Mississippi Water and Mold Damage Lawyers

Tupelo, Mississippi Water and Mold Damage Lawyers

Experienced advocacy when storms, floods, bursting pipes, and other events cause water and mold damage

While water is good for flowers, trees, and crops, it’s harmful for homes, carpets, walls, and personal property. Your homeowner’s or commercial insurance policy should protect you from water damage due to storms, hurricanes, plumbing problems, pipes that burst, appliances that break, and other causes – unless there is a specific exclusion in your policy. You need a separate flood insurance policy for flood damage. You may need a separate policy for sewage damage.

At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, our Tupelo flood insurance lawyers can explain if you’re covered. We’re here to help you obtain professional estimates, emergency cleanup, temporary advances to relocate, and full compensation to remove and repair any water damage to all your covered property. We hold insurance companies to their contractual duty to pay you promptly so that you can return to your home or business as soon as possible, knowing that your property and possessions have been fully restored.

Areas of Focus

How can we help?

Does my insurance policy cover my property damage?

Generally, your homeowner’s or commercial property insurance should cover sudden and accidental water damage. Our Tupelo insurance dispute lawyers can review your policies (home, flood, and any other policies) to determine what coverage you do and don’t have.

What’s covered?

Most homeowner’s policies cover the following types of water damage:

  • Plumbing issues, such as broken water lines to clothes washers, dishwashers, and faucets.
  • Pipes that burst in those rare days when Mississippi temperatures drop too low.
  • Damage due to gutters that don’t remove the water properly.
  • Water damage due to sprinklers and hoses.
  • Roofs that leak – due to storms, trees that fall, hail, and other causes.
  • Water damage due to hail, storms, or heavy rain (we’ll explain if any exceptions apply).
  • Vandalism, explosions, and other covered causes.

Most policies exclude leaks or damage caused by wear and tear, deterioration, or lack of maintenance. It’s your policy language that will control what’s covered.

What’s not covered?

You may not be covered for water damage due to any of the following:

  • Flood damage is usually excluded from standard homeowners policies, so flood coverage generally requires a separate flood insurance policy (NFIP or private). Flood insurance may be required by your lender in certain flood-risk areas.
  • A failure on your part to repair known dangers. Your right to seek insurance proceeds may depend on whether you knew (or should have known) of leaks or dangerous conditions and failed to take action, and whether any exclusions apply.
  • Generally, your policies will not cover water damage from earthquakes.

Other types of water damage that may not be covered include swimming pool leaks, sump pump failures, foundation seepage, and sewage damage.

The controlling document is your insurance policy. Generally, you must show the loss is covered under the policy’s insuring terms; the insurer generally bears the burden to prove an exclusion applies. For clarification purposes, you should consider obtaining endorsements or separate insurance policies for the coverage you want.

What types of water damage insurance disputes do your lawyers handle?

Our Tupelo, MS water damage insurance lawyers have the experience (we’ve been fighting for policyholders since 2013) and record of results (more than $400 million in insurance recoveries) to handle all parts of your insurance claim, including the following:

  • Temporary advances. For many types of water damage, you’ll need to leave your home while professionals evaluate the damage and perform the necessary work to remove the water and mold and make any necessary repairs. If the loss makes your home uninhabitable and you have coverage for additional living expenses, we can arrange for temporary advances from your insurance company while these estimates and repairs are being done. The advances are for a place to live (or work), pay for meals and other necessities, and continue operating your business at a new place (if you have business interruption insurance). Because mold can begin growing quickly, it’s important to start drying and mitigation as soon as possible (ideally within 24–48 hours) while also complying with your policy’s notice and mitigation requirements, which makes it important that you contact us quickly, so we can arrange to have the work done with your insurance company.
  • Your damage claim. Our Tupelo water damage lawyers work to fully evaluate your damages (visible, hidden, structural, toxic, and all other damages) – so that your home is safe and ready for your enjoyment. We seek the funds you need to repair what can be safely repaired or rebuilt if necessary. Common water damage repairs include:
    • Repairing or replacing your roof
    • Fixing the damage to any walls, shingles, siding, or foundational parts of your home/commercial property
    • Repairing or replacing any HVAC (heating, air conditioning, or ventilation) systems

Can I seek insurance proceeds for mold damage?

Mold itself is often  under property insurance policies.  However, that does not end the analysis.

In many claims, the covered issue is the water loss, not the mold. When water damage results from a sudden and accidental direct physical loss—such as a pipe break, appliance failure, or storm intrusion—the policy may require payment for the damage caused by that water, including necessary remediation and repair.

Understanding the Relationship Between Water and Mold

Mold commonly develops as a consequence of unresolved water intrusion. Industry standards recognize that:

  • Water is categorized as Category 1, 2, or 3, depending on cleanliness and contamination.
  • When water intrudes into a structure, porous materials (such as drywall, insulation, carpet, and cabinetry) may need to be removed and replaced, depending on the category of water and the duration of exposure.
  • Removal of affected materials is often required to properly repair the covered water damage—even if mold is later identified.

In other words, insurers should focus on whether the water event is covered, while policyholders are told the claim is “about mold.” That distinction matters.

Common Coverage Disputes We See

Insurance companies may argue that:

  • The damage is “mold only” and therefore excluded
  • A policy sublimit applies without accounting for covered water damage
  • The condition existed before the reported loss
  • Partial repairs are sufficient despite industry remediation standards

These issues are often fact-intensive and depend on policy language, the cause of loss, and proper damage evaluation.

How We Approach These Claims

We work with qualified professionals when appropriate to evaluate:

  • The cause and timing of the water intrusion
  • Whether removal of materials is required to repair covered damage
  • Whether the insurer’s scope of repairs complies with policy obligations

Our focus is ensuring the claim is evaluated based on how water damage actually occurs and must be repaired, not on oversimplified or incomplete coverage defenses

What should I do to reduce the risk of property damage due to water and mold?

Water reduction measures include using dehumidifiers, sump pumps, sealing windows and doors, roof and gutter inspections, servicing your HVAC systems, knowing where the main water shutoff valve is, and using leak detection sensors.

Homeowners should consider the following mold safety measures:

  • Use dehumidifiers in damp rooms
  • Keep HVAC drip pans clean
  • Select paint that resists mold
  • Dry wet clothes promptly

Other precautions include cleaning roof gutters so they don’t fill with water, replacing damaged roof shingles, draining water heaters regularly, and ensuring that your pipes don’t freeze.

Do you have a Tupelo water and mold damage lawyer near me?

Yes. We have an office in Tupelo located at 600 W. Main St., Suite 301. We can move quickly to obtain the advances you need to examine your property and remove water and mold damage. We also speak with policyholders by phone and through online video platforms.

We’ve helped many insurance policyholders like you obtain the insurance proceeds they deserve to fully restore their property.

We also have offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Contact our accomplished Tupelo water and mold damage lawyer now

At McWherter Scott & Bobbitt, we understand how important it is to move quickly when water spreads and mold grows. We understand the arguments insurers often rely on when disputing coverage or minimizing the extent of damage. Please call us or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.

Areas of Focus