Tupelo Construction Worker Injury Lawyer
If you swing a hammer, run a crane, pour concrete, or frame houses around Tupelo and you got hurt on the job, the next few weeks will shape how your claim goes. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles workers’ compensation and related injury claims for people hurt on the job across Mississippi and Louisiana, and that includes a Tupelo construction worker injury lawyer for crews working in Lee County and the surrounding northeast Mississippi communities.
Construction injuries rarely look like office injuries. A fall from scaffolding, a crushed hand between equipment, a herniated disc from months of lifting block, a shoulder that finally tears after years of overhead work. Insurers know these claims can be expensive, and they tend to respond with the same few arguments: the injury was not work related, the back was already bad, or you reported it too late. Answering those arguments with medical records and witness accounts is what we do.
What Makes a Construction Injury Claim Different in Mississippi
Mississippi workers’ compensation is a no-fault system run through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which is an administrative body and not a court. Your claim is heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing, and either side can seek review by the Full Commission. That review is based on the record already made, so it is not a second trial. If you lose there, a final award can be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within thirty days of its filing and notice to the parties, and the Supreme Court often assigns those appeals to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Because appeals look only at the record, what gets documented early matters enormously.
Coverage in Mississippi starts on your first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. The wrinkle for construction workers is the employer count. Employers with five or more employees must carry coverage, and the construction industry is full of subcontractors, labor crews, and day-rate arrangements where the question of who actually employs you is not obvious. Sorting out whether you are an employee of a subcontractor, a general contractor, or neither is often the first fight, and it should be settled before benefits are denied rather than after.
Wage replacement for temporary or permanent total disability runs at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a statutory weekly maximum, and it cannot extend beyond 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in the general category is likewise capped at 450 weeks. Those numbers are set by statute, so the way your average weekly wage is calculated, especially for workers with irregular hours, overtime, or seasonal gaps, makes a real difference in what you receive.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Tupelo Construction Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Mississippi, including Tupelo, Lee County, and the communities around them, and across Louisiana as well. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and we take cases on a no recovery, no fee basis. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our phones are answered 24 hours a day. Hablamos español.
The attorneys matter here. Rob Lunsford, our 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 successfully 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.
Results in construction-type cases tell the story better than adjectives. We secured $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. We also obtained $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury. Clients who have reviewed us describe attorneys who listen, explain the process, and stay in the fight with the insurance company at every step.
Common Construction Injuries and Claim Situations We Handle
- Falls From Height: Scaffolds, roofs, ladders, and open floor edges on commercial and residential job sites produce fractures of the ankles, hips, and feet, along with spinal injuries that may need specialist surgical repair. Insurers sometimes shift blame to the worker for missing fall protection, but compensation in Mississippi does not depend on fault.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations from lifting, bending, and vibration are among the most frequent construction claims. When the carrier points to degenerative disc disease, the answer is medical evidence showing how years of physical labor or a specific incident caused or aggravated the condition.
- Shoulder and Knee Injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears are common among carpenters, ironworkers, and laborers. Employers often call them old sports injuries, and we respond with treating physician opinions and work history.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Electrical contact, hot work, and industrial site accidents can cause burns, amputations, and permanent disability that call for long-term benefits and often a full settlement analysis.
- Struck-By and Caught-In Accidents: Equipment, falling materials, and vehicles moving through active work zones cause crush injuries and head trauma. When a driver or another contractor is at fault, you may also have a claim outside workers’ compensation.
- Denied or Cut-Off Benefits: Carriers stop paying checks, refuse recommended surgery, or push workers back before a doctor clears them. These disputes go before the Commission and can be appealed.
- Third-Party Injury Claims: Workers’ comp usually bars suing your employer, but a negligent equipment maker, property owner, or outside contractor can be a separate defendant, and a personal injury claim can add damages comp does not provide.
What to Do After a Construction Injury Near Tupelo
Get medical attention first, and tell the provider the injury happened at work so it is recorded that way. Then report the injury to your employer. The Mississippi deadline for notice is 30 days from the accident, and written notice is safer than a verbal conversation on the job site. Do not assume your foreman telling the office counts as notice to the insurance carrier.
Next, keep a record. Write down the date, the location on the site, what task you were doing, who saw it, and what equipment or conditions were involved. Photograph the scene if you can, and keep your pay stubs, since your average weekly wage drives your benefit rate. Save every medical bill, work restriction note, and piece of correspondence from the adjuster. If the carrier asks for a recorded statement, speak with an attorney before giving one, because those statements are routinely used to argue the injury was something else.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. In Mississippi you generally have two years from the date of injury, or from the last compensation payment, to file a Petition to Controvert with the Commission. If no disability benefits have been paid within two years of the injury and no claim has been filed, the right to benefits is barred. Do not wait for a denial to start the clock; waiting is how otherwise strong claims die.
If your treating doctor releases you with restrictions your employer will not honor, or an adjuster pushes you back to full duty early, bring it to us before you agree to anything. Returning to work against medical advice and then reinjuring yourself creates a mess that is far harder to fix than a disagreement raised up front. And if you work for a Louisiana-based contractor or were injured on a Louisiana project, the rules differ: Louisiana generally requires a formal claim within one year of the accident, with 30 days to report, so tell us where the job was based.
Wage Benefits, Medical Care, and Settlement Realities for Injured Construction Workers
Medical care is the first thing the system should provide: reasonable and necessary treatment for the injury, including surgery, therapy, and medication. Wage replacement follows when you cannot work, and the weekly amount is a percentage of your average wage up to a statutory cap that is adjusted periodically. Because many construction workers are paid hourly with variable weeks, the carrier’s calculation is frequently too low and worth checking.
Settlement is where many claims end, but it should not be the first thing you discuss. A fair number depends on your impairment, your restrictions, your ability to return to construction work at the same pay, and the cost of future medical care. Taking a lump sum can close the door on further treatment, so we evaluate what your doctors expect for the next several years before recommending whether to resolve the claim. Workers who cannot return to heavy labor at all are often best served by a thorough look at vocational loss rather than a quick offer.
Questions Tupelo Construction Workers Ask About Injury Claims
Do I need a lawyer for a construction injury claim?
Not every claim requires one, but if benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its side.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, 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 my injury?
Report it to your employer as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after the accident. Waiting longer gives the insurer an argument that the claim should be denied outright.
How long do I have to file a claim in Mississippi?
You generally 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. Missing that window can bar your right to benefits.
Am I covered if I was only on the job for a few days?
Yes. Mississippi coverage begins on the first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement.
What if my employer says I am an independent contractor?
The label on your paperwork does not control. The question is how the work actually relationship operates: who directs your work, supplies the tools, and sets your hours. Construction is one of the industries where workers are misclassified, and we look past the label to the real arrangement.
The insurer says my back problem is pre-existing. Is my claim over?
No. If your job caused, worsened, or accelerated the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Insurers raise this argument often, and answering it with strong medical evidence is a core part of what we do.
Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Mississippi and Louisiana both protect workers from retaliation for filing a claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.
Can I sue someone besides my employer after a job site accident?
Often, yes. If a negligent driver, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or separate contractor contributed to your injury, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to comp. In Mississippi, a negligence claim reduces by your share of fault rather than being barred, and the general limit for many such claims is three years, though claims against a government entity carry a one-year limit and special notice rules.
What happens if the insurer denies my claim and I disagree?
Your claim goes before an Administrative Judge at the Commission, where evidence and testimony are presented. A decision can be reviewed by the Full Commission on the existing record, and a final award can be taken to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Building the medical and witness record at the first hearing is critical because later review does not retry the case.
Will my health insurance pay for treatment while the comp claim is pending?
Many health plans exclude work injuries and expect workers’ compensation to pay. If the carrier is denying care, tell your doctor’s office and speak with us, because gaps in treatment can be used against you later and we may be able to get care authorized.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call to the end of the case.
Serving Injured Construction Workers From Tupelo and Lee County Across Mississippi and Louisiana
Our team represents construction workers in Tupelo and across Lee County, and in neighboring northeast Mississippi communities including Saltillo, Verona, Baldwyn, Plantersville, Nettleton, and Shannon, as well as nearby Itawamba, Pontotoc, Union, and Prentiss counties. We serve injured workers across north Mississippi, the Delta, Southaven, Madison, and Hattiesburg, and down to the Gulf Coast.
Many construction careers cross state lines, so our reach does too. In Louisiana we represent workers hurt in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and throughout south and north Louisiana, with claims heard by workers’ compensation judges and appealed to the Louisiana courts of appeal when necessary. If you were hurt on a job outside Tupelo, we can still help.
Talk to a Tupelo Construction Injury Attorney Today
If you have been hurt on a job site, call us. A Tupelo construction injury attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review what happened, explain the deadlines that apply to you, and handle the insurance company so you can concentrate on getting well. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Reach out today and tell us what happened.
