Louisiana: Claimant Misrepresents Ability to Work and Forfeits Comp Benefits

A grant of summary judgment by the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation that order the forfeiture of a claimant’s right to workers' compensation benefits under La. Stat. Ann. 23:1208, based upon a finding that he made false statements or representations in connection with his claim, was affirmed by a state appellate court. The court observed that in a deposition the claimant testified that he was not working and could not work due to his physical limitations. He also denied leaving the State of Louisiana for any reason. The employer introduced evidence that at the time of the deposition, the claimant was working in West Virginia as a pipefitting foreman, in excess of 40 hours per week, more than 8 hours per day, and was paid $28.00 per hour. In an affidavit filed after the deposition, the claimant explained that he had traveled to West Virginia for job training. The court indicated that the affidavit contradicted—it did not supplement—the deposition testimony. The record established that the claimant willfully made false statements for the purpose of obtaining benefits. 

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is the co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance. 

See Plant Performance Servs., LLC v. Harrison, 2018 La. App. LEXIS 606 (Apr. 6, 2018)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 39.03.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law