Did Louisiana's firefighter heart-lung presumption automatically qualify a firefighter for disability retirement?

Plain-English summary

The Firefighters' Retirement System asked whether Louisiana's firefighter heart-lung statute could encompass disability retirement benefits and whether its work-causation presumption carried over to disability retirement applications. The Attorney General answered those questions separately. It said the statute's phrase "all rights and benefits" could include disability retirement benefits if state law granted them to someone with an occupational disease connected to service.

The AG then said the heart-lung statute's presumption did not govern applications under the cited retirement provisions. Those provisions required medical certification of disability, including State Medical Disability Board certification under R.S. 11:2258. The opinion also noted that simultaneous workers' compensation and disability retirement benefits could trigger a reduction under a separate statute.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did the heart-lung statute exclude disability retirement benefits?
The AG said it did not necessarily exclude them. Benefits granted for a service-connected occupational disease could fall within its "all rights and benefits" language.

Could the retirement board presume that an applicant's disability was work-related?
Not under the retirement provisions the AG analyzed. It said the presumption in R.S. 33:2581 did not replace the separate eligibility and certification requirements in R.S. 11:215 and R.S. 11:2258.

Did a firefighter need medical certification for disability retirement?
The opinion said R.S. 11:215 required medical certification and R.S. 11:2258 required State Medical Disability Board certification under its part B.

Could workers' compensation affect a disability retirement payment?
The AG said a reduction might arise under R.S. 23:1225 if both kinds of benefits were payable. It did not determine an individual's amount.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 33:2581 created a presumption that a firefighter's heart or lung disease developing during employment was caused by that work. The opinion distinguished that causation presumption from the proof required for disability retirement under R.S. 11:215 and R.S. 11:2258. Its conclusion was directed to the Firefighters' Retirement System board's handling of applications under those statutes.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 33:2581
• R.S. 11:215
• R.S. 11:2258
• R.S. 23:1225, concerning reductions when other benefits are payable

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0209

Original opinion text

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One American Place
301 Mare Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P O Box q4005
CIVIL DIVISION
TEL (225) 342-701~
FAX: (225) 342-2090
BATON ROUGE
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
7O804-9O05
ATTORNEY GENERAL

JUN 2 5 2002
OPINION NUMBER 02-0209

92-A-2-(m)
RETIREMENT - Firefighters
LSA-R.S. 33:2581, LSA-R.S. 11:215 and LSA-R.S. 11:2258 The phrase "all rights and benefits" in LSA-R.S. 33:2581
Steven S. Stockstill
includes disability retirement benefits if such benefits are
Director
"granted by the laws of the state of Louisiana to which one
suffering an occupational disease is entitled as service
Firefighters’ Retirement System
connected in the line of duty." Benefits under LSA-R.S.
P.O. Box 94095, Capitol Station
33:2581 are comparable to workers’ compensation benefits.
Claims under LSA-R.S. 11:215 and LSA-R.S. 11:2258 must
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9095
be proven, and they do not create the same presumption
found in LSA-R.S. 33:2581.
Dear Mr. Stockstill:

You have requested this office to answer two questions regarding interpretation of R.S.
33:2581, R.S. 11:215 and R.S. 11:2258. First, you have asked if the phrase "all rights and benefits," found in R.S. 33:2581, excludes disability retirement benefits because it is situated in Chapter 5 of Title 33. Secondly, you have asked if the Firefighter’s Retirement System (FRS) Board of Trustees should apply the presumptions created by R.S. 33:2581, to applications for disability retirement benefits pursuant to R.S. 11:215 and R.S. 11:2258.

In addressing the first issue it is important to determine what type of benefits could arise from a claim under R.S. 33:2581, also known as the fireman’s heart-lung statute. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals stated: "although not part of the Worker’s Compensation Act, Fireman’s Heart and Lung statute is applicable to worker’s compensation cases." McKenzie v. City of Bossier City, 585 So. 2d 1229 (1991).
"Once an employee’s heart disease or infirmity is determined to have been caused by or resulted from work performed as per R.S. 33:2581, questions of compensation are then decided pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act." City of Jenninqs v. Deshotel, 758 So.2d 269 (2000).

This does not necessarily mean that disability retirement benefits are excluded from "all rights and benefits" granted by R.S. 33:2581, but determines the nature of benefits the courts have granted. With regards to including disability retirement benefits, R.S.
33:2581 states: "the employee affected...shall be entitled to all rights and benefits as granted by the law[s]...to which one suffering an occupational disease is entitled as service connected in the line of duty." If there are disability retirement benefits for those who suffered an occupational disease during service, then these benefits should be included in the phrase "all rights and benefits," and allowed under R.S. 33:2581.

Page 2

OPINION NUMBER 02-0209
Steven S. Stockstill
Page - 2 -

Please note that workers’ compensation benefits received through a claim under R.S. 33:2581 may exclude disability retirement benefits in some situations. For example, workers compensation "rights or benefits" under R.S. 33:2581 are different from retirement disability benefits, and may cause a reduction under R.S. 23:1225 (Reductions when other benefits payable), if both workers’ compensation and disability retirement benefits co-exist.

Your second issue deals with the presumption created in R.S. 33:2581. The plain language of R.S. 33:2581 is unique in that it specifically creates a presumption that any disease or infirmity of the heart or lungs that developed during the period of employment of a firefighter, was caused by his work as a firefighter. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals tells us that:

The Heart and Lung statute effectively shifts the burden of proof to the employer who must prove lack of causation between the disease and the employment. Unless affirmative proof is adduced to prove lack of causation...the presumption requires that disabled fireman be entitled to coverage under the Act. M. Pfister v. City of New Orleans, 681 So. 2d 426 (1996).

The plain language of R.S. 11:215 or R.S. 11:2258 does not include the same presumption found in R.S. 33:2581. The language of R.S. 11:215 reads to the contrary because it requires a member to get medically certified as disabled before they are entitled to benefits. R.S. 11:2258 also reads contrary to the presumption found in R.S. 33:2581 because "part B" of this statute requires certification by the State Medical Disability Board before members are eligible to receive benefits. The FRS board of trustees should not apply the presumption created in R.S. 33:2581 to applications for disability retirement benefits because the legislature included specific eligibility requirements within R.S. 11:215 and R.S. 11:2258.

Should you have any further questions, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

CRARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/CHB:mjb