Wiggins Personal Injury Lawyer
The goal after an injury is simple to state and hard to reach: medical bills handled, income replaced, and a claim valued by what the injury actually costs you rather than by what an adjuster wants to pay. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana injury firm that gets people in Wiggins and Stone County there, and this is the page for anyone searching for a Wiggins personal injury lawyer after a crash, a fall, or an injury at work.
Wiggins is a small county seat, and the injuries that come out of it tend to follow the local economy. People drive Highway 49 and Highway 26 every day, haul timber and freight on two-lane roads, and work in sawmills, pipeline and industrial jobs, and the trades. Plenty of the claims we see start at a job site or in a work vehicle. That matters because an injury at work can produce two separate claims at once: a workers’ compensation claim against the employer’s insurer, and a personal injury claim against whoever else caused the harm.
The decisions you make in the first few weeks, including what you tell an adjuster, whether you sign a medical release, and which deadlines you track, shape what the claim is worth later. The sections below walk through those decisions.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Stone County Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured people across Mississippi and South Louisiana, including Stone County, Wiggins, and the Gulf Coast communities around them. The firm helps injured workers and accident victims with workers’ compensation, car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death claims. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language from the first call.
The attorneys behind that record include Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, who 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 for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
Results matter more than adjectives. The firm secured $385,000 for a project manager who suffered back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle, a case that sits exactly where workers’ compensation and a third-party injury claim meet. Other results include $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listens, answers questions, and stays in the fight with the insurance company at every stage. A Wiggins injury attorney who handles comp claims every day also knows how your benefits and your injury claim interact, which is where inexperienced handling costs people money.
Injury Situations We See From Wiggins and Stone County
- Car and Truck Collisions: Highway 49 carries heavy commercial and commuter traffic, and Highway 26 and the county’s two-lane roads add logging trucks, delivery vehicles, and farm equipment to the mix. Truck wrecks usually involve a driver, a motor carrier, and sometimes a loading company, each with its own insurer.
- Work Vehicle Crashes: When a negligent driver hits you while you are on the clock, you may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim against the other driver. The two must be coordinated so one does not undercut the other.
- Third-Party Job Site Injuries: A subcontractor’s unsafe site, a defective piece of equipment, or a property owner’s negligence can create liability beyond your employer. Workers’ comp generally shields your own employer from a lawsuit, but it does not shield everyone else.
- Premises Liability: Falls in stores, restaurants, parking lots, and rental properties turn on whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix or warn about it.
- Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries: Disc herniations are common after crashes and heavy labor, and insurers often point to degenerative disc disease. The answer is medical evidence tying the injury, or its worsening, to the event.
- Shoulder, Knee, and Fracture Injuries: Rotator cuff and SLAP tears, meniscus and ACL tears, and fractures of the ankle, foot, or hip often require surgery and long recoveries, which is what drives the value of these claims.
- Burns and Catastrophic Injuries: Industrial and oilfield burns and other life-altering injuries involve lifelong medical needs and call for careful valuation before any settlement is discussed.
- Wrongful Death: When a family loses someone to another party’s negligence, the claim carries its own filing deadline and its own rules on who may bring it.
What to Do in the Days After a Wiggins Injury
Get medical care first and say plainly where it hurts. Gaps in treatment and vague first visits are what insurers later use to argue that an injury was minor or came from somewhere else. Follow the treatment plan, keep your appointments, and keep every bill and record.
If the injury happened on a road, call law enforcement so a report exists, photograph the vehicles and the scene, and collect names and contact details for witnesses. If it happened on someone’s property, photograph the hazard before it is fixed and report the incident to the owner or manager in writing. Do not post about the injury on social media; adjusters read it.
You will probably get a call from the other side’s insurer within days, asking for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and it is rarely in your interest to do so before you understand your injuries and your rights. The same goes for broad medical authorizations, which let an insurer dig through years of records looking for a pre-existing condition to blame.
If you were hurt at work, tell your employer right away. Mississippi and Louisiana both require notice within 30 days of the injury, and missing that window can end a comp claim. Mississippi workers generally have two years from the date of injury to file a petition with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which hears these claims rather than a court. Mississippi coverage begins on the first day of employment. If you live in Wiggins but were hurt on a Louisiana job site, Louisiana rules govern that comp claim, with a general one-year deadline to file a formal claim.
For injury claims against a negligent third party, the deadline most often is three years from when the claim arose under Mississippi’s general statute, though claims against a county or governmental agency must be filed within one year and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. Wrongful death based on negligence generally carries three years, while intentional acts carry one year. Medical malpractice has its own two-year period. Because different claims from the same incident can run on different clocks, getting the deadlines sorted early is one of the most valuable things a lawyer does.
Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, so being partly at fault reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault rather than eliminating it. Insurers know this and push fault percentages hard, so do not accept their version of events without review.
When a Work Injury Also Supports a Personal Injury Claim
This is the area where Wiggins-area workers most often leave money on the table. Workers’ compensation pays medical care and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault. In Mississippi, the wage benefit is up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory weekly maximum, and generally cannot run beyond 450 weeks. It does not pay for pain, suffering, or the full measure of lost earning power. A personal injury claim against a negligent outside party can.
The classic examples are a driver who hits your work truck, a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall, or a manufacturer whose equipment fails. The comp insurer may have a right to be repaid from part of your third-party recovery, so settlements need to be structured with that in mind. Settling the injury case without understanding its effect on your comp benefits, or the reverse, can cost you real money. Because our attorneys live in the workers’ compensation system every day, we can build both claims together.
Frequently Asked Questions About Injury Claims in Wiggins
How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer in Wiggins?
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 for you. In workers’ compensation cases, attorney fees are limited and approved under state law.
How long do I have to file an injury lawsuit in Mississippi?
Most negligence claims fall under a three-year period that starts when the cause of action accrues. Claims against a county or governmental agency carry a one-year limit and require notice under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. Medical malpractice is two years, and libel or slander is one year. When an injury is latent, the clock can start when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered it.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault instead of being barred. If you were found 20 percent at fault, your damages would be reduced by that portion. Insurers often try to inflate that percentage, which is why the evidence at the scene matters.
Can I have a workers’ comp claim and a personal injury claim from the same accident?
Yes, if someone other than your employer helped cause the injury. Comp covers medical care and part of your lost wages no matter who was at fault, while the injury claim against the third party can include losses comp does not pay. The two have to be coordinated, because the comp carrier may be entitled to reimbursement from your recovery.
Should I give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?
You are generally not required to, and it is usually wise to talk with a lawyer first. Early statements are given before you know the full extent of your injuries and can be used to limit your claim.
What if the insurance company says my back injury is just degenerative disc disease?
It is among the most common arguments in injury cases. A pre-existing condition does not end a claim if the crash, fall, or work activity caused, worsened, or accelerated it. Treating physicians and imaging that compare your condition before and after the event are the strongest answer.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Often yes, and many people use health coverage to avoid gaps in treatment. Health insurers and Medicare may later seek reimbursement from a settlement, so those liens need to be identified and negotiated before the case closes.
What happens if a family member dies in a crash or workplace accident?
A wrongful death claim may be available, and a workplace death may also trigger death benefits under workers’ compensation. In Mississippi, negligence-based wrongful death generally carries a three-year period and intentional-tort cases carry one year. Noneconomic damages in most wrongful death cases are capped at $1,000,000 under state law, though the cap does not limit economic damages.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury claim?
Often, yes. Insurers tend to undervalue soft-tissue and early-stage injuries, and an injury that seems minor can turn into months of treatment or surgery. A free consultation will tell you whether the claim justifies representation, and you pay nothing unless we recover.
I live in Wiggins but was hurt in Louisiana. Which state’s rules apply?
It depends on where the injury happened and what kind of claim it is. A Louisiana work injury is governed by Louisiana comp law, with a formal claim generally due within one year. A Louisiana crash is a tort claim under Louisiana’s rules, including a two-year filing period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and a rule barring recovery for claimants found 51 percent or more at fault in cases arising on or after January 1, 2026. Our attorneys are active in both states.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Hablamos español, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with our team in their own language from the first call through the end of the case.
Serving Injury Clients in Wiggins, Stone County, and the Surrounding Region
Our work starts with Wiggins and Stone County, including the communities along Highway 49 and Highway 26 that make up the heart of the county. From there we serve clients in neighboring Harrison, Pearl River, George, Perry, and Forrest counties, where we help injury victims in Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Picayune, Poplarville, Lucedale, and Hattiesburg. Across the Gulf Coast and the rest of Mississippi, we also represent clients in Jackson, Madison, Southaven, and the Delta.
We represent injured workers and accident victims in South Louisiana as well, in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and in north Louisiana, including Shreveport. Whether the injury was a crash on a county road, a fall at a local business, or a job site accident, the same team handles the claim.
Talk With a Wiggins Injury Attorney Before You Talk to the Insurance Company
The sooner a Wiggins injury attorney reviews your situation, the more options you keep. Evidence disappears, deadlines run, and early statements can limit a claim before it has been properly valued. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC, where phones are answered around the clock, and tell us what happened. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we recover for you.
