Louisiana § RS 23:1371 - Purpose and intent

§ RS 23:1371. Purpose and intent

A.  It is the purpose of this Part to:

(1)  Encourage the employment, re-employment, or retention of employees who have a permanent, partial disability.

(2)  Protect employers, group self-insurance funds, and property and casualty insurers from excess liability for workers' compensation for disability when a subsequent injury to such an employee merges with his preexisting permanent physical disability to cause a greater disability than would have resulted from the subsequent injury alone.

B.  Except as provided in R.S. 23:1378(A)(6), this Part shall not be construed to create, provide, diminish, or affect in any way the workers' compensation benefits due to an injured employee.  The payment of compensation to an injured employee under this Chapter shall be determined without regard to this Part, and the provisions of this Part shall be considered only in determining whether an employer or his insurer is entitled to reimbursement from the Workers' Compensation Second Injury Fund herein created.

C. As used in this part, the merger of an injury with a preexisting permanent partial disability is limited to the following:

(1)  The subsequent injury would not have occurred but for the preexisting permanent partial disability; or

(2)  The disability resulting from the subsequent injury in conjunction with the preexisting permanent partial disability is materially and substantially greater than that which would have resulted had the preexisting permanent partial disability not been present, and the employer has been required to pay and has paid additional medical or indemnity benefits for that greater disability.

D.  The records of the second injury board shall be confidential as provided in R.S. 23:1293(A).

Added by Acts 1974, No. 165, §1.  Amended by Acts 1977, No. 267, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 1977; Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §6; Acts 1995, No. 188, §1, eff. June 12, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 245, §1, eff. June 14, 1995; Acts 2006, No. 453, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 799, §1, eff. June 30, 2010.