Who Can Be Covered Under Louisiana Workers Comp?
All full-time employees, seasonal employees, and part-time employees in New Orleans must be covered by Louisiana workers compensation insurance. Exemptions from New Orleans workers compensation include most real estate agents, uncompensated directors, officers at certain nonprofits, domestic employees, and public officials. To understand if you are covered, you should speak with an experienced New Orleans workers compensation attorney.
Employers in the state of Louisiana must provide workers compensation benefits to their employees through private insurance or must self-insure. Both mental and physical illnesses and injuries that occur during employment are eligible for benefits, regardless of fault. Under workers compensation in the state of Louisiana, when an employee is injured on the job or suffers a job-related illness, he or she is entitled to receive medical care for work-related injuries or illnesses, as well as a portion of his or her lost wages and vocational rehabilitation services.
What is the Goal of Workers Compensation?
The goal of workers compensation is to ensure employees injured or become ill as a result of their employment receive adequate medical care. They should also receive lost wages related to the injury or illness. Additionally, workers who require retraining after an injury to qualify for a different job may qualify for vocational rehabilitation services.
The “tradeoff” for the employee is that they give up the right to sue the employer for any recovery, including damages related to pain and suffering. Further, the employee will only receive approximately 2/3rds of their lost wages. The only exception is when an employer is responsible for an intentional act that resulted in the death or injury of an employee. If this is the case, the employee has the right to sue the employer for pain and suffering.
How Can an Attorney Help with a Workers Compensation Claim in Louisiana?
Most injured workers in the state of Louisiana will benefit greatly from representation by a qualified Louisiana workers compensation attorney. In fact, the only time an employee does not need to hire a New Orleans workers compensation attorney is when the injury or illness is very minor, results in few days off work, and resolves itself very quickly. The state of Louisiana has a 20 percent limit on workers compensation attorney fees, making the benefits of legal representation far more than the costs. Unfortunately, most injured on the job, or that have suffered a work-related illness, wait too long before contacting an attorney.
How Insurance Handles Workers Compensation Claims
The insurance company is likely to devalue the employee’s claim, threatening the rights and the future of the employee. Insurance will send the employee to the doctor of its choice, in an effort to limit—or even eliminate—the claim. They may also deny appropriate medical care for the injured employee which could result in permanent negative health consequences. The company could pressure the employee to return to work to eliminate indemnity payments (or lost wage benefits). Insurance could improperly calculate the amount and/or the number of payments due to the employee. It’s possible there will be pressure on the injured employee to take a low settlement. They may falsely tell the employee that if they do not take the low offer, they will receive nothing. When an employee is not represented by a highly-skilled workers compensation attorney like Peter Diiorio, then they are not protected by the Louisiana workers compensation laws.
FAQ: How Do You Prove Wrongful Death?
New Orleans workers compensation attorney Peter J. Diiorio understands that insurance companies are much more interested in profits than in paying injured workers the benefits they are entitled to receive. Further, the employer and the workers compensation insurance company will have lawyers, who will protect the rights of the employee? In addition to trying to minimize benefits the employee receives, insurance does not have the employee’s interest at heart. In many cases, neither does the employer. Some employers will even go so far as to try and convince the employee there really was no serious injury. Or, that it is not in the best interests of the employee to report an accident or injuries.
Workers Compensation Attorney Peter Diiorio
Peter J. Diiorio is a highly qualified Louisiana workers’ compensation attorney who knows exactly how to deal with and handle the workers compensation insurance companies, including their adjusters and lawyers. Our team will ensure an injured employee receives their workers compensation benefits in a timely manner, maximizing recovery whenever possible. When it is time to settle a workers comp claim, the New Orleans Legal attorneys will virtually always recover much more than the employee would recover on his or her own, even after the attorney’s 20 percent fee is taken out. In short, it is in the interest of an injured employee to hire Peter Diiorio as quickly as possible.
FAQs Regarding New Orleans Workers Compensation
What injuries are covered under Louisiana workers compensation?
Under workers compensation laws in the state of Louisiana, both physical injuries, as well as mental injuries that result from a work-related accident or an occupational illness, are covered. That being said, a mental injury must be the result of a physical injury or a sudden, extraordinary employment-related stress. Occupational diseases are related to an employee’s workplace or a specific trade or occupation that exposes them to the disease. The cause of the injury must be directly related to the employment of the employee. In general, employee or employer fault is not a factor in compensation unless:
- The employee willfully injured himself or herself
- Intoxication was involved in the employee’s injury
- The employee was involved in a physical altercation in which he or she was the aggressor
- The employee was participating in workplace horseplay when the injury happened
How are Louisiana workers compensation benefits paid?
If it is determined that the employee is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, meaning the employee has been unable to return to work as a result of the injury or illness for more than seven days, the first payment for Temporary Total Disability, death, or Permanent Total Disability will be due on the fourteenth day after the insurer has been notified of the work injury or death. For the length of the TTD, the employee will be paid compensation equal to 66 and 2/3rds percent of his or her average weekly wage (subject to a minimum and maximum amount). If the employee is able to return to work but unable to earn at least 90 percent of pre-injury wages, he or she may be entitled to Supplemental Earnings Benefits.
What happens when an employee dies in a work-related accident or from a work-related illness?
When an at-work accident causes an employee injury, or the employee suffers from an occupational illness, should the employee die within two years of his or her last treatment, immediate family members (spouse and/or dependent children) may be entitled to receive weekly workers compensation benefits.
Getting the Help You Need for Your New Orleans Workers Compensation Claim
New Orleans workers compensation attorney Peter Diiorio can help those who have been injured at work collect the workers compensation benefits they are entitled to receive. We fight to make sure our workers compensation clients receive lost wages, have medical bills paid, and receive necessary care. Many workers compensation injuries can be catastrophic—or even fatal—changing lives forever. We will be a strong advocate for our clients, fighting hard for their rights and their futures. Contact New Orleans Legal today to speak to Peter J. Diiorio, a strong workers compensation lawyer who believes in advocating intensely for every client. New Orleans Legal–Solving Problems, Making Things Right.
