Workers’ Gradual Hearing Loss Not Result of Accident Under Workers’ Compensation Act

MONROE, LA (November 11, 2009) Baron & Budd, P.C. attorneys recently won rulings that workers’ claims against their employers for gradual hearing loss are not barred by Louisiana’s Workers’ Compensation Act (LWCA). The courts ruled that, while hearing loss from a single traumatic event is a covered “accident” under the LWCA, gradual hearing loss caused by prolonged exposure to occupational noise exposure is not covered by the LWCA. The courts concluded that workers who suffer from gradual noise-induced hearing loss can bring claims against their employers for their hearing loss.

Judge Manuel A. Fernandez of St. Bernard Parish, 34^th Judicial District Court and Judge James H. Boddie, Jr. of Ouachita Parish, 4^th Judicial District Court rejected the employers’ arguments that they were entitled to immunity from hearing loss claims brought by their employees. The employer Murphy Oil Company petitioned the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal as well as the Louisiana Supreme Court to overturn Judge Fernandez’s ruling, but the courts refused.

Renée Melançon

Renée Melançon, who represented the workers, praised the courts' decisions: "The courts recognized that Louisiana workers can’t get workers' compensation benefits for gradual noise-induced hearing loss, and so they must be allowed to pursue their hearing loss claims through a lawsuit."

Baron & Budd will continue to fight, along with co-counsel Jim Dimos and Wayne Mumphrey, for just compensation on behalf of workers who suffer from occupational noise-induced hearing loss. According to some estimates, about 30 million American workers live with prolonged, high-intensity noise exposure, which could cause them to develop noise-induced hearing loss. Many workers don’t realize that occupational noise exposure can rob them of their hearing. Learn more about noise-induced hearing loss on Baron & Budd’s website.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C., with offices in Baton Rouge, Austin and Beverly Hills, is a nationally recognized firm with more than three decades of experience representing people and communities harmed by corporate negligence. It has been recognized by the National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in 2002-2006 and 2008 (Incisive Media). The firm resolved one of the first asbestos cases in the United States in the 1970s and continues to serve people diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, as well as communities and consumers dealing with the costs of fraud and corporate misconduct.