Workers Compensation

May 9, 2010

The Importance of Timing in Making an Asbestos Claim

Employees injured on the job are usually bared from filing a claim against their employers because they are fully compensated under the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act. However, while the act provides for most injuries, it does not provide for all. Whether or not your injuries are covered by Workers Compensation requires a look at recent Louisiana statutes.

In the case of employee’s claiming injuries due to asbestos exposure, Louisiana’s Workers Compensation Act can may be tricky to pinpoint. Because asbestos usually manifests itself years after initial exposure, deciding which statute applies, and thus which injuries are covered, may be difficult. The time at which a claim arises is usually measured from the injury producing event, that is in this case, the initial exposure to asbestos. The injury producing event, in addition to providing a timeline for a cause of action, also determines the law controlling the event. Laws are amended and changed over time, so the date of asbestos exposure actually determines which statute will be applied to the injury claim.

In 1996, Royce Thomas filed a claim against his former employer, Anco Insulations (“Anco”). He claims that his job, from 1968 to 1971, exposed him to large quantities of asbestos, and he contracted lung cancer and asbestosis as a result of the exposure. His employer challenged the claim, alleging that the injuries were covered under workers’ compensation. This is where the importance of the injury producing event becomes evident. Royce claimed that his lung cancer and asbestosis were related to pre-1975 exposure to asbestos. Under Louisiana law at that time (pre-1975), asbestos was not a substance covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Therefore, Royce had a valid cause of action because the injury producing event occurred at a time when asbestos, and lung cancer for that matter, were not injuries covered by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

May 7, 2010

Police Chief’s Complications Good Example of Workers’ Compensation Limits

by Berniard Law Firm

If you or someone you know has been injured on the job, there’s a good chance that

workers compensation was a topic of conversation. By law, employees injured during and in the course of their employment are entitled to monetary benefits. However, the right to collect worker’s compensation does not stretch indefinitely. Most jurisdictions place a “statute of limitations” of a “prescription period” on personal injury claims, limiting the amount of time an injured party has to file a compensation claim. As soon as the injury occures, the statutory “clock” starts ticking. When that clock reaches the statute of limitation period, any workers compensation claim is effectively barred. This is a serious issue for many workers injured on the job and is important to know to report an injury as soon as possible.

In 2002, City of Brusly’s Chief of Police was injured during the course of employment. His claim for compensation, however, was not filed until December 2004, nearly two and half years after his injury. The question at issue in this case was whether prescription, that is, the filing of his claim after Louisiana’s one-year limitation placed on personal injury claims, prevented the Chief from filing his action for worker’s compensation benefits.

April 6, 2010

Workers’ Compensation, Expert Witness Fees, and the Employer’s Benefit Offset

by Berniard Law Firm

In previous posts we have examined the important role of expert witnesses in litigation. As a general rule, the party who retains an expert witness is responsible for paying for the witness’s services.

The issue of expert witness fees was central to the case of case of Burns v. Apache Corp, 853 So. 2d 708 (La. Ct. of App., 2nd Cir. 2003), which was an appeal from a ruling by the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWC). Mr. Barry Burns was employed by Apache Corporation as an oil well pump technician in Shongaloo, Louisiana. On June 21, 2000, he was struck and killed by a moving part of the pump he was working on. His widow, Terry Burns, made a claim for workers’ compensation against Apache and also filed a tort action against Dodson Tye Machine Works, Inc., a third-party contractor who had also worked on the oil well.

After the accident, Apache began paying Ms. Burns $384 per week in workers’ compensation death benefits. Ms. Burns’s lawsuit proceeded to trial where a jury awarded her $45,324 in damages against Dodson.