Leake has a long-standing workers’ compensation practice which makes up a significant part of our firm. Our workers’ compensation team consists of five attorneys with over 90 years of combined experience, along with paralegals and administrative support staff who are well versed in the practice. We advise a wide number of local and national self-insured companies and insurers involved in the Louisiana workers’ compensation system. Our team devotes considerable time to counseling clients and defending their interests with respect to work-related claims. Our attorneys practice before the Office of Workers Compensation judges and mediators in every judicial district throughout Louisiana; know the procedure; and have a record of success in this arena.
Our firm is well versed in all aspects and details of workers’ compensation litigation, including:
- Did a compensable accident occur?
- What rights does the employer have to direct and manage treatment?
- Has a claim been brought timely?
- What constitutes fraud and can benefits be terminated?
- How to calculate Average Weekly Wage?
- What indemnity benefits are owed in certain situations?
- Can penalties and attorney’s fees be assessed, and how to calculate?
- How are death benefits computed?
- What’s in the Second Injury Fund and how does it work?
Workers’ compensation laws in Louisiana are constantly evolving and it has been difficult for many adjusters to keep up with these changes. Such changes include not only the substantive aspects of the law, but also the day-to-day procedures and paperwork that an adjuster must follow to properly handle a claim. Our attorneys closely monitor these changes and assist our clients in complying with new laws to ensure the proper handling of claims from the outset.
Our attorneys have prepared numerous publications and other materials in the area of workers’ compensation and are frequent lecturers, presenters, panel members and contributors at various workers’ compensation seminars. Additionally, members of the Leake’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group present specialized educational programs directly for its clients at the firm’s offices or at the client’s respective claim offices.