Could Injured Worker get Benefits for Reinjury Helping Buddy Move Washing Machine?

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An injury that does not occur in the course of employment can be compensable in Louisiana depending on how closely related it is to a prior work-related injury.

A case involving an employee who injured his hamstring when a beam fell on him illustrates how Louisiana courts might assess such a claim. 

In August 2022, a beam fell from an overhead crane and struck the employee’s leg. He received workers’ compensation benefits and underwent surgery for damage to his right hamstring muscle.

The employee’s doctor released him to work without restriction in April 2023. In May, the worker injured his right leg outside of work. At the time, he was not at work and was helping a friend move a washing machine. 

He saw a doctor, and said he had a pulling sensation where he had had the surgery, as well as increased pain. A doctor later testified that the employee’s work accident predisposed him to further injury. 

He filed a claim for the new injury, which the employer refused to pay. 

The court explained that when determining whether an employee is entitled to workers' compensation benefits for an injury suffered after a work-related injury, the key question is the relationship between the second injury and the initial, work-related injury.

Was the employee entitled to benefits for his out-of-work injury?

A. Yes. The doctor’s statement and the location of the new pain and pulling sensation suggested the two injuries were closely related. 

B. No. Moving a washing machine for a friend while not at work has no relationship to the workplace.

If you selected A, you agreed with the court in Brunner v. NAES Corp., 24-294 (La. Ct. App. 01/29/25), which found that the new injury was compensable.

The court pointed to the doctor’s testimony that the employee’s work accident predisposed him to injury. It also pointed to the employee feeling pain and pulling in the area of his leg that he previously injured.

“Though a nonwork-related accident, [the doctor] testified that he considered the hamstring strain and resulting pain Mr. Brunner suffered while helping a friend move a washing machine to be a natural or expected consequence of his original work-related injury,” the court wrote

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