Louisiana Supplemental Earnings Benefits
Supplemental earnings benefits are the part of a Louisiana workers’ compensation claim that gets decided by arithmetic and paperwork, not just by medical records, and insurers know it. Louisiana supplemental earnings benefits pay a worker who has healed enough to return to some kind of job but cannot earn what he or she earned before the injury. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers across Louisiana and Mississippi, and SEB disputes are some of the most contested wage-loss fights the firm handles for clients in South Louisiana and beyond.
The benefit is calculated from the gap between your average monthly wage at the time of the accident and what you actually earn, or are able to earn, afterward. Under La. R.S. 23:1221(3)(a)(i), when you cannot earn 90 percent or more of your pre-injury wages, you are generally entitled to two-thirds of that difference. The phrase “able to earn” is where most of the fighting happens. An insurer that cannot dispute your injury will often dispute your earning capacity instead, by commissioning a job market survey and claiming you could be making far more than you are.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for an SEB Dispute
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a workers’ compensation firm. Its attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience to claims that have been denied, delayed, or cut off, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients across Mississippi and South Louisiana.
The people behind that work matter in an SEB case, because these disputes often turn on how well a lawyer can take apart an insurer’s vocational evidence. Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict, Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the firm in their own language.
Results show what this kind of work can produce. The firm obtained $685,000 for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, $385,000 for a project manager injured when his work vehicle was struck, and $221,000 for a land-based oil rig worker with severe burns. Clients describe a team that listened, stayed professional, and fought the insurance company at every step. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered, and phones are answered 24 hours a day.
Who Ends Up Needing SEB in Louisiana
SEB claims grow out of injuries that leave a worker functional but permanently limited. The common situations include the following.
- Back, neck, and spine injuries: Lumbar and cervical disc herniations often leave lifting and standing restrictions that rule out the physical job you held. Insurers frequently blame degenerative disc disease, then argue your restrictions should not limit your earning capacity.
- Shoulder and knee injuries: Torn rotator cuffs, SLAP tears, ACL tears, and meniscus tears can end careers that depend on overhead work, climbing, or crawling, such as derrickhands, mechanics, and delivery drivers.
- Industrial and oilfield injuries: Burns, crush injuries, and fractures suffered on rigs, in plants, and on industrial sites across South Louisiana can leave workers unable to return to well-paid field work.
- Light-duty work at reduced pay: A worker who comes back part-time, or in a lower-paying role the employer created for them, may qualify for SEB to make up a share of the lost income.
- Workers coming off temporary total disability: When your doctor releases you with restrictions and TTD ends, SEB is often the benefit that picks up next, and the transition is where checks are most likely to stop.
- First responder conditions: Firefighters and other first responders with heart, lung, or job-related conditions may find they cannot return to full duty and need wage support while they work in a different capacity.
- Unemployed but restricted workers: If you cannot find work within your restrictions, or no suitable job exists in your area, your earning capacity may be far lower than an insurer’s survey claims.
How SEB Is Calculated and How Long It Lasts
The starting point is your average monthly wage when you were hurt. SEB compares that figure to what you earn after the injury, or what you are able to earn in any job reasonably available to you given your restrictions. If the gap leaves you earning less than 90 percent of your old wages, you receive two-thirds of the difference, subject to the weekly maximum set for the date of your accident. Louisiana adjusts that maximum each year based on the statewide average weekly wage, and the figure that applies to you is fixed by your accident date and does not change later.
SEB does not last forever. Payments run until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages again, or you reach the 520-week maximum. Weeks of temporary total disability count against that 520-week cap, so a worker who spent a long stretch on TTD has fewer SEB weeks remaining than the number suggests.
Because the benefit depends on what you earn, you will usually be required to report your income, and insurers watch those reports closely. Inaccurate or incomplete reporting hands the carrier an argument to suspend or reduce your checks. A Louisiana workers’ compensation attorney can help you keep the paperwork accurate and respond when an adjuster asks for more.
Steps to Take When Your Wages Drop After a Louisiana Work Injury
Start by reporting the injury to your employer in writing as early as possible. Louisiana law bars a compensation proceeding unless notice is given within 30 days of the injury, and a formal claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, that deadline may extend to three years from the last payment, but do not count on that exception without talking to a lawyer. The deadline is the reason timing decisions in a comp claim should never be made casually.
Next, get your work restrictions in writing from your treating physician. SEB depends on what your doctor says you can and cannot do, and a vague release to “light duty” invites the insurer to argue you can do almost anything. Ask for specific limits on lifting, standing, bending, and overhead reach, and keep copies of every work status note.
Keep records of every job search. If you are looking for work within your restrictions, write down each employer you contact, the date, and the result. If you accepted a lower-paying job, save your pay stubs. If the insurer sends a vocational counselor or a labor market survey, do not ignore it and do not agree with its conclusions on the phone; your lawyer should see it first. Surveys often list jobs that are not actually open, pay less than stated, or exceed your restrictions.
If benefits are denied or reduced, the dispute is heard by a workers’ compensation judge in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration. Louisiana has ten district workers’ compensation courts, in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Covington, Harahan, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans, and Shreveport. Under R.S. 23:1310.4, you choose where to file from the parish where the injury occurred, the parish where you lived when hurt, or the parish of your employer’s principal place of business. A judge’s final decision can be appealed to the appropriate Louisiana court of appeal; an appeal that suspends the judgment must be filed within 30 days, and one that does not suspend it within 60 days, running from the later of the judgment signing or the mailing of notice.
Disputes over medical treatment follow a separate track. If treatment is denied, a utilization review dispute must be filed on LWC Form 1009 within 15 calendar days of written notice, and the medical director then has 30 calendar days to decide. Missing a short deadline like this one can cost you leverage on the wage side too, because your restrictions and recovery depend on the care you receive.
Where Insurers Attack SEB Claims
The carrier’s playbook in SEB cases is predictable. It will claim you can earn 90 percent or more of your old wages in some job, often one you have never done. It will say you are not looking for work hard enough. It will point to a part-time job and argue you could work full time. It will question whether your restrictions are real, or blame an old injury for your limits.
Each argument has an answer, and most answers come from evidence assembled early: treating physician opinions, work history, job search logs, and, when needed, an independent vocational evaluation. The firm’s attorneys build SEB cases with that proof in hand, because a wage dispute decided on a thin record is hard to fix later.
Frequently Asked Questions About Louisiana SEB
What are supplemental earnings benefits in Louisiana?
They are wage-loss payments for a worker who has recovered enough to work but cannot earn at least 90 percent of what he or she earned before the injury. The benefit equals two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury and post-injury earning ability, within the weekly maximum for the accident date.
How long can I receive SEB?
Until you are released to full duty, you are earning your pre-injury wages again, or you hit the 520-week maximum. Weeks of temporary total disability count toward that total.
Is SEB the same as temporary total disability?
No. Temporary total disability applies while you cannot work at all during recovery. SEB applies when you can work in some capacity but earn less because of your injury. Many claims move from one to the other.
Do I have to look for a job to get SEB?
Often, yes, in practical terms. If you are not working, expect the insurer to argue that suitable jobs exist and that you are not pursuing them. Documenting a genuine search within your medical restrictions protects your claim.
What if my employer will not give me light duty?
That can strengthen an SEB claim rather than weaken it, since the lack of suitable work shows a real loss of earning capacity. Keep written proof of what your doctor allowed and what the employer said it could offer.
Can SEB be reduced or stopped by the insurer?
Yes, the carrier may reduce or stop payments if it believes you are earning more or are able to. It must still have a basis, and you can challenge a reduction before a workers’ compensation judge.
If I take a lower-paying job I can do, will SEB make up the difference?
Possibly. If the new job pays less than 90 percent of your pre-injury wages because of your restrictions, SEB can cover two-thirds of the gap. Keep your pay records and report your earnings accurately.
What happens to SEB if I am partly retired or leave the workforce?
That depends on the reason. Insurers sometimes argue a worker chose not to work rather than being unable to. If your restrictions are what keep you out of the job market, the facts, and your medical evidence, matter a great deal. Talk to a lawyer before you stop looking for work.
Can I settle my SEB claim for a lump sum?
Louisiana claims can be resolved by settlement, and settlements are reviewed and approved. Deciding whether to accept depends on your remaining SEB weeks, your medical future, and your earning prospects. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements, and the decision is worth running past a lawyer who has done it before.
Does a Louisiana work injury ever involve more than a comp claim?
Sometimes. If a negligent driver or an outside contractor caused your injury, you may have a separate personal injury claim, and the firm makes sure the two claims work together rather than against each other.
How much does it cost to hire the firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and it is paid only if benefits or a settlement are recovered. Attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases are limited and approved under state law.
Serving Injured Workers From New Orleans to Shreveport
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe represents injured workers across Louisiana, with the heaviest concentration of SEB work in South Louisiana. The firm serves workers in New Orleans and the surrounding Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Tammany communities, in Baton Rouge and the capital region, across Acadiana in Lafayette, and in Lake Charles and the southwest corner of the state. The firm also takes cases from workers in Shreveport and north Louisiana, and from industrial and oilfield workers anywhere along the Gulf-facing parishes.
The same attorneys handle claims across the state line. The firm represents workers in Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, and north Mississippi, so workers who live in one state and are hurt in another have one team to call.
Talk to a Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Attorney About Your SEB
If your paychecks shrank after a work injury, or your SEB payments were cut or stopped, speak with a Louisiana workers’ compensation attorney before the insurer sets the terms. Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe answers its phones 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers benefits for you. Call today and let the team review your wages, your restrictions, and your options.
