Tupelo Back & Spine Injury Lawyer
A back injury at work rarely looks like a single dramatic accident. More often it is a disc that gave out after years of lifting, a twist on a loading dock, or a fall from a ladder that seemed minor until the numbness started in a leg. That slow, ambiguous quality is exactly why insurers fight these claims, and it is why a Tupelo back & spine injury lawyer needs to know how to build a medical case, not just file a form. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and injury claims for people in Tupelo and Lee County, across northeast Mississippi, and throughout Mississippi and South Louisiana.
Tupelo’s economy runs on furniture manufacturing, healthcare, distribution and trucking, and construction, and every one of those fields asks a lot of a spine. Lumbar herniations, cervical disc injuries, compression fractures, and nerve damage turn up constantly in claims from people who work these jobs. What follows covers how these claims actually work in Mississippi, where they tend to go wrong, and what to do in the first weeks after you are hurt.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Spine Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm, and that is the center of its practice rather than a sideline. 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 injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana. Clients can reach the team around the clock, consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and you pay no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language, hablamos español.
Back and spine cases are where that focus shows. The firm secured a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury and $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury. It also obtained $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle. Those results come from the same kind of work Tupelo clients need: medical evidence that ties the injury to the job, and a refusal to accept the insurer’s first explanation.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, Partners, 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. Clients consistently describe an attorney who listened, stayed in contact, and fought the insurance company at every step.
Types of Back and Spine Injuries We See in Tupelo Claims
- Lumbar disc herniations: The most common spine claim. Furniture plant workers, warehouse employees, and delivery drivers lift, bend, and twist for hours, and a disc can herniate suddenly or wear down over months. Insurers often point to degenerative disc disease; the answer is medical evidence showing the work caused or aggravated the condition.
- Cervical (neck) injuries: Overhead work, repetitive motion on assembly lines, and vehicle impacts can injure the discs in the neck, sometimes causing pain, weakness, or tingling in the arms and hands.
- Compression and traumatic fractures: Falls from roofs, scaffolding, loading docks, and trailers on construction sites and distribution yards can fracture vertebrae, and these often require surgical stabilization and long recovery.
- Nerve damage and radiculopathy: Sciatica, foot drop, and chronic radiating pain that follow a disc injury. These symptoms can outlast the original injury and drive the question of permanent disability.
- Surgery-related claims: Discectomy, fusion, and similar procedures are expensive, and carriers frequently dispute whether surgery is necessary. Fighting for authorization of recommended treatment is a major part of spine cases.
- Trucking and driving injuries: Long-haul and delivery drivers who pass through the Tupelo area on the highways in northeast Mississippi can suffer spinal injuries in a wreck or from repetitive loading and unloading.
- Cumulative trauma: Gradual spinal injury from years of physical labor, which has no single date of accident and so invites denial unless the work history is carefully documented.
What to Do After a Back Injury at Work in Mississippi
Start with notice. You must report the injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident, and doing it in writing is the safest route. Do not wait to see whether the pain improves. Back injuries often feel manageable on day one and are disabling by day ten, and a late report gives the insurer an easy reason to deny. Be specific about what you were doing when it happened, even if the full extent of the injury is not yet clear.
Get medical care and be completely honest with the doctor about how it happened and about any earlier back problems. Prior back pain does not end a claim, but a history you hide and the insurer later discovers does real damage. Follow the treatment plan, go to your appointments, and keep a record of work restrictions. If the employer or carrier steers you toward a doctor and you have concerns about that care, talk to an attorney about your options before you stop treating.
On deadlines, the 30-day notice rule is separate from the filing deadline. Generally you have two years from the date of injury, or from the date of the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Benefits already paid can affect that clock, so do not assume you have plenty of time. Mississippi claims are not heard in a regular courtroom; they go before the Commission, which uses Administrative Judges for evidentiary hearings and a Full Commission for review. If the Full Commission rules against you, a final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that appeal is decided on the record that was built earlier. That is why the evidence you gather in the first months matters so much.
Keep your own file: the incident report, names of coworkers who saw what happened, medical records, pay stubs showing your average weekly wage, and notes on what you can and cannot do now. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the insurance adjuster before you have spoken with a lawyer, and do not sign medical releases broader than what the claim actually needs.
How Mississippi Pays for a Spinal Injury
Mississippi workers’ compensation covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment, and coverage begins on your first day of employment with no waiting period. When you cannot work, temporary total disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum that is adjusted periodically. Permanent disability benefits work the same way and generally cannot run longer than 450 weeks. There is also a statutory weekly floor, but the maximum is what limits higher earners, which is why accurately documenting your wages matters.
The hardest question in a spine case is usually permanence. After a fusion or a failed conservative treatment, a doctor assigns an impairment rating and may release you with restrictions. Whether you can return to your old job, find similar pay elsewhere, or have lost earning capacity is the heart of a disability determination. Insurers lean on the impairment rating; a strong claim looks at what the injury has actually done to your ability to work. Settlement offers at this stage deserve a careful look, because accepting a lump sum can close out future medical care.
If someone other than your employer contributed to the injury, such as a negligent driver who hit your work vehicle or a contractor whose site was unsafe, you may have a separate personal injury claim. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, which reduces a recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it. The firm coordinates the comp and injury claims so they do not undercut each other.
Questions Tupelo Workers Ask About Back and Spine Claims
How long do I have to report a back injury at work in Mississippi?
You must notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Report it as soon as you realize something is wrong, and put it in writing if you can. Missing the 30 days gives the carrier a ready-made defense.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury or from the last compensation payment, by filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. Because the clock can depend on whether benefits were paid, it is wise to speak with an attorney early.
What if the insurer says my back problem is just degenerative?
A pre-existing condition does not automatically defeat a claim. If your work caused, aggravated, or accelerated the condition, benefits may still be owed. Answering this argument with solid medical opinions is a routine and central part of spine cases.
Will workers’ comp pay for back surgery?
It can, when the surgery is reasonable and necessary and linked to the work injury. Carriers often dispute or delay authorization, and getting the treating surgeon’s recommendation properly supported is often where a lawyer helps most.
How much will I receive while I cannot work?
Temporary total disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that changes from time to time. Your actual figure depends on your wages in the period before the injury.
Do I have to pay a lawyer up front?
No. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in comp cases are also limited and approved under state law.
Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were disciplined or let go after reporting your injury, mention it during your consultation so it can be reviewed.
My injury built up over years of lifting. Can I still claim?
Yes, cumulative injuries can be compensable, but they require careful proof. Your job duties, work history, and medical records need to show how the work wore down your spine, since there is no single accident date to point to.
What happens if my claim is denied and I lose at the Administrative Judge level?
You can seek review by the Full Commission, which reviews the record made before the Administrative Judge rather than starting over. A final Commission award can then go to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days. Because each level relies on the existing record, the quality of the original hearing is critical.
What if I was hurt in Louisiana but live near Tupelo?
Louisiana law may apply to an injury that happened there. The deadlines differ: notice within 30 days, and a formal claim generally within one year of the accident. The firm handles claims in both states, so the right rules can be sorted out at the start.
Can I still get benefits if I was partly responsible for the accident?
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system, so your own carelessness usually does not eliminate benefits. Fault matters more in a separate third-party injury claim, where Mississippi reduces recovery by your percentage of fault.
Serving Back and Spine Injury Clients From Tupelo Across Mississippi
The firm represents injured workers from Tupelo and throughout Lee County, including Saltillo, Verona, Plantersville, Shannon, Belden, and Guntown. Clients also come from neighboring communities in northeast Mississippi such as Pontotoc, New Albany, Fulton, Baldwyn, Booneville, Corinth, and Okolona, and from larger hubs like Southaven and the Delta. Across the state, the team handles claims in Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, and along the Gulf Coast.
In Louisiana, the firm serves workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and across South Louisiana and north Louisiana. Whether your injury happened on a plant floor, a jobsite, or a highway, the same standards apply: document the injury, get proper medical care, and make sure the insurer answers for it.
Talk With a Tupelo Back Injury Attorney Today
If a back or spine injury has put your job, your income, and your future treatment in doubt, a conversation with a Tupelo spine injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC costs nothing. Phones are answered around the clock, the consultation is free, and you owe no fee unless the firm recovers benefits for you. Call today and tell the team what happened so they can tell you where your claim stands.
