Mississippi & Louisiana Work Injury Lawyers

Louisiana Workers’ Compensation

Louisiana requires nearly every employer to carry workers’ compensation coverage, even for a single employee. Benefits include all reasonable and necessary medical treatment, wage replacement while you are temporarily unable to work, supplemental earnings benefits if you return at reduced pay, and additional benefits for permanent disability, catastrophic injury, or death. Our Louisiana workers’ comp team handles claims before workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration and takes appeals to the Louisiana courts of appeal when an unfair ruling needs to be challenged. Whether you were hurt in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, or anywhere else in the state, we can help.

Mississippi Workers’ Compensation

In Mississippi, employers with five or more employees must provide workers’ compensation coverage from an employee’s first day on the job. We represent construction workers, firefighters, truck drivers, ironworkers, oil field workers, nurses, and general laborers in every corner of the state, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. If your claim is denied, our Mississippi workers’ compensation attorneys will take it before the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission and, if that’s what it takes, all the way to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

We Know How Claims Get Denied

Insurance carriers have a familiar playbook. They argue the accident didn’t happen at work, blame your injury on a pre-existing condition, push you back to work before your doctor clears you, or stop paying benefits without warning. We have seen every version of it, and we build each case with the medical evidence, witness accounts, and work history needed to answer those arguments. Our attorneys regularly handle:

• Back, neck, and spine injuries including lumbar and cervical disc herniations. When an insurer blames degenerative disc disease, we show how years of physical work or a single incident caused or worsened the injury.
• Shoulder and knee injuries such as torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears, including cases where the employer calls it an old sports injury.
• Fractures of the feet, ankles, hips, and other bones that can require specialists and complex surgical repair.
• Burns and catastrophic injuries suffered on oil rigs, in plants, and on industrial job sites.
• Firefighter and first responder claims for hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, posttraumatic stress, and cancer tied to the job.

Personal Injury Representation

Some work injuries also involve someone other than your employer, such as a negligent driver who hits your work truck or a contractor whose unsafe site causes a fall. In those cases, you may have a personal injury claim in addition to your comp benefits. We represent injured people across both states in car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases, and our personal injury lawyers in Jackson and New Orleans make sure your comp claim and injury claim work together instead of against each other.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ compensation claim?

Not every claim requires one, but if your benefits have been denied, delayed, reduced, or cut off, or if your injury will keep you out of work for a long time, an attorney can make a major difference. The insurance company has adjusters and lawyers protecting its interests, and you deserve someone protecting yours.

How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?

Nothing up front. Consultations are free, we advance the costs of your case, and we are paid only if we recover benefits or a settlement for you. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are also limited and approved under state law.

How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim?

You should report your injury to your employer right away, and within 30 days at the latest in both states. In Louisiana, a claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. In Mississippi, you generally have two years to file with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Exceptions apply when benefits have already been paid, so it is best to speak with an attorney as soon as possible.

Can I be fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim?

Both Mississippi and Louisiana protect workers from being fired in retaliation for filing a comp claim. If you were let go or punished after reporting an injury, tell us during your consultation so we can review your options.

What if my injury was caused by a pre-existing condition?

A pre-existing condition does not automatically end your claim. If your job caused, worsened, or sped up 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 choose my own doctor for a workers’ comp injury?

Yes, in both states. In Mississippi, you can accept the doctor your employer provides or choose your own, and your chosen physician can refer you to specialists. In Louisiana, you can choose one treating physician in each specialty, but changing doctors later usually requires approval from the employer or insurer. Your choice of doctor can shape the whole claim, so it is worth talking with an attorney before you make it.

What is an IME, and do I have to go?

An independent medical examination, or IME, is an exam with a doctor chosen by the insurance company. That doctor does not treat you. Their job is to write a report the insurer can use to question your injury, your restrictions, or your need for treatment. You generally must attend to keep your benefits, but you should speak with a lawyer beforehand so you know what to expect and how to respond if the report is unfavorable.

Can a drug or alcohol test affect my claim?

Yes. Employers in both states can require a test after a workplace injury, and benefits can be denied if intoxication caused the accident. A positive result or a refusal to test creates a presumption against you, but that presumption can be challenged. If your claim was denied over a test result, an attorney can review whether the denial holds up.

Can I get Social Security Disability for a work injury?

Possibly. Social Security Disability is separate from workers’ compensation and is available only if you cannot work for at least a year, have enough work credits, and meet strict federal disability rules. You may be able to receive both, but SSD benefits can be reduced by workers’ comp payments, so how a comp settlement is structured matters.

Do you handle cases outside Jackson and New Orleans?

Yes. We represent injured workers and accident victims statewide in both Mississippi and Louisiana, from the Gulf Coast to north Mississippi and north Louisiana.

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.

Talk to a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today

If you’ve been hurt on the job, you don’t have to fight the insurance company alone. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover benefits for you. Call our Jackson office at 601-488-3975 or our New Orleans office at 504-788-2994, or send us your case details online. We help injured workers. That’s all we do.