Louisiana Job Injury Law Blog

Often times an injured worker is forced to ask his or her employer for the name of its workers compensation insurer after an work related injury. The employer might try to encourage the injured worker to use his or her health insurance.

However, in Louisiana, health insurance usually does is not provide primary health insurance coverage for a work related injury unless the the employer and its insurer denies that the employee's injury is compensable under the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act.

Unfortunately, many employers are unwilling to report a work related injury to their workers compensation insurer or provide the injured employee with the name of the insurer.

In the past, If you were trying to find the name of your employer's insurer so that you can report the claim to them and see if the claim is compensable, you had to call the individual insurers like Louisiana Workers Compensation Corporation ("LWCC"), LUBA, CNA, Travelers, Chartis or other workers compensation insurer.

Now injured workers can discover their employers Louisiana Workers Compensation Act insurer online through https://www.ewccv.com/cvs/. If that doesn't work, look for "COVERAGE VERIFICATION" on the Louisiana Workforce Commissioner home page at http://www.laworks.net/

If you need help with your job injury matter, contact a Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer.

Additional Resources:

LA-RS 23:1205

Working at a New Orleans, Baton Rouge or Houma, Louisiana Nail Salon? Suffering from headaches, respiratory problems or fatigue? You may have reason to be concerned. Nail salon workers may be at an elevated risk for health problems caused by exposure to chemical toxins.

A recent research study from the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) sampled 80 female Vietnamese nail salon technicians working in more than twenty California nail salons, measuring personal and area concentrations of chemical solvents such as toluene, isopropyl acetate, and ethyl acetate. Results from the study showed the measured levels of the three solvents exceeded recommended concentration guidelines suggested to avoid health consequences related to exposure. Of the 80 participating workers, one-third reported experiencing health problems such as headache, irritation, nausea, and respiratory trouble after joining the salon workforce. Irritation of the nose, eye, throat, and skin were the most common health problem with 26.5% of participants reporting symptoms.

George Alexeef, deputy director of the California's Environmental Health Hazard Assessment testified in 2009 that toluene and formaldehyde - two chemicals commonly found in nail salon products are among the list of substances capable of causing reproductive problems and cancer in addition to symptoms such as headaches, respiratory issues, and fatigue. Senator Carol Migden, head of the Senate's Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, has stated that many of the products used in American beauty salons are known or suspected carcinogens and are already banned in Europe.

The AJPH study is part of an increased national focus on the previously overlooked health concerns of American salon technicians. Despite significant growth in the nation's number of nail salons and the formation of technician groups calling for action, progress in research and legislation limiting or banning specific chemicals in salon products has been slow moving. The pending Safe Cosmetics Act would phase out products that contain harmful substances and require full disclosure of ingredients on salon product labels. Additionally, the legislation would grant the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cosmetic manufacturing regulatory power.

In light of their findings, the authors of the AJPH study called for "policy changes to update occupational exposure limits that take into account various chronic health conditions, better regulatory oversight of chemicals in cosmetic products, and more research focused on the health of understudied and vulnerable worker populations". The study is published in the October 2011 AJPH publication entitled Environmental Justice and Disparities in Environmental Health.

If you have any questions about your Louisiana Job Injury, please contact a Louisiana workers compensation lawyer.

Surveillance of individuals receiving Louisiana workers' compensation benefits or individuals involved in a car accident or other accident may be conducted if the insurance company is seeking to destroy the injured person's credibility and diminish the value of the case. Large insurance companies typically have a department devoted to claim investigation with experienced investigators contracted to provide professional surveillance. Because evidence obtained through legally conducted surveillance can be used in court if necessary, it is important to know what to expect from surveillance operatives.

Surveillance 101

Surveillance operatives can easily obtain personal information including your:

• physical description
• home address
• neighbors' names
• medical appointment times
• contact information of healthcare providers
• vehicle registration information

Once this information has been gathered, the operative scopes out the subject's community and identifies the best vantage point for subject surveillance. Surveillance operatives often park their vehicle down the street, near a home or business that is for sale, or on the property of a neighbor or business owner who is likely misinformed of the real subject of investigation and asked to cooperate in the interest of the community.

Although surveillance strategies vary depending on the reason for surveillance and the type of evidence needed by the insurance company, investigators are typically interested in observing the subject's daily routine, determining the extent of the subject's physical abilities and comparing these observations to the medical limitations set for the subject. If an insurance company is suspicious of a subject's reported physical limitations, the operative may videotape the subject leaving for a morning exercise class or performing strenuous lawn work that exceed reported limitations. Alternatively, a subject suspected of claiming workers' compensation while secretly working at a different job may be videotaped leaving the house for work in the morning and tailed to his undisclosed workplace.

Tricks You Should Know

• Surveillance does not follow an 8am-5pm business day schedule. Operatives may be in place at any time including the early morning or weekend, especially if the activity allegedly beyond the scope of the subject's physical limitations is typically performed at a specific time of day or week such as dog walking, fishing, or home improvement projects.

Common traps set by the hired investigator to "catch" a subject performing activities beyond physical limitations set by the treating physician include the following:

• ordering a package delivered with a weight outside of the injured workers' restrictions and videotaping the worker lifting the package
• pretending to be a driver needing help changing a flat tire or pushing a broken down car;
• recording sounds such as hammering that, while not visible on tape, indicate the subject may be healthier than limitations would suggest.
• tampering with the injured persons automobile (e.g. disconnecting or draining the battery) so the investigator can take photos of the subject working on his automobile.

How Surveillance Evidence is Used

The results of subject surveillance will be used at different times in the claim review process depending on the company's policies. Often, video footage, the investigator's final report, and a physician's supplemental report filed after the physician views the surveillance footage are compiled and used in the early stages of claim review to encourage the subject to return to work without legal action. If the issue does proceed to trial, the evidence obtained by subject surveillance may be used in conjunction with the operative's testimony. Every detail, sound, and observation witnessed by the operative conducting surveillance may become a part of the legal record.

Social Media and Workers' Compensation & Other Accident Cases

Nowadays nearly everyone, including insurance companies, has a Facebook. Many insurance companies have reportedly taken to messaging and "friending" some claimants on social media websites. Last year, a Pennsylvania woman involved in an auto accident was sent a Facebook friendship request from the at fault driver's insurance adjuster assigned to handle the claim less than 24 hours after the accident occurred and this practice is increasingly common.

It is important to remember that nothing you post on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter are guaranteed to remain private. With over 500 million Facebook users and about 100 million Twitter users, you never know who is looking at your profile or viewing your photos. If you are involved in a workers' compensation or personal injury lawsuit remember that insurance companies are diligently searching for you online and exercise common sense. Even with strict privacy settings in place, limited profile information is often still accessible to searchers additional information capable of damaging a case could be accessed through a friend's less protected page.

What Can You Do?

• Do a Google search on yourself and review the results
• Never approve friend requests from people you do not know
• Read the privacy statements of any social media outlet you use
• Select the highest privacy settings for your Facebook profile
• Realize that comments you post on other pages may not be as private as you think and censor accordingly.
• Be smart about your "tagged photos" settings and review photos you are tagged in often. If you are not currently working due to an on the job injury but have a photo posted of a family rock climbing trip, assume that the insurance company will find it and try to use it.

If you need have any questions about your injury claim, call a Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer

The Louisiana Workers Compensation Act Second Injury Fund is a Louisiana agency established under the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act to reimburse employers or their workers compensation insurers for some of their indemnity and medical and costs in certain instances when an employee with a pre-existing permanent partial disability is injured on the job.

The purpose of the fund under Louisiana Workers Compensation Laws is to encourage reluctant employers to hire employees with pre-existing disabilities.

If you have any questions about your Louisiana Workers Compensation Laws or Louisiana Workers Compensation Benefits, please feel free to contact Louisiana Workers Compensation Disability Benefits Lawyer.

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I had a call today from a lady whose Louisiana employer was deducting Louisiana workers compensation premiums from her paycheck.

This practice is illegal in Louisiana and is prohibited by LA-RS 23:1163 which states:

1163. Premium; contribution by employees prohibited; penalty

A. It shall be unlawful for any employer, or his agent or representative, to collect from any of his employees directly or indirectly either by way of deduction from the employee's wages, salary, compensation, or otherwise, any amount whatever, or to demand, request, or accept any amount from any employee, either for the purpose of paying the premium in whole or in part on any liability or compensation insurance of any kind whatever on behalf of any employee or to reimburse such employer in whole or in part for any premium on any insurance against any liability whatever to any employee or for the purpose of the employer carrying any such insurance for the employer's own account, or to demand or request of any employee to make any payment or contribution for any such purpose to any other person.

B. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any employer from carrying his own insurance towards his own employees; nothing herein shall apply to an employer qualified under the laws of this state to engage in the liability insurance business. In addition, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent an independent contractor who is a sole proprietor and who has elected by written agreement not to be covered by the provisions of this Chapter in accordance with R.S. 23:1035 from entering into a contract with his principal pursuant to which the independent contractor is responsible for securing insurance or self-insurance for the benefits provided pursuant to this Chapter or to reduce payments to the independent contractor for coverage of the independent contractor or his employees pursuant to a contract, nor shall it be a violation of this Section if a principal has agreed to provide workers' compensation insurance to all contractors working under a contract with the principal and for the cost of this coverage to be a consideration in the contract between the principal and the contractors.

C. Whoever violates any provision of this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than one year, or both.

D. In addition to the criminal penalties provided for in Subsection C of this Section, any person violating the provisions of this Section shall be assessed civil penalties by the workers' compensation judge of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars payable to the employee and reasonable attorney fees. Restitution shall be ordered up to the amount collected from the employee's wages, salary or other compensation. The award of penalties, attorney fees, and restitution shall have the same force and effect and may be satisfied as a judgment of a district court.

Acts 1995, No. 368, §1, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 2001, No. 1014, §1, eff. June 27, 2001; Acts 2004, No. 416, §1, eff. June 24, 2004.

If your job injury claim falls under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act or Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act and your treating doctor says you are physically capable of returning to modified duty work either with your employer of injury or with another prospective employer in your geographic region. The vocational counselor says you have the skills necessary to do the position. What should you do?

If the Modified Position is with Your Employer of Injury

If the modified duty position is with your employer of injury, get to work and try the job. If you fail to return by the return to work date, you may be fired and your employer will probably reduce or terminated your workers compensation indemnity payments. See, Banks v. Industrial Roofing & Sheet Metal Works, Inc.pdf Furthermore, without showing up, you will never be able to determine if the position offered pays your pre-injury wage, if it is full-time or part-time, if the position is within your physical restrictions and skill set or if the position even exist. Sometimes these positions are even temporary or perhaps even created solely for purposes of terminating or reducing your indemnity payments.

Upon returning to work , make sure you keep a copy of your work restrictions in your pocket so you can provide them to your employer if your restrictions are called into question. If you have physical trouble performing the job, call your treating doctor immediately to get in to see him.

Also, upon returning to work, do not give the employer a reason for terminating you for misconduct as this may also be a basis for terminating or reducing your potential future indemnity payments under the rationale that your termination caused your wage loss, not your job injury. See, Synigal v. Vanguard Car Rental, 951 So. 2d 1197 - La_ Court of Appeals, 5th .pdf

Do not quit your job as this may also be a basis for terminating or reducing your indemnity payments.

If the Modified Position is with Another Potential Employer

If the vocational rehabilitation counselor presents your treating doctor with a list of job descriptions of potential jobs with other employers in your geographic location, you should diligently explore these job opportunities. If you don't, your indemnity payments may be reduced or terminated if your treating doctor has indicated you are physically capable of performing the jobs on the list. See, Mayeux v. Kentucky Fried Chicken, 671 So. 2d 1261 - La_ Court of Appeals, 2n.pdf

Without at least exploring the job opportunities by asking questions of the potential employer and/ or making out an application with the prospective employer, you will have difficulty determining whether the position advertised is within your physical restrictions, your skill set and your geographic area or if it even exists or pays the listed pay rate.

Keep detailed notes on all prospective positions including name, address and phone number of the prospective employer, who you spoke with, date you made out an application, whether there is an actual position available, physical requirements, education and skill requirements, rate of pay, follow up calls etc.. See, Gasway v. Cellxion, Inc., 31 So. 3d 566 - La_ Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit.pdf

Your Louisiana Workers Compensation Attorney and Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensatoin Lawyer will need all of this information when you go to court to assist with your case.

Similar Rules Apply under the Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act

Similarly, under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, the employer of an injured worker may be able to reduce or terminate the Longshoreman's indemnity payments by demonstrating that the injured worker is able to secure suitable employment within the injured employee's geographic region that the longshore employee is physically and mentally capable of performing. The employer of injury need not hire the injured worker himself or find him a guaranteed job. Rather, the employer only needs to establish that water is nearby which the injured worker may drink if he reaches for it. See,New Orleans (Gulfwide) Stevedores v. Turner, 661 F. 2d 1031 - Court of Appea.pdf

For work injuries falling under the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act, Average Weekly Wage for Full Time Employees is calculated by averaging the actual hours worked in the four full weeks before the accident or using wages for a forty hour work week, whichever is greater. Overtime is included in the calculation.

Injured Louisiana workers are presumed to be full time unless they were offered employment for 40 hours or more but regularly and at their own discretion work less than 40 hour per week.

If in an employee is guaranteed a weekly salary and receives a commission, the injured employee's Average Weekly Wage would be calculated by adding the guaranteed weekly salary to an additional amount of other wage commission calculated by adding up the gross wages for the applicable period and dividing by the number of days the employee actually worked and then multiplying by the average number of days worked per week.

Please remember that an injured outdoor construction worker who works fewer than forty hours per week because of the weather and not due to his own discretion is still presumed to be a full time employee and his average weekly wage should reflect at least a forty hour work week.

If you have any questions about your Average Weekly Wage Calculation, contact a Louisiana Workers Compensation Attorney.

Source: Louisiana Revised Statute 23 1021.pdf

Many Louisiana work injures occur on the highway and the Louisiana State Police are making crash reports available online to injured workers. To obtain a report you will be asked to enter the first and last name of the driver/pedestrian involved in the crash, the parish where the crash occurred and the date of the incident. Parish Sheriff and Local Police Department Accident Report Contact Information is also available online.

For assistance with your job injury, contact a Louisiana Workers Compensaion Lawyer and Louisiana Car Accident Lawyer concering any potential Third Party Claim or Louisiana Uninsured Motorist Claim.

Working in a noisy environment may be more than annoying-it may be bad for your heart. According to a study released this month by researchers at The University of British Columbia and published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, individuals working in noisy environments are at have a higher prevalence of chest pain, heart attacks, heart disease and high blood pressure due to psychological stress acquired by exposure to loud noise at the work place.

A team of researchers analyzed data on over 6, 300 employed individuals 20 years and older who participated in the U.S National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2004. As part of the U.S National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, participants underwent physical exams and answered questions about their occupational and general health. University of British Columbia researchers then divided the study participants by type of workplace: generally quiet work environments and persistently noisy workplaces. "Persistent noise" did not include loud music or talking but was defined as unwanted industrial noise such as the noise commonly found in mining and manufacturing industries. More than 20 percent of the approximately 6,300 individuals had been exposed to over 8 months of workplace noise. Even after taking into consideration the high rates of heart disease risks factors such as tobacco use and obesity among the mostly middle-aged male individuals working in a loud environment, researchers still found that workers exposed to industrial noise were about twice as likely to have serious heart problems than individuals working in quieter environments. According to study results, individuals exposed to loud noise at work were about twice as likely to have above normal diastolic blood pressure, a biomarker linked to hypertension and cardiac problems. Among those who worked in a noisy environment, men under age fifty and men who smoked were at a higher risk of coronary disease and heart attack.

Because the study relied on self-reported diagnosis data and did not consider other occupational factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as air pollution, further studies are needed before the connection between noise and cardiovascular illness is proven. Despite conclusive causal evidence of the connection, the scientific community is interested in the results of the study and eager to explore the possible connection further.

Source:

Study publication

For questions about your Louisiana Workers Compensation Act case, contact New Orleans and Baton Rouge Louisiana Workers Compensation Benefits Lawyer.

To reach the Louisiana Workers Compensation District Offices, contact the Following locations:

OWCA - Administrative

OWCA - Administrative
Chief Judge Sheral Kellar
Judy Franklin, Mediator
Post Office Box 94040
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9040

Phone: (225) 342-7970
Toll-free: (800) 201-2499
Fax: (225) 342-4790
tsavoy@lwc.la.gov

District 1 East (Monroe)

Judge Brenza Irving Jones
Tikisha Smith, Mediator
Camelia Antie, DRS
1908 Stubbs
Monroe, LA 71201

Phone: (318) 362-3078
Toll-free: (800) 209-7321
Fax: (318) 362-3083
wcdistrict1e@lwc.la.gov

District 1 West (Shreveport)

Judge Carey Holiday
Rosa Whitlock, Mediator
TBA, DRS
9234 Linwood
Shreveport LA 71106

Phone: (318) 676-5331
Toll-Free: (800) 209-7173
Fax: (318) 676-5332
wcdistrict1w@lwc.la.gov

Continue reading "Where Are Louisiana Workers Compensation District Offices Located?" »

Louisiana Workers Compensation Death Benefits provide payment to the deceased employee's family, including a $7,500 funeral benefit.

Dependents are paid according to this schedule:

• Widower: 32 ½ % of employee's average weekly wage
• Widow and One Child: 46 ¼ % of employee's average weekly wage
• Widow and Two Children: 65% of employee's average weekly wage

If the deceased employee has no dependents, the surviving parents are paid $75,000 each.

Surviving spouses are paid the benefit until remarriage (at which point a lump sum of two years is paid) or death, while dependent children are paid the benefit until the age of 18 or 23 if they are a student.

The Louisiana Workers Compensation laws do provide death benefits for dependents other than those set forth above.

For any questions that you may have, contact a Louisiana Workers Compensaton Death Benefits Lawyer.

Source:

RS 23:1231 Death of employee; payment to dependents; surviving parents

RS 23:1232 Allocation to dependents; schedule of payments

RS 23:1233 Death or marriage of dependent; age limit of minor dependent

For job injuries falling under the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act, the Act provides that a lump sum settlement is permitted only (1) Upon agreement between the parties, including the insurer's duty to obtain the employer's consent; (2) When it can be demonstrated that a lump sum payment is clearly in the best interests of the parties; and (3) Upon the expiration of six months after termination of temporary total disability. However, such expiration may be waived by consent of the parties.

Furthermore, a lump sum or compromise settlement entered into by the parties must be presented to the workers' compensation judge for approval through a petition signed by all parties and verified by the employee or his dependent, or by recitation of the terms of the settlement and acknowledgment by the parties in open court which is capable of being transcribed from the record of the proceeding.

The settlement typically includes a settlement of any and all claims the employee may have whatsoever against the employer and its insurer, including past, present and future medical benefits, indemnity payments, vocational rehabilitation benefits, mileage benefits, penalties, attorney fees, interest and any other potential claims the employee may have against the employer or its insurer and their representatives.

For questions about Workers Compensation Settlements in Louisiana, contact aLouisiana Workers Compensatoin Lawyer.

Source:

§1271. Right of parties to settle or compromise

§1272. Approval of lump sum or compromise settlements by the workers' compensation judge

§1274. Lump sum settlements; necessity for approval

Louisiana Workers Compensation Laws are found primarily in two sources, the Louisiana Revised Statutes Chapter 23, Sections 1021 - 1379 and in The Louisiana Administrative Code Title 40: Labor & Employment Part I: Workers' Compensation Administration

Louisiana Revised Statutes Chapter 23, Sections 1021 - 1379

The Louisiana Administrative Code Title 40: Labor & Employment Part I: Workers' Compensation Administration

Chapter 7 Rehabilitation Services

Chapter 9 Safety Requirements

Chapter 15 Drug Testing In Job Related Accident Cases

Chapter 19 Fraud

Chapter 27 Utilization Review Procedures

Chapter 55 Hearing Rules

La.R.S. 23 La.R.S. Chapter 23 - Complete

When an employee is injured on the job in Louisiana, his or her employer is required to report the injury.

For job injuries that fall under the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act, the employer the employer must timely complete LWC-WC-1007.pdf for purposes of providing work related accident and injury information to the State of Louisiana Office of Workers Compensation Administration.

For job injuries that fall under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, the employer is required to timely report a REPORTABLE INJURY - Any accidental injury which causes loss of one or more shifts of work or death allegedly arising out of and in the course of employment, including any occupational disease or infection believed or alleged to have arisen naturally out of such employment, or as a natural or unavoidable result from an accidental injury. The injury is reported on LS-202 PDF.pdf

There are also OSHA reporting requirements. See PART 1904 - Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses as well as other reporting requriements for employees that fall under other compensation systems.

LWCC's list of handpicked company doctors and other company oriented healthcare providers can be found online at LWCC's OMNET database. OMNET is LWCC's occupational medicine network recommended to employers for treatment favorable to the employer and its LWCC insurer's pocketbooks. LWCC uses OMNET to direct injured employees to company doctors who treat them at overall lower price points. LWCC doesn't want injured employees to treat with "cost intesive providers". Cost intesive providers are healthcare providers most likely not found in the OMNET database and who spend more money on the injured worker than OMNET providers.

The company doctors are bound by two conflicting ideals: serving the medical needs of their patients while protecting the company's bottom line.

Injured employees who are covered by the Louisiana Workers Compensatoin Act have the right to choose one doctor in each specialty. While LWCC may want the injured worker to choose his or her physician from the OMNET company doctor list, the injured worker is not required to pick his or her physician from the OMNET list. Some savvy injured workers search the OMNET database to avoid choosing an OMNET company doctor or provider.

Is your physician found in the OMNET Database of Company Doctors?

For questions about your work injury case, contact Louisiana Workers Compensation Benefits Lawyer.