Opinion

Champagne v. American Alternative Insurance Corp.

  • 112 So. 3d 179
  • 2013 La. LEXIS 561
  • 2013 WL 1115362
Court
Supreme Court of Louisiana
Filed
Mar 19, 2013
Status
Published
Author
Victory
On the bench
Associated, Guidry, Hoc, III, Kimball, Reasons, Rendered, Schott, Sits, Tempore, Victory, Weimer
Cited by
14 cases

The opinion

VICTORY, J.,

dissents.

hi dissent from the majority’s holding that the Workers’ Compensation Law does not grant immunity to members of a volunteer fire company from suits in tort brought by co-volunteer firefighters. La. R.S. 23:1036(A) provides that workers’ compensation coverage “shall constitute the exclusive remedy of the volunteer member against the fire company as provided in R.S. 23:1032.” The reference to La. R.S. 23:1032 is not limited to any specific provision to that statute, and thus encompasses La. R.S. 23:1032(A)(1)(a), which provides that “the rights and remedies granted to an employee or his dependent on account of an injury ... shall be exclusive of all other rights ... as against his employer, ..., or employee of such employer ..., for said injury, ...” In my view, as regular firefighters are immune from suit in tort for injuries inflicted on a co-firefighter under La. R.S. 23:1032(A), it makes no sense to interpret to these statutes to deprive volunteer firefighters of this same immunity.

For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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