New Wage Benefit and Transportation Reimbursement Rates

Most people who receive Louisiana Workers' Compensation wage benefits are paid up to two-thirds of the total taxable income they earned before their injury. But there's a cap that limits the maximum benefit to seventy-five percent of the state's average weekly wage. On September 1, 2007, the maximum Workers' Compensation wage benefit in Louisiana increases from $478.00 to $522.00 per week. Also, starting July 1, 2007, the reimbursement rate for medical transportation expenses increased to 44 cents per mile.

- David Buie is a Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer representing individuals throughout Louisiana. www.DavidBuie.com

Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation Locations

The contact information for the staff of the Louisiana Office of Workers' Compensation was updated recently because some important members changed offices or recently joined the agency. The current directory is listed below:

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

Monroe Office
Judge Brenza Irving
Tikisha Smith, Mediator
Camelia Antie, DRS
1908 Stubbs
Monroe, LA 71201
Phone: (318) 362-3078
Toll-free: (800) 209-7321
Fax: (318) 362-3083

Shreveport Office
Judge Phillip Hendry
Rosa Whitlock, Mediator
Bridget Powell, DRS
9234 Linwood
Shreveport LA 71106
Phone: (318) 676-5331
Toll-Free: (800) 209-7173
Fax: (318) 676-5332

Alexandria Office
Judge James Braddock
Mayme Holt-Brown, Mediator
Jeanette Dodge, DRS
3724 Government Street, Suite 114
Alexandria, LA 71302
Phone: (318) 487-5966
Toll-Free: (800) 209-7329
Fax: (318) 487-5967

Lake Charles Office
Judge Charlotte Bushnell
Judge Sam Lowery
Chantell Smith, Mediator
Deborah Garriet, DRS
4250 Fifth Ave., Suite 3
Lake Charles, LA 70607
Phone: (337) 475-4882
Toll-free: (888) 768-8745
Fax: (337) 475-4884

Lafayette Office
Judge Sharon Morrow
Raven Pillette, Mediator
Norene Fusilier, DRS
556 Jefferson Street, First Floor
Lafayette, LA 70501-6947
Phone: (337) 262-1057
Toll-free: (800) 209-7174
Fax: (337)-262-1106

Baton Rouge Office
Judge Pam Moses-Laramore
Judge Jason Ourso
Adam Johnson, Mediator
Audrey Scott, DRS
224 Florida St., Suite 100
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Phone: (225) 219-4378
Toll-free: (800) 209-7175
Fax: (225) 219-4377

Covington Office
Judge Robert Varnado
Judge Elizabeth Warren
Valerie Marcules, Mediator
Mikal Pippins, DRS
19374 North Third Street
Covington, LA 70433-8813
Phone: (985) 871-1258
Toll-Free: (888) 575-6149
Fax: (985) 871-1264

Harvey Office
Judge Sylvia Steib
Judge John Grout
Shannon Bruno, Mediator
Ken Dupre, DRS
2150 Westbank Expressway, Suite 403
Harvey, LA 70058-4902
Phone: (504) 361-6831
Toll-Free: (800) 209-7162
Fax: (504) 361-6834

New Orleans Office
Judge Gwendolyn Thompson
Judge Diane Lundeen
Rene Paysse, Mediator
Christine Melford, DRS
Amoco Building
1340 Poydras Street, Suite 1450
New Orleans, LA 70112-2001
Phone: (504) 568-6952
Toll-Free: (800) 209-7232
Fax: (504) 568-8706

Houma Office
Judge Elizabeth Lanier
Vacant, Mediator
Debra Duplantis, DRS
8026 Main Street, Suite 404
Houma, LA 70360-3407
Phone: (985) 857-3775
Toll-free: (800) 262-1497
Fax: (985) 857-3781
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David Buie is a Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer representing individuals throughout all of Louisiana. www.DavidBuie.com

Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee refuses to exempt PPOs from penalties for underpaying Workers' Cmpensation claims.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports that the Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee voted 4-2 to scuttle Senate Bill 220, which would have excluded preferred provider organizations from penalties for underpaying worker compensation claims. Four members of the Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee staunchly stood their ground during the heated two-hour hearing before a standing room only crowd of lobbyists.

Chairman James David Cain, R-Dry Creek, said after the hearing that he was forced to put witnesses under penalty of perjury because of “a bunch of nasty lies” spread in radio ads and prerecorded telephone messages aimed at constituents in the districts of four members of the committee. The messages supported SB220.

“It’s about AIG and some insurance companies that got their hand caught in the cookie jar,” said Clark R. Cossé III, general counsel of the Louisiana Hospital Association. “The sky is not falling.”

For the full text and status of Senate Bill 220, visit the Louisiana Legislature's website.

New Workers' Compensation laws pending in the Louisiana Legislature

SB 220: Exempts preferred provider organizations from some laws that provide penalties for the underpayment of Workers' Compensation benefits.

SB 259: Changes the amount of retained premiums that must be maintained by self-insurers.

HCR 105: Requests the Department of Labor and Office of Risk Management to review and reconsider the amount and term of benefits paid to employees who experience a catastrophic injury.

HB 651: Provides for the liabilities of the workers' compensation Second Injury Fund.

HB 156: Changes La.RS. 37:2175.2 to provide that proof of Workers' Compensation insurance is not required to get a contractors license if the applicant is an independent contactor who is a sole proprietor with no employees and has elected not to be covered by Workers' Compensation insurance as provided by law.

Workers' comp rates on the decline in Louisiana

From the Times Picayune

June 1, 2007

Rates for workers' compensation insurance are decreasing, thanks to a large drop in loss costs for insurers, according to Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.

Most workers' comp carriers in Louisiana use the National Council on Compensation Insurance annual loss cost filing report to help formulate their insurance rates. As a result of a recent NCCI filing showing Louisiana has the nation's largest percentage decrease in loss costs, at 15.8 percent, several companies have filed for a rate decrease with the Department of Insurance.

"This is positive news for our state's workers' compensation market," Donelon said. "Our market is healthy and viable."

Unfortunately, Louisiana also had the "largest percentage decrease" in population and employees.

David Buie is a Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer representing individuals throughout all of Louisiana. www.DavidBuie.com

Coordinating Social Security Disability and Workers' Compensation Benefits.

Many people with work-related injuries will qualify for Disability if they're persistent in pursuing their claim through the Social Security appeals process. Most Social Security Disability applications are initially denied and the Social Security Administration reports that you're much more likely to recover benefits if you're represented by an experienced attorney.

In fact, it's especially important to get legal advice if you plan to settle your Workers' Compensation claim or if you believe you should qualify for both Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability. The terms of your Workers' Compensation settlement can have a huge impact upon the amount of Social Security benefits you receive and the degree to which Medicare will cover your future medical expenses.

You can receive Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability at the same time, up to a combined benefit of 80% of the income you were earning before you became disabled. Unlike most Workers' Compensation benefits, Social Security includes annual "cost of living" increases and may pay additional benefits for your spouse and children.

But the Workers' Compensation and Social Security laws determine the amount of income you were earning before you became disabled in very different ways.

Your Social Security Disability benefits are usually based upon your "average current wages" before you became disabled, which is the larger of:

- your average annual lifetime earnings

- your average earnings during the five years before you became disabled, or

- your earnings during the year before you became disabled.

Meanwhile, your Workers' Compensation benefits are usually based upon your "average weekly wage," which is the average weekly income you earned in the few weeks just before your injury. In Louisiana, your Workers' Compensation benefits are generally based upon your wages in the four full weeks just before your accident or the beginning of your illness.

While you're receiving Workers' Compensation benefits, your Social Security benefits may be reduced so that the combined benefits don't go over 80% of your "average current wage" as determined by the Social Security Administration. The exception to this rule in Louisiana is that the claimant's employer may request that the offset be reversed if the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Court determines that the claimant is permanently totally disabled.

The Social Security offset can become a very important issue when a Workers' Compensation claim is settled because the Social Security Administration may treat the lump-sum settlement as a replacement for periodic benefits. They may pro rate the amount of the settlement at the same rate that the claimant was receiving Workers' Compensation wage benefits before the settlement. The Social Security Administration applies either

- the rate specified in the lump-sum award

- the periodic rate paid prior to the lump sum settlement, or

- your state's Workers' Compensation maximum in effect for your year of injury. This figure can be used if no rate is specified in the award or there were no periodic benefits paid before the settlement.

The net effect is that a claimant's Social Security benefits will continue at same rate they were being paid before the Workers' Compensation settlement though the claimant is no longer receiving Workers' Compensation indemnity benefits. This can be particularly painful where the claimant has used their Workers' Compensation settlement to pay debts that they incurred while their claim was pending.

To address this problem, the Social Security Administration allows you and your employer to stipulate in your Settlement Agreement that the amount paid in the lump-sum settlement of your Workers' Compensation claim is intended to compensate you for your lost wages (or loss of earning capacity) over your entire remaining work-life. The settlement documents should explicitly state the term and imputed periodic rate of the lump-sum settlement.

In the typical settlement of a disputed Louisiana Workers' Compensation claim, the appropriate stipulation in the Joint Settlement Petition should substantially reduce or eliminate the Social Security offset.

David Buie is a Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer representing individuals throughout all of Louisiana. www.DavidBuie.com