How Do They Calculate Louisiana Workers’ Comp Settlements?

Some things to consider when valuing and settling a Louisiana Workers’ Compensation case include the following:

• What type(s) of indemnity benefits are being paid? Are all benefits being paid? Is there a time limit (number of weeks, age limit, limitation on remarriage, etc) on the type of benefits being paid?
• When was the last indemnity, medical, mileage, or vocational rehabilitation benefit paid? What are the time periods for asserting rights to unpaid benefits?
• Has a disputed claim for compensation been timely filed on any unpaid benefit? If so, who is the judge presiding over the case?  Do the documents, witnesses, and other evidence support the claims?
• Has the accident-related medical condition stabilized?
• Is the medical condition causing the disability or death related to the accident?
• Is there some condition the injured worker did after the accident that prevents him from finding employment?
• What are the treating doctor’s recommendations for future medical care?
• Has the Average Weekly Wage been calculated correctly? Does it include overtime, vacation pay or any other taxable wage benefit?
• Is the correct comp rate being paid?
• Is the Labor Market Survey legitimate? Does the job really exist?  Is the injured worker able to do it given his education and training?  Did the treating doctor approve the position?  Is he physically capable of performing the real position set forth in the Labor Market Survey?  Often times the description in the Labor Market Survey is inaccurate..
• What is the injured worker’s life expectancy?
• In the event of death, have the funeral expenses been paid?
• Social security disability or retirement benefits received?
• Social security disability spread language about life expectancy included in the proposed settlement documents. What impact will the settlement have on Social Security Disability benefits being received?
• Are past, indemnity, medical, and mileage benefits owed; have hospitals, doctors, physical therapists, and other providers been contacted to see if all healthcare providers have been paid?
• Outstanding liens, including Medicaid, Medicare, Child Support, Attorney fees, costs, anything else etc.
• Future medical care and prescription medication,
• Medicare’s interest in the settlement- has an accurate Medicare Set Aside been submitted to CMS for approval?
• Will both the indemnity and medical be settled at the same time?
• What is the value of any other claims (tort, discrimination, unpaid wage, wrongful termination etc) owed by the employer?; Settlement language for these other types of claims will probably be included in the Settlement Documents and Release.
• What the actual settlement documents and release say and what they are supposed to say? – More often than not, they do not say what was promised by the insurance company and employer and need to be revised;
• The value of any related third party claim and whether it makes sense to settle both the comp claim and third party claim at the same time;
• What, at the end of the day, does the injured worker expect to do with the rest of his life, for work, medical treatment, etc.

Who Are Some Louisiana Workers Compensation Insurers?

After an accident, an employer often refuses to provide the injured employee with the name of its insurer in an attempt to try to discourage the employee from making a claim. If this is the case, get a Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyer. Action on your part—a letter to the employer or filling a disputed claim—may be required to determine who the insurance carrier is. Popular insurance companies include Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC), CNA, AIG, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Sea Bright Insurance Co., The Hartford, and Chartis.  If you decide you do not want to get a lawyer in involved at this stage of the claim, you can also try to determine who the insurer is by clicking on “Workers Compensation Coverage Verification” in the lower left hand corner of this Louisiana Department of Labor page.