Washington County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers in Washington County, Mississippi, and throughout the Delta, handling denied, delayed, and cut-off claims. If you are looking for a Washington County workers’ compensation lawyer, the first thing to know is that your claim will not go to a courthouse in Greenville. Mississippi comp claims are decided by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, an administrative body, and the rules that govern your case are different from a typical injury lawsuit.
Washington County’s economy is built on work that hurts people: row-crop farming, catfish and aquaculture operations, river and barge traffic on the Mississippi, food processing, trucking, and warehouse and plant work. Backs give out, shoulders tear, hands get caught in machinery. When that happens, the insurer’s first move is often to question what happened, blame an old injury, or send you back before a doctor says you are ready.
Our firm does one kind of work. We handle comp claims, the injury cases that grow out of them, and the appeals when a ruling goes the wrong way.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Delta Work Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm serving injured workers across Mississippi and Louisiana, including Washington County and the surrounding Delta. We have recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Most lawyers who accept comp cases are personal injury attorneys who take one when it walks in the door. We are built the opposite way.
Rob Lunsford, our 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 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 team.
Results matter more than adjectives. 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 injured when he was struck in his work vehicle, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients tell us what they value most is being listened to and having an attorney who fights the insurance company at every step.
There is no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of the case, and our phones are answered around the clock. Hablamos español.
Injuries and Claims We Handle for Washington County Workers
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lifting sacks, hoses, pipe, or freight wears on the lumbar and cervical spine. When an insurer points to degenerative disc disease, we build the medical and work-history record showing the job caused or worsened the condition.
- Shoulder and knee tears: Rotator cuff tears, SLAP tears, ACL and meniscus injuries are common among farm laborers, equipment operators, and warehouse workers. Employers often call these old sports injuries, and we answer that with treating-physician evidence.
- Trucking and delivery accidents: Highways through the Delta carry heavy agricultural and freight traffic. A driver hurt on the job may have both a comp claim and a separate claim against the other driver.
- Machinery and crush injuries: Grain handling, processing lines, and shop equipment cause amputations, fractures of the hands, feet, ankles, and hips, and injuries that need specialists and complex surgery.
- Burns and catastrophic injuries: Industrial sites, plants, and rigs produce burns and permanent impairments where lifetime medical care and disability benefits are at stake.
- Firefighter and first responder claims: Hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job can all support a claim.
- Third-party injury claims: When someone other than your employer caused the harm, such as a negligent driver or a contractor with an unsafe site, a personal injury claim can run alongside your comp benefits. We make sure the two claims work together.
- Wrongful death: When a work injury kills a worker, the family may have claims for death benefits and, in some cases, claims against third parties.
What to Do After a Work Injury in Washington County
Report the injury to your employer right away. Mississippi law gives you 30 days from the accident to give notice, and waiting invites the argument that it did not happen at work. Tell your supervisor, then follow up in writing and keep a copy.
Get medical care and be specific with every provider about how the injury happened at work. Hospital records in Greenville or elsewhere become evidence, and a vague history (“my back hurts”) gives the insurer room to suggest another cause. Follow your doctor’s restrictions. Do not return to full duty because a supervisor or adjuster pushes you to.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: the date, the task, the equipment, who saw it. Save pay stubs, photographs, texts with your employer, and every letter from the insurer.
The filing deadline is separate from the notice deadline. If no disability benefits have been paid, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. If benefits were paid, the clock can run from the last payment. The deadlines come from Mississippi Code section 71-3-35, and missing them can end a valid claim.
Know how the process runs. Your claim is heard by an Administrative Judge at an evidentiary hearing. If either side appeals, the Full Commission reviews the record made before the judge; it is not a new trial, so the evidence has to be built correctly the first time. A final Commission award can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court within 30 days, and that court may assign the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Avoid the common mistakes: giving a recorded statement without advice, signing medical releases that are broader than necessary, skipping appointments, or treating a settlement offer as final before you know the cost of your future care.
What Mississippi Comp Actually Pays
Coverage begins on your first day of employment, with no waiting period and no minimum earnings requirement. Benefits include reasonable and necessary medical treatment and wage replacement. For temporary or permanent total disability, the wage benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum that the state adjusts over time, and generally not beyond 450 weeks. Permanent partial disability in most cases is also capped at 450 weeks.
Vocational rehabilitation can matter if you cannot return to the same work. For a laborer in a rural county, that is a real concern, and it affects how a case should be valued.
Frequently Asked Questions About Washington County Workers’ Comp
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?
Not every claim requires one. If benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, a lawyer can change the outcome. The insurer has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests.
How much does it cost to hire your 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 comp cases are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to report my injury?
Thirty days from the accident. Report as soon as you can and do it in writing.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Generally two years from the date of injury if no disability benefits have been paid, or two years from the last payment if they have. You file with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Who decides my claim?
The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, not a jury or a county court. An Administrative Judge hears the evidence, and the Full Commission reviews appeals.
Can I be fired for filing a claim?
Mississippi protects workers from retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation.
What if the insurer says my injury is pre-existing?
That does not automatically end a claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up the condition, you may still be entitled to benefits. Answering this argument with strong medical evidence is a core part of our work.
Does a comp claim come with money for pain and suffering?
No. Comp pays medical care and wage-loss and disability benefits, not pain and suffering. If a third party caused your injury, a separate personal injury claim may allow broader damages.
I got hurt driving for work. Can I pursue both comp and a claim against the other driver?
Often yes. The comp claim goes against your employer’s insurer, and the injury claim goes against the at-fault driver. The two must be coordinated because a settlement in one can affect the other.
What if my employer says it has fewer than five employees?
Mississippi requires coverage for employers with five or more employees, but how workers are counted and whether the business is covered are often disputed. Do not assume you are out of luck; have the question reviewed before you let a deadline pass.
Do you work with Spanish-speaking workers?
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.
Can I handle a claim if I was hurt on a Louisiana job but live in the Delta?
Possibly. The state where the work was performed and where the employment is based both matter. We practice in Mississippi and Louisiana and can look at which state’s law applies.
Serving Injured Workers Across Washington County and the Delta
Our team represents injured workers in Greenville, the county seat, and throughout Washington County, including Leland, Hollandale, Arcola, Metcalfe, and Glen Allan, along with the farm country, river communities, and industrial sites between them. We also serve workers in neighboring Delta counties and towns such as Indianola, Cleveland, Greenwood, Clarksdale, Belzoni, Yazoo City, and Vicksburg.
Beyond the Delta, we handle comp and injury claims across Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to Hattiesburg, Southaven, north Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast. We also represent workers in Louisiana, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and South and north Louisiana. Wherever the injury happened, the claim is built the same way: medical proof, work history, and a clear answer to whatever the insurer says.
Talk With a Washington County Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were hurt on the job in Washington County, a Washington County workers’ compensation attorney at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe can review your situation, explain where your claim stands, and deal with the insurer so you can focus on getting well. Call us any time. Consultations are free, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you.
We help injured workers. That is the work we do.
