Workers' comp deadlines in Louisiana: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in Louisiana

Time limit

30 days

Counted from

The date of the injury or death

In writing?

Yes, in writing

If you are late

Late or missing notice does not end your claim if your employer, or its agent or representative, knew about the accident, or if the delay did not hurt your employer. If your employer did not post the required notice about this 30-day rule at the workplace, you have 12 months from the injury to give notice.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease (an illness caused by conditions typical of your job, including work-related carpal tunnel syndrome), report it as soon as you know or have reason to believe it is work-related. The claim deadline for a disease runs from when the disease showed itself, when you became disabled, or when you knew or had reason to believe it was work-related, whichever is last.

Tell your employer about the injury within 30 days after it happens. The law says the notice should be in writing, give your name and address, say in plain words when, where, how and what the injury was, and be signed. Anyone may give the notice for you. Mistakes in the details do not make the notice invalid unless they misled your employer.

Law: La. R.S. 23:1301, 23:1302, 23:1303, 23:1305, 23:1031.1

Source: legis.la.gov

File your claim in Louisiana

Time limit

1 year

Counted from

The date of the accident; if weekly benefits were paid, the last payment; if medical benefits were paid, the medical claim deadline becomes 3 years from the last medical payment

What to file

Disputed Claim for Compensation, filed with the OWCA district office of proper venue, with the $50 filing fee (you can ask the judge to let you file without paying costs in advance)

Source: Form LWC-WC 1008

Who files it

There is no state claim form for the worker to give the employer. You give your employer written notice of the injury. Your employer reports lost-time injuries to its insurer, and the insurer reports them to OWCA. You file a Disputed Claim for Compensation with an OWCA district office only if there is a disagreement or benefits are not paid.

What your employer must do

Within 10 days after actually knowing of an injury that causes death or more than one week of lost time, your employer must report it to its insurer on the First Report of Injury; the insurer then reports it to OWCA electronically. Your employer must post a notice about the 30-day reporting rule and the occupational-disease time limit. On the day of the first payment, and before any change, suspension, stop or denial of benefits, the employer or insurer must send you Form 1002 (Notice of Payment, Modification, Suspension, Termination, or Controversion) by certified mail.

Source: Form WC IA-1

When the insurer decides

The first payment of temporary total disability is due on the 14th day after the employer or insurer learns of the injury. If benefits are not paid on time and the claim is not reasonably disputed, the judge can add a penalty of up to 12% of the unpaid amount or $50 a day (up to $2,000), whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. If you disagree with Form 1002, you can return the Notice of Disagreement part of it; if the payor does not fix the problem within 7 days, you can file Form 1008.

Illness that develops over time

File within 1 year from the latest of: the date the disease showed itself, the date you became disabled from working because of it, or the date you knew or had reasonable grounds to believe it was work-related. If your employer did not post the notice of this time limit, you get 6 more months.

If you and your employer or insurer have not agreed on payments, you must file a Disputed Claim for Compensation with OWCA within 1 year after the accident. If weekly benefits were paid, you have 1 year from the last weekly payment to claim temporary total, permanent total or permanent partial disability, and 3 years from the last weekly payment to claim supplemental earnings benefits. Claims for medical benefits also must be filed within 1 year after the accident, or within 3 years after the last medical payment if any medical bills were paid. Filing for one type of benefit usually does not stop the clock on another type. If the injury did not show up right away, you have 1 year from when it developed, but no more than 3 years from the accident. A claim mailed on or before the deadline counts as on time.

Source: Form 1008

Law: La. R.S. 23:1209, 23:1031.1(E), (I), 23:1310.3(A)

Law: La. R.S. 23:1201(B), (F), 23:1302, 23:1306; OWCA FAQ (Form 1002 procedure)

Source: laworks.net

Waiting period and first payment in Louisiana

Waiting period

No weekly benefits are paid for the first week (7 calendar days) after the injury, unless your disability lasts two weeks or longer.

Paid back for the waiting days

The first week is paid to you once your disability lasts two weeks or longer after the accident; it is paid after those first two weeks have passed.

First payment

The first payment of temporary total disability is due on the 14th day after your employer or its insurer knows about the injury. After that, benefits are paid as nearly as possible at the same times and place your wages were paid; a longer interval of up to one month is allowed only by agreement. Late payments that are not reasonably disputed can bring a penalty of up to 12% of the unpaid amount or $50 a day (no more than $2,000 for the $50-a-day penalty), plus attorney fees.

How often you are paid

On your regular payday schedule (as near as possible to when wages were paid)

Law: La. R.S. 23:1224, 23:1201(A), (B), (F)

Source: laworks.net

Deadline helper

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