Opinion ID: 685620
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Analogous Case Law

Text: 61 When an analysis under article 3547 is viewed in conjunction with Louisiana's interest in the consistent and comprehensive application of its workers' compensation law we see clearly that, if Texas law were to be applied to this dispute, Louisiana law and the policy it embodies would be seriously impaired. The propriety of this conclusion is bolstered by the recognition that once an injured employee elects to seek and receive worker's compensation benefits under the workers' compensation law of Louisiana, he is bound to its provisions, including specifically the exclusivity provisions. 15 Agreeing with the reasoning of the district court in Crane, we conclude that if, under the totality of its circumstances of the instant case, Mansel Carriere were permitted to bring suit against Grey Wolf in Louisiana but were also permitted to have Texas law apply--despite his having received benefits under the Louisiana regime--we would not be giving full faith and credit to the policies which [Louisiana] wants to preserve in providing for employer immunity. 16 62 Our Erie-bound decision to protect Louisiana's workers' compensation law to its full extent comports with an earlier Louisiana state court case, Wayne v. Olinkraft, 17 in which the court reviewed a choice of law issue almost identical to the one at issue in the instant case. 18 In Wayne the state appellate court discussed the Restatement (Second) Conflict of Laws in detail before holding that an employee who accepts an award under the workers' compensation scheme of a given state may be bound by the provisions of that scheme insofar as immunity from tort and wrongful death liability is concerned. 19 The state court concluded that the principles of the Restatement offered a logical, fair, and stable solution to the conflict of laws issue. 20 63 We are satisfied that Crane and Wayne still tender good law despite their antedating the substantial revision of the Louisiana Civil Code's conflict of laws provisions. These cases highlight the exceptional status of this dispute, provide analogous support for our conclusion that Louisiana law would be seriously impaired if Texas law were applied to the instant dispute, and dictate our ultimate conclusion that once an injured employee applies for and receives benefits from the workers' compensation laws of a given state, the laws of that state apply in full to related claims of the injured employee. 64 Today's holding should not be interpreted, however, as blanket protection for foreign corporations under Louisiana law. Rather, it is a particularized response to an exceptional case; a response that avoids the piecemeal application of different laws to an equally piecemeal attempt to obtain double--or at least overlapping--recovery for the same injury. III