Opinion ID: 1789638
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Claim for Burial Expenses

Text: Ms. Jonise further argues that, even if her claim for death benefits is prescribed, her claim for burial expenses, provided pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1210, is not. [5] She maintains the one year prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) is not applicable to claims for burial expenses because, in Lester v. Southern Casualty Insurance Company, 466 So.2d 25 (La. 1985), this court determined LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A)'s term payments refers to indemnity benefits. Thus, Ms. Jonise concludes, because a claim for burial expenses is not a claim for indemnity benefits, the one year prescriptive period provided by LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) is not applicable to claims for burial expenses. Ms. Jonise urges us to find the ten year prescriptive period of LSA-C.C. art. 3499 applies to claims for burial expenses and thus her claim for burial expenses is not prescribed. [6] On the other hand, defendants contend the one year prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) is applicable to claims for burial expenses. They maintain LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A)'s phrase all claims for payments is broad enough to include claims for burial expenses. They assert, in Lester, this court was concerned with applying the one year prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) to claims for medical expenses because a claimant's right to payment of such expenses could be extinguished by prescription before he or she has the opportunity to assert his or her claim. Defendants argue the policy concerns raised in Lester are not an issue in this case. They state burial expenses can only be incurred once, which is not the case with medical expenses. They also contend burial services are rendered within days of the decedent's death, which allows the survivors ample time to determine what burial expenses have accrued and to file a claim with the office of workers' compensation if such expenses are not properly paid in advance or reimbursed afterwards. Defendants further state LSA-R.S. 23:1210 provides for the payment of burial expenses, in addition to any other benefits allowable under the provisions of this Part. They assert, by equating the payment of burial expenses with other benefits allowable under Part II (Benefits), Subpart A (General Provisions), the legislature intended the one year prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) to apply to claims for burial expenses, as it does to other benefits provided under Part II, Subpart A. Thus, defendants urge us to find, pursuant to the prescriptive period provided by LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A), a claimant seeking reimbursement for burial expenses has one year from the date of the decedent's death to file a claim for burial expenses. Thus, Ms. Jonise's claim for burial expenses, which was filed more than a year after Mr. Jonise's death, is prescribed. We find defendants' interpretation of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) persuasive. We also agree that Lester is not controlling. In Lester, this court considered whether the prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) is applicable to claims for medical expenses. [7] In considering this issue, we observed, if the prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) were applied to claims for medical expenses, a claim for such expenses could be prescribed before he or she has the opportunity to assert the claim. In making this observation, the court stated: One indication that the legislature did not intend La.R.S. 23:1209 to apply to claims for medical expenses is that under such an interpretation it would be possible for a disabled worker's claims for medical expenses to prescribe before he could assert them. The instant case is exemplary. Under La.R.S. 23:1203, liability for medical expenses arises only as they are incurred. A plaintiff is not entitled to an award for future medical expenses, but the right to claim such expenses is always reserved to the plaintiff. Lester received voluntary compensation payments for the maximum period of time allowed under La.R.S. 23:1221(2) at the time of the accident for an injury producing permanent total disability. He received his last medical payment on January 25, 1980, and his last compensation payment on February 23, 1980. Under Section 1209, Lester would then have one year from the time of making the last payment in which to assert a claim for medical expenses or his rights would prescribe. However, because he could not get an award for future medical expenses, those expenses incurred by him after one year from the last payment (in this case from August 10, 1981 to October 26, 1982) would prescribe before he could assert them. Id. at 27 (citations omitted). Thus, finding that application of the prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) to claims for medical expenses could lead to absurd results, this court concluded the one year prescriptive period of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) does not apply to claims for medical expenses. Rather, the court held the ten year prescriptive period provided by former LSC.C. art. 3544, now LSA-C.C. art. 3499, applies to such claims. [8] Following Lester, the legislature amended LSA-R.S. 23:1209 by 1985 La. Acts 926, § 1, to provide a specific prescriptive period for claims for medical expenses in subsection (C). We find the concerns this court had in Lester over the possibility that a claimant could lose his right before he or she has the opportunity to exercise the right are not an issue in this case. Therefore, we hold LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A)'s phrase all claims for payments encompasses claims for burial expenses and thus a claimant seeking reimbursement for burial expenses pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1210 has one year from the date of the decedent's death to file a claim for burial expenses. This interpretation of LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A) fairly balances the right of the claimant to seek reimbursement and the employer's interest in finality. Accordingly, because Ms. Jonise filed her claim for burial expenses more than a year after Mr. Jonise died, we conclude her claim is prescribed pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1209(A).