Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
40+ Years
of Combined Experience
5.0 Google Rating
with over 400 Reviews
Over $125M
Won for Clients That Have Become Family
Workers’ compensation pays disability benefits and medical bills when you are injured at work. Our experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyers understand the challenges you face when you are hurt at work, and we will champion your interests so you receive the compensation you deserve.
Why Choose Shamieh For Your Workers’ Compensation Case
When you choose Shamieh Law, you become family. In fact, family is integrated into every aspect of our law firm, and it means something when we say we treat clients like family.
We focus on service and results, fighting aggressively on every client’s behalf. Our core principle is Winning with Awareness, which means we consciously treat everyone in the claims process with respect and dignity, including clients, insurance agents, employers, and opposing attorneys. Positive relationships help us get better results for our clients than we could with an adversarial approach.
Our law firm is composed of a carefully hand-picked group of elite attorneys, paralegals, and case managers so you can be confident in your results. Our attorneys are nationally recognized for our outstanding outcomes, having been awarded such honors as the following:
- Super Lawyers
- National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
- Top 10 Attorney by Attorney and Practice Magazine
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating
Our founder, Ramez Shamieh, grew up in Lake Charles and understands the challenges injured Louisiana workers face. Our firm’s Louisiana roots mean we have the connections and resources to get you the results you deserve.
Our Successful Case Results
Our attorneys have over 40 years of combined experience and have won more than $125 million in settlements and verdicts, including the following workplace injury case results:
- $9.5 million for the family of a worker who died from a 30-foot fall due to lack of training and safety equipment
- $5 million to the family of an employee murdered by a robber after calling for more security
- $2 million for a worker who was injured in a construction zone by a distracted driver
You risk nothing by working with our knowledgeable Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyers. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation. Even after we accept your case, we charge nothing upfront. You only pay if we win. We are dedicated to making the legal process as easy for you as possible while accommodating you in any way we can.
We have multiple bilingual staff members to ensure you receive the same high level of service in English or Spanish. Call us today at 469-813-7332 to schedule your free case review.
What Our Clients Say
How Do I Know if I’m Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
All Louisiana employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover employees injured at work. The only workers employers do not have to cover are certain domestic workers, farm workers, musicians, and performers. Government and railroad workers may qualify for an alternative program with similar benefits.
To qualify, you must be an employee of a covered employer and have a physical injury that occurred at work. The injury must prevent you from performing work that allows you to earn in the same capacity as before.
You may be eligible for workers’ compensation if you have suffered a mental injury. However, you must present clear and convincing evidence that the injury occurred because of an unexpected, extraordinary event and be diagnosed with a condition listed in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Do I Have To Prove the Employer Was at Fault?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault program, so you do not have to prove your employer was at fault or that you were not at fault. However, you may not qualify for benefits if you were injured through any of the following:
- Horseplay
- Disputes not related to work duties
- Being intoxicated at the time of the accident
- Intentionally injuring yourself or another employee
Do I Qualify for Workers’ Compensation If I Am an Independent Contractor?
Independent contractors are not eligible for workers’ compensation in Louisiana. However, most Louisiana workers are employees. Your employer may have told you that receiving a 1099 instead of a W2 makes you an independent contractor, but this is not true for workers’ compensation purposes. Under the workers’ compensation law, you are only considered an independent contractor if all three of the following are true:
- You control the performance of your duties, such as the schedule and how you do your job.
- The services you provide the employer differ from those your employer offers its customers.
- You own an independent business and provide services to the employer through that business.
Truck drivers who are owner-operators are considered independent contractors, except when they lease the equipment back to the trucking companies.
The law imposes penalties on employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying benefits such as workers’ compensation.
Do Undocumented Workers Qualify for Workers Compensation?
Yes, undocumented workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits when they are injured on the job. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes § 1035, the right to workers’ compensation benefits applies to every person injured in the course of employment. The law does not exclude undocumented workers. The Louisiana Court of Appeals affirmed that undocumented workers have equal rights to workers’ compensation benefits in Artiga v. M.A. Patout Son.
What Benefits Am I Entitled to Following a Workplace Accident?
You are entitled to receive disability benefits and medical care if you are hurt on the job by any physical injury that occurs in any type of accident, including the following:
- Slips and falls
- Construction accidents
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Oil and gas accidents
- Violence
- Industrial explosions
- Electrocution accidents
- Forklift accidents
The types of benefits available will vary based on the degree of disability caused by your injury and whether it is permanent. Workers’ compensation also pays death benefits to the surviving family members of workers who die from occupational injuries or illnesses.
Medical Care
Workers’ compensation covers the cost of medical treatment for your work-related injury or illness. You must obtain a medical examination at your employer’s expense. The employer has a right to choose the examining doctor, but you are not required to continue treatment with this health care provider.
The Workers’ Compensation Law gives you the right to choose one doctor in each medical specialty. However, once you choose a doctor, you will need your employer’s approval to switch to a different doctor in the same specialty.
Workers’ compensation covers the cost of the following medical treatments:
- Drugs
- Supplies
- Hospital care
- Medical treatment
- Surgery
- Non-medical treatment recognized by state law
- The cost of repair or replacement of artificial limbs, eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures
- Transportation to treatment or a pharmacy, including mileage reimbursement when using your own vehicle
Permanent Total Disability Benefits
You are entitled to receive permanent total disability benefits equal to 66 and two-thirds percent of your wages when you have clear and convincing evidence that you have permanent injuries that prevent you from performing any type of work due to functional limitations or pain. You cannot receive this benefit if you earn income from other employment, including odd jobs and self-employment.
Temporary Total Disability
If you have clear and convincing evidence that your injuries prevent you from performing any type of work, but your condition is not expected to be permanent, you are entitled to receive 66 and two-thirds percent of your average wages until you can return to some type of work. Your benefits may be converted to permanent total disability benefits if you cannot return to work. You cannot receive this benefit if you earn income from any form of employment.
Supplemental Earnings Benefits
If your injuries allow you to perform some work, but you are unable to earn at least 90 percent of your previous wages, workers’ compensation will pay 66 and two-thirds percent of the difference between your current earnings and your past earnings. Supplemental earnings benefits are available for a maximum of ten years.
Death Benefits
Workers’ compensation pays death benefits to the surviving spouse and dependent family members of workers who died from work-related injuries or illnesses. Eligible dependents include the following:
- Surviving spouse and dependent children
- If there is no spouse or dependent child, dependent parents
- If there are no dependent parents, dependent siblings or other legal dependents
If there are no surviving dependents, workers’ compensation will pay the adult children a one-time lump sum of $75,000, to be divided equally among them.
The amount paid to dependents will be a percentage of the worker’s wages and must be divided equally. This percentage varies based on the number of surviving dependents and their relationship to the deceased, as shown below.
| Dependents | Percent of the Wages |
|---|---|
| Spouse with no dependent child | 32.5% |
| Spouse and 1 dependent child | 46.25% |
| Spouse and 2 or more dependent children | 65% |
| 1 dependent child and no spouse | 32.5% |
| 2 dependent children and no spouse | 46.25% |
| 3 or more dependent children and no spouse | 65% |
| 1 dependent parent | 32.5% |
| 2 dependent parents | 65% |
| 1 other legal dependent | 32.5% |
| Each additional legal dependent | 11% |
Workers’ compensation also covers reasonable burial expenses up to $8,500. If expenses are lower than $7,500, workers’ comp must pay the difference to the heirs.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Workers’ compensation provides vocational rehabilitation and training services for workers whose injuries allow for their potential return to the workforce. The goal is to facilitate a return to work with as little retraining as possible.
Employers must provide payment for vocational rehabilitation and offer the injured worker services that will result in the first appropriate option below:
- Return to the same position
- Return to a modified position
- Return to a related position appropriate for your education and experience
- On-the-job training
- Short-term and long-term retraining programs
- Assistance with self-employment
The employer has the right to select the rehabilitation services provider. You must participate in vocational rehabilitation services provided by your employer. Your benefits can be reduced by 50 percent for every week you refuse. You can continue receiving temporary disability benefits during vocational training.
Third-Party Claims
Workers’ compensation does not cover non-economic losses such as pain and suffering, and you cannot sue an employer covered by workers’ compensation to get such damages. However, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover compensation from other responsible parties for losses not covered by workers’ compensation through a third-party claim.
If a party other than your employer caused or contributed to your injury, you may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a loved one has died from a work-related injury caused by or contributed to by a third party, you may be entitled to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit.
Third parties who may be responsible for a work injury include property owners, construction managers, contractors, product manufacturers, and negligent drivers.
However, if you recover compensation in a third-party lawsuit, the employer’s insurer has a right to reimbursement from the settlement or award for any workers’ compensation benefits paid, including anticipated future benefits.
How is Workers’ Compensation Paid?
Workers’ compensation can be received in periodic payments or a lump sum. If you receive periodic payments, you will usually receive them on the same schedule as your wages unless your employer agrees to a different arrangement. You should receive your first payment 14 days after your injury.
You may receive your workers’ comp benefits via any of the following methods:
- Direct deposit
- Debit card
- Paper check written to you
- Paper check or deposit payable to your attorney’s trust account
To receive a lump sum, all of the following conditions must be met:
- Consent of all parties, including you, the employer, and the insurer
- Evidence that shows a lump sum is clearly in every party’s best interest
- Six months have elapsed since the expiration of temporary total disability unless the parties agree to a different period
- Approval of the settlement by the workers’ compensation judge
Important Time Limits in Workers’ Compensation Cases
You must report your injury to your employer within 30 days of the injury or death. You have one year to file a claim if the insurer rejects it.
If you received some benefits but were underpaid, you have one year from the date you received your last payment to file a claim but no longer than three years from the accident date. If you receive supplemental payments, you have three years from the date of your last payment to file a claim.
For occupational illnesses or injuries not immediately apparent, you have one year from the date you discovered the illness or injury but no longer than three years after the accident to file a claim.
The Louisiana statute of limitations for personal injury allows you to file a third-party lawsuit for a workplace injury up to two years after the accident date or the date you discovered your injury or illness.
It is important to contact our knowledgeable Louisiana workers’ compensation attorneys promptly to ensure we have access to important evidence before it is lost. We can also help you select the best doctor for your needs and ensure you receive benefits as soon as possible.
Reach Out to Shamieh Law for a Free Consultation
When you have been injured at work, we’re here to help. We will go right to work establishing communication with your employer, handling the paperwork, and ensuring all deadlines are met so you can focus on recovery. You can rest assured that we have the experience, work ethic, communication, and track record to help you obtain the benefits you deserve.
Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
