If you are seriously injured in a workplace accident in Louisiana, you may be entitled to more than the usual workers' compensation benefits. What you'll receive and for how long you'll receive extended workers' compensation benefits depends greatly on the type of injury you've suffered and to what extent it prevents you from returning to your old job.
There are a number of situations under Louisiana workers' compensation law where extended benefits may be available if you've been seriously injured in a workplace accident. And while the law does not specifically define what a “serious injury” is, it does set forth several levels of potential benefits available to injured workers who are not able to return to work for an extended period of time.
Temporary Total Disability
Temporary Total Disability (TTD) payments may be paid where your workplace injury prevents you from returning to work in any capacity for at least seven days, but they do not become due until the fourteenth day after you've been injured. TTD payments are set at 66-2/3% of your usual wage, up to a maximum amount set by the state that changes from year to year. They are payable for the duration of your disability and will stop when you have recovered to the point where a “reasonably reliable determination of the extent of disability” may be made and where “continued, regular treatment by a physician is not required.”
Permanent Total Disability
Permanent Total Disability (PTD) payments may be paid if you can prove that as a result of the workplace injury, you are “physically unable to engage in any employment or self-employment.” PTD benefits are also set at 66-2/3% of your usual wage, again up to a maximum amount.
Permanent Partial Disability
If your workplace injury results in you losing all or part of any limb or the use of any limb, or if you lose an eye, or if you are “seriously and permanently disfigured,” or suffer any one of a range of other physical impairments, you may be entitled to Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) payments that vary in both amount and length of time during which they are paid, depending on the type of injury you've suffered. And in some very serious cases, you may also be entitled to a one-time payment of $50,000.00.
Let the Delsa Law Firm, LLC Help You Get the Benefits You Deserve
These types of payments for serious workplace accidents are not automatic, and in many cases, employers or their insurers will resist paying what you're entitled to receive for your disability and your injury. This is where an experienced workers' compensation attorney can help. Attorney Delsa has been representing clients in Louisiana workers' compensation disputes for years. Attorney Delsa understands the law, the workers' compensation system, and how to fight to help you receive the benefits you're entitled to under the law.
If you have been injured in a workplace accident and have questions about the benefits you're entitled to, contact the Delsa Law Firm, LLC, by phone at (985) 882-1222, or through the firm's online contact form. The firm is conveniently located in Slidell, close to the intersection of Interstates 10, 12, and 59.