Practice: Workers’ Compensation

• Workers' Compensation

  Don’t Make Enemies of Injured Employees

  • December 7, 2018
  • By Patrick A. Johnson

  In Workers’ Compensation, never rush to create an enemy Once you report an accident, it is going to increase your experience modifier, cause you plenty of headaches and give rise to a mountain of frustrations. Unfortunately, that is the cost of doing business in an industry where your employees may get hurt. Notwithstanding the legal […]

• Workers' Compensation

  Court of Appeal Upholds Louisiana Medical Treatment Guidelines Review/Appeal Process

  • November 6, 2018
  • By Patrick F. Robinson

  In a long-awaited decision, the First Circuit Court of Appeal has rendered a judgment in the case of Barber vs. Louisiana Workforce Commission, No. 2017 CA 0844 (La. App. 1 Cir. 10/19/2018), reversing the district court and finding the administrative review/appeal process for medical treatment of injured workers constitutional. The decision is yet another vindication […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Third Circuit’s Requirements for Adjusting Workers’ Compensation Claims in Louisiana

  • March 13, 2017
  • By Stephen G. Collura

  In the recent Third Circuit case, Broussard v. Dillards’ Department Stores, Inc., the Court issued a ruling that effects the manner in which all workers’ compensation insurers are required to handle workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana.  — So. 3d —, (La App. 3 Cir. 02/15/17) 2017 WL 606769. The issue was brought before the Third […]

• Workers' Compensation

  Are Franchisee’s Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

  • July 25, 2016
  • By Stephen G. Collura

      Who is entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits? The Workers’ Compensation Act provides an exclusive remedy for an employee against his employer or co-employee where the terms of the statute are met. The compromise allows the injured employee to recover benefits pursuant to the statute, but the employer (and/or co-employee) will be immune from […]

• Insurance & Casualty Litigation

  Spotting and Successfully Defending Claims Against Malingerers

  • May 4, 2016
  • By

  Patients who malinger, or exaggerate illness, can be a problem for health and claims management professionals. Malingering is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) as the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated physical or psychological symptoms, motivated by external incentives such as avoiding work or military duty; […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Bad Faith Claims in Mississippi Could Affect Other Jurisdictions

  • March 30, 2016
  • By

  Mississippi Bad Faith Claims Can Affect Employers and Carriers in Other jurisdictions With companies operating in multiple states, navigating interstate laws has become increasingly tricky. This is especially true in the worker’s compensation arena where an employer can be sued for benefits in its state of operation, the state where the injury occurred, or the […]

• Workers' Compensation

  Course and Scope of Employment – Always Clocked In

  • February 3, 2016
  • By Stephen G. Collura of Associate, New Orleans

  Recently, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals determined that an employee was in the course and scope of her employment when she sustained injuries from a criminal assailant.   The employee, a home health caregiver, normally worked from 8 am until 5 pm. On the day of the incident, the employee accompanied a client […]

• Workers' Compensation

  Applying Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Law to Out-of-State Work Accident

  • January 18, 2016
  • By

  Louisiana Workers’ Compensation laws can be applied to work injuries that occur while an employee is working outside of Louisiana.  Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1035.1 provides extraterritorial coverage to an employee injured while working outside the territorial limits of Louisiana.  Specifically, this statute provides in pertinent part:   (1) If an employee, while working outside the […]

• Workers' Compensation

  When is a lie evidence of fraud under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act?

  • October 13, 2014
  • By Patrick A. Johnson
  

  False Statements and Misrepresentations May Equal Fraud Under La. R.S. 23:1208, it is unlawful for any person “for the purpose of obtaining or defeating any benefit or payment under the provisions of [the Workers’ Compensation Act], either for himself or for any other person, to willfully make a false statement or misrepresentation.”  Crafted to discourage […]

• Workers' Compensation

  Employers face a steep burden to prove an employee’s “willful intent to injure”

  • May 27, 2014
  • By
  

  Workers Compensation Defenses Available to Employers Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1081 includes a list of various defenses available to an employer faced with an injured employee. The first defense provides that “No compensation shall be allowed for an injury caused… by the injured employee’s willful intention to injure himself.” Must Prove Intent to Self-Injure by Preponderance […]