Virginia Lebleu v. Brookshire Brothers Holding, Inc., Et Al.

Supreme Court of Louisiana
April 26, 2022
Chief Deputy Clerk of Court
For the Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana
VIRGINIA LEBLEU
VS.
BROOKSHIRE BROTHERS HOLDING,
INC., ET AL.
No. 2022-CC-00376
_ _ _ _
_ _
IN R
E: Brookshire Brothers Holding, Inc. - Applicant Defendant; Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company - Applicant Defendant; Applying For Supervisory Writ, Parish
of Calcasieu, Office of Workers’ Compensation, District 3, Number(s) 21-03213,
Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, Number(s) WCW 21-00588;
_ _ _ _ _ _
April 26, 2022
Writ application granted. See per curiam.
JDH
JLW
SJC
JTG
WJC
JBM
PDG
04/26/2022 "See News Release 019 for any Concurrences and/or Dissents."

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
No
. 2022-CC-00376
VI
RGINIA LEBLEU
VS.
BROOKSHIRE BROTHERS HOLDING, INC., ET AL.
O
n Supervisory Writ to the Office of Workers’ Compensation, District 03
PER CURIAM
Pur
suant to La. R.S. 23:1123, an additional medical examination shall be
ordered “[i]f any dispute arises as to the condition of the employee, or the
employee’s capacity to work. . . .” In this case, claimant’s physician and the
employer’s physician have rendered contrary opinions concerning claimant’s
diagnosis and her ability to return to full employment. 1 Therefore, an
additional medical examination is required.
Accordingly, the writ is granted. The judgment of the Office of Workers’
Compensation denying relators’ motion for additional medical examination is
reversed, and the case is remanded to the Office of Workers’ Compensation
for further proceedings.
1 We acknowledge these physicians have different specialties. However, nothing in La. R.S.
23:1123 requires that the dispute must be between physicians in the same specialty. See Sparnecht
v. Amar Oil Co ., 11-1986 (La. App. 1 Cir. 6/1/12), 93 So.3d 725, 728 (explaining that “even if
there were any doubt as to the plain language of the statute, the legislative history of LSA -R.S.
23:1123 does not reveal any intent on behalf of the legislature to require that disputing opinions
must originate from doctors of the same specialty.”).
04/26/22