyer
Workers in Southaven who get hurt on a production line, a loading dock, or around a press or conveyor often face an immediate choice: report it, keep quiet, or try to tough it out. That choice can shape the whole claim. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation law firm representing injured workers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and a Southaven manufacturing plant injury lawyer from our team can step in before the insurer’s version of events hardens into the record.
Southaven sits in DeSoto County, at the heart of the Memphis-area distribution and manufacturing corridor, where plants, warehouses, and fulfillment operations run multiple shifts. Those environments produce a recognizable set of injuries: crushed hands, lacerations from machinery, falls from platforms, repetitive-motion damage to shoulders and spines, and chemical or heat exposure. They also produce a recognizable set of insurer responses, from “you weren’t following procedure” to “that back problem was already there.”
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Plant Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Mississippi, including DeSoto County and the Southaven area, as well as throughout Louisiana. Most attorneys who take comp cases are personal injury lawyers who handle a work injury only when one walks in. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. We work on a no recovery, no fee basis, consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Spanish-speaking workers can work with our team in their own language, which matters in plants where many employees speak Spanish as a first language.
Our founding partner, Rob Lunsford, 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 successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and regularly appears before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, alongside attorneys Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher.
The results reflect the kind of injuries plant work causes. We 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. Clients consistently describe an attorney who fought the insurance company at every step and a team that took the time to listen.
Injuries We See Come Out of Manufacturing Work
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lifting, twisting, and repetitive bending on assembly and packing lines cause lumbar and cervical disc herniations. Insurers often blame degenerative disc disease, and the answer is medical evidence showing how years of physical work or a single incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, and meniscus tears are common among workers who reach, pull, and kneel all shift. Employers sometimes call these old sports injuries; work history and imaging help answer that.
- Crush and Caught-In Injuries: Presses, rollers, conveyors, and forklifts can cause fractures, amputations, and complex surgical repairs that may require specialists and long recoveries.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Heat, steam, chemicals, and electrical hazards in industrial settings can leave permanent damage, and these claims often carry the largest long-term benefit questions.
- Fractures of the Feet, Ankles, and Hips: Falls from platforms, slick floors, and struck-by incidents with moving equipment often require orthopedic surgery and extended time off work.
- Repetitive Trauma and Occupational Illness: Hearing loss, respiratory conditions, and cumulative-use injuries develop over time, which creates disputes about when the injury happened and which employer is responsible.
- Third-Party Injury Claims: When a defective machine, an outside contractor, or a negligent driver contributes to the injury, a personal injury claim may exist alongside the comp claim, and the two need to be coordinated.
What to Do After a Plant Injury in Southaven
Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can. Mississippi law requires notice within 30 days of the accident, and waiting invites the insurer to argue the injury happened somewhere else. Name the body parts that hurt, even the ones that seem minor, because a shoulder complaint left off an early report becomes an insurer talking point later. Ask for a copy of whatever the employer writes down.
Get medical care and tell every provider the injury happened at work. Be specific about how: the machine, the load, the fall. The first chart notes often become the strongest or weakest evidence in the file. Follow your doctor’s restrictions even if a supervisor pressures you to return to regular duty before you are cleared; working outside restrictions can aggravate the injury and be used against you.
Mississippi covers workers from the first day of employment, with no waiting period, and the employer needs five or more employees to be required to carry coverage. If benefits stop or the claim is denied, the clock matters. Generally you have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a petition to controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Claims are heard by an Administrative Judge, and either side can ask the Full Commission to review the record made at that hearing; it is not a new trial. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, which may assign it to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Appeals are decided on the existing record, which is why building the evidence early matters so much.
Gather what you can: names of coworkers who saw the accident, photos of the machine or area, your pay stubs, and any messages with supervisors about the injury. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer without talking to a lawyer first, and do not sign anything describing your health history. Mississippi law also protects you from being fired for filing a comp claim; if discipline follows your report, tell us.
How Insurers Contest Plant Injury Claims
Carriers rely on a few predictable arguments in manufacturing cases. They say the accident was not witnessed or did not happen at work. They point to degenerative changes on an MRI and call the condition pre-existing. They cite a safety rule violation, or claim the worker could have returned to light duty. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if your job caused, worsened, or accelerated it, and answering that argument with clear medical opinion is central to our work.
Wage benefits in Mississippi are set at roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and total disability benefits are capped at 450 weeks. Partial disability payments in most other cases also cannot exceed 450 weeks. Because there are limits, how disability is rated and how your earning capacity is evaluated can change the value of a claim substantially. Employers sometimes offer light duty that is a paper job designed to cut off benefits; whether the work is real and within your restrictions is a question worth examining carefully.
Plant injuries also raise the third-party question. Workers’ compensation generally limits claims against your own employer, but a negligent equipment manufacturer, a staffing contractor, or an outside driver may be separately liable. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence for such claims, so your own share of fault reduces a recovery rather than barring it. Our attorneys handle personal injury cases as well, so the comp claim and any injury claim can be built to work together.
Questions About Southaven Plant Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer after a factory injury?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or you will be out of work a long time, representation can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its side.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance case costs, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report a plant injury in Mississippi?
You must give your employer notice within 30 days of the accident. Report immediately anyway; delay gives the insurer room to question what happened.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a petition to controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If no disability benefits were paid and no claim was filed within that window, the right to benefits can be barred.
What benefits can I receive?
Reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you cannot work, and additional benefits for permanent disability. Wage benefits are about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum that the Legislature adjusts.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
No. Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or disciplined after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
The insurer says my back problem was already there. Is my claim over?
No. If work caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Strong medical evidence connecting the job to the change is the key.
Can I choose my own doctor?
Medical care rules can be nuanced, and the doctor you see affects both treatment and the evidence in your claim. Talk to us before agreeing to an insurer-selected physician or before switching providers mid-claim.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally not fault-based, so a mistake on your part does not automatically defeat a comp claim. In a separate third-party injury claim, Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
Can I sue the manufacturer of a machine that injured me?
Possibly. Comp generally limits claims against your employer, but a defective equipment maker or another outside party may face a separate injury claim. A three-year general limitation period applies to many Mississippi civil claims, but the right deadline depends on the facts, so ask us early.
Will my claim be heard in a court?
Not at first. Mississippi comp claims go to the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, where an Administrative Judge hears the evidence. Courts come in only on appeal of a final Commission award.
What if I live in Southaven but was hurt at a plant in Louisiana?
Where the injury happened and where the employer operates can affect which state’s rules apply. Louisiana generally requires a formal claim within one year of the accident, so tell us right away and we can sort out the right forum.
Serving Plant Injury Clients From Southaven Across Mississippi and Louisiana
We represent injured workers from Southaven and the rest of DeSoto County, as well as workers in north Mississippi, Madison, Jackson, Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, and the Delta. Our work extends across the state wherever plants, warehouses, and industrial sites operate, and into Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and communities throughout South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whether you work on a line in Southaven or a heavy industrial site hundreds of miles away, you can talk to our team.
Talk With a Southaven Plant Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt at a manufacturing plant, a Southaven plant injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain where your claim stands, and deal with the employer and its 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 us to talk through your claim.
