Practice: Workers’ Compensation

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Second Injury Fund: When You Can Ask for an Employee’s Medical History

  • November 12, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Much to the surprise of companies who do not regularly work in Louisiana, and even a few that do, you can inquire into a new employee’s medical background in Louisiana.  But, as with everything else in the law, it is never as easy as it first sounds. Second Injury Fund Provides Employers Reimbursements for Workers’ […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  2013 Legislative Update: Changes to Louisiana Workers Compensation

  • October 15, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Louisiana Workers Compensation Changes Again, Less Than a Year After Substantial Reform In this summer’s session, the Louisiana Legislature made numerous changes to the Workers’ Compensation laws.  Businesses and employers should be sure to work closely with counsel to ensure they are in compliance with the new laws.  Some of these changes include: Act No. […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Punitive Damages allowed by Louisiana Federal Court in LHWCA Suit

  • October 9, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Will Punitive Damages Now be Available in Louisiana for Offshore Injuries? In Callahan v. Gulf Logistics, L.L.C., No. 6:06-CV-561 2013 WL 5236888 (W.D. La. Sept. 16, 2013), the Western District of Louisiana recently permitted a plaintiff to pursue punitive damages in a vessel negligence lawsuit for injuries allegedly sustained outside territorial waters, pursuant to section […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Workers Compensation Defense: the Unwitnessed Accident

  • October 8, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch

  What should an employer do in a Workers Compensation defense case where there are no witnesses to corroborate the employee’s story of an accident?

• Employment Law & Litigation

  LHWCA: “Other Adjoining Areas” Must Be Contiguous to Navigable Waters

  • September 23, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Status and Situs An individual seeking workers’ compensation benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) must satisfy two separate requirements—“status” and “situs.”  The “status” test requires that the recipient of benefits be engaged in “maritime employment, including any longshoreman or other person engaged in longshoring operations, and any harbor worker including a […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Defending Workers Compensation Fraud Just Got Easier

  • September 20, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Employers can now file for expedited hearing to force claimants to execute workers compensation fraud forms without having to file a 1008 disputed claim.

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Changes For Out-Of-State Insurance Companies Possible In Workers’ Comp

  • March 25, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  In Faustino Duarte-Ortega v. Disaster Recovery Services, LLC d/b/a D R Services and Dallas National Insurance Carrier, no. 12-883 (La. App. 5 Cir. 12/27/12), the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a writ application by the defendants. The trial court below ordered the defendants to retain an in-state claims adjuster to handle Mr. Duarte-Ortega’s compensation claim under […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  US Supreme Court Uses “Substantial Nexus” Test to Determine Coverage

  • February 11, 2012
  • By John Hughes
  

  Circuit Split Resoved in Favor of “Substantial Nexus” In January 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split concerning the applicable standard for coverage under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid, 132 S. Ct. 680 (2012). OCSLA […]