The program will investigate the legal issues related to handling an on-the-job injury or employment cases. The ever-changing interrelationship between workers’ compensation and tort law and the overlap of new state and federal laws related to Medicare and Medicaid create new and challenging issues for the attorney handling either side of employment-related cases.

Arsenault is a frequent chairman and speaker at state, local and national legal seminars and is alumni of LSU Law.

Adley’s bill would forbid law clinics at both public and private colleges from suing governmental agencies, individuals and businesses for financial damages or raising constitutional issues. The clinics give college law students real-world experience while working free of charge on behalf of the public.

In the past, the Tulane University law clinic has opposed the oil, gas and utilities sector on issues of environmental regulations and violations.

One has to wonder if Senator Adley’s motives are actually his own or that of his financial backers in the well-heeled energy field. Muzzling free speech and the activities of the well-intentioned law clinics is ill-advised, and smacks of a longtime politico doing the bidding of a powerful industry which does not want inquiries into its dumping of hazardous waste and byproducts into our state’s fragile environment and ecosystems.

Our legislature has a track record of passing legislation that benefits the business community and some of the wealthiest corporations at the expense of rights of injured employees, victims of negligence and hazardous activities without adequate recourse to recover their damages.

Medicare Advantage costs the government more and is a prime target for cuts in the health care overhaul proposals. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid sent a cease and desist order to Humana and warned other private health insurers not to attempt to try anything similar. CMS was concerned that the information was misleading and confusing to patients and appeared to be an official communication about the Medicare program.

Naturally, the insurance industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans expressed outrage at the government’s action and issued yet another tirade against health care reform. Insurance reform of all types is desperately needed- in health care as well as liability, medical malpractice, property and casualty- you name it. It is a shame that giant insurance conglomerates stoop to scare tactics, especially directed at seniors to achieve their political goals and continue the status quo.

Health insurers continue to rake in billions of dollars in profits each year. Increased competition and insurance options is what will reduce premiums, increase benefits and enlarge access to medical care. Scare tactics have resulted in consumers losing many of their litigation rights in the areas of products liability, medical malpractice, worker’s compensation and punitive damages. Without these checks and balances on insurers, manufacturers and large corporations, the little guy, including the elderly are the ultimate losers.

Corporate giants Philip Morris, Exxon, State Farm, Dow Chemical, Pfizer, Nationwide Insurance, General Electric among others fork over contributions of up to $75,000 each to fund the effort to shut the courthouse door to more and more consumers. Their goal is to gain complete immunity for their negligent acts.

Errors in past annual reports have not deterred the ATRA. In 2005, ATRA was forced to admit they wrongly attacked the state of West Virginia and ranked it as the third worst “hellhole” in America. Despite having to admit to the errors, ATRA refused to change West Virginia’s ranking. West Virginia gradually rose in the rankings despite having passed caps on medical malpractice damages, elimination of third party bad faith, and significantly changed worker’s compensation rules. In 2002, Madison County, Illinois was labeled as one of the worst hellholes in America despite experiencing a sharp decrease in the number of lawsuits filed there. In fact, between 1986 and 2002, only 11 medical malpractice and wrongful death cases had resulted in a verdict- and only four of those verdicts were in favor of the plaintiff.

These type of “reports” along with dissemination of lists of outrageous case results which are total fabrications is simply another tool the insurance, pharma and manufacturing corporations use to cloud the truth about dangerous products and pressure state and federal lawmakers into more and more immunity from their negligent acts. If they had their way, no one would be able to file a wrongful death, defective products or medical malpractice claim. Consumers should be wary of these type of politically-driven publications. Look to see who is actually financially supporting the report and who benefits from any legislation being touted and you’ll discover the truth.

There might be a recession for the injured workers but the insurance companies are getting stronger.

The AIA represents approximately 350 Insurance companies that write more than $123 Billion in annual premiums. The only time the AIA “applauds” something is when it is beneficial to them.

I hope that the new legislation (Senate bill 303) is beneficial to the injured worker. I hope that the reform of the Louisiana workers compensation system involves helping the injured employee and not the insurance company or the employer. The insurance industry has already influenced Governor Jindal to veto a bill that would have helped injured workers.

Let’s see if the new legislation helps out the one who is getting the short end of the stick after a work injury.

What other rights are you entitled to?

What other compensation can you receive when you have a workers comp claim?

Don’t be afraid to call your adjuster. Ask him or her what you are entitled to after your work injury. Ask them about reimbursement for trips to the doctor and pharmacy. Ask them if you can choose your own doctor. Ask them how they calculated your workers comp wages. Then you can call us and we can explain all of your rights under the Louisiana workers compensation laws, even the rights that some of the insurance companies don’t tell you about.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the Property Casualty Insurers Association (PCI) was against this bill from the beginning and sent a letter to Governor Jindal to urge him to veto the bill. Obviously, it worked. PCI’s reasoning was that the bill would increase claims. They did not take into account the fact that some workers get injured at work and work through the injury, never having to file a workers comp claim at all.

Just wait until PCI sees what they have done now.

I challenge all workers, injured or not, to contact their legislators and get them to help the injured worker. The worst possible thing that can happen in today’s world is to get injured at work. Please let your legislators know that they need to protect the people that have elected them.

They also have lobbyists all across the nation. This “association” recently sent a letter to Governor Jindal asking him to veto a bill, passed by both the house and senate, that gives injured workers more time before they loose their rights to file a workers’ compensation claim. This bill is meant to protect the workers who get hurt and continue working.

PCI wants to protect their $176 billion and they are doing everything they can. The PCI lobbyists did not convince the legislators that the bill was not beneficial, so please don’t let them try to convince the governor. Contact Governor Jindal and let him know that he needs to protect the workers in Louisiana and not big business.

Just remember to submit your mileage and make sure that it is absolutely correct. One of the easiest ways that a workers’ comp insurer can suspend and/or stop benefits is if they catch an injured worker submitting the incorrect mileage.

Typically these are male callers, so I will address them as such. What did your employer tell you when you were hired about reporting a work injury? I am pretty sure that he or she did not say, “Please do not report it because it will hurt the company, or if you have an injury at work you need to be a man about it and suck it up.” I cannot stress the importance of reporting any work injury, no matter how minor you think it is.

Please give yourself a fighting chance with workers comp and report your work injury.

However, if there is ever a settlement for future benefits from your work injury with the workers comp insurance company, you must keep social security’s and/or Medicare’s interests protected. In some cases you will need to get a set aside amount approved by the Center for Medicare Services (CMS). In some cases you do not need this set aside, but you still need to protect Medicare’s interests. Remember, in certain cases your work injury might lead to a settlement with workers comp, and we advise you not to do this on your own. We handle all types of work accidents and will work to help you with the settlement and help you protect your future entitlement to Social Security and Medicare.