Opinion Number

Dear Commissioner Brown:

You have requested an opinion concerning whether the Louisiana Department of Insurance may approve a form for a worker's compensation policy which excludes punitive or exemplary damages. As you represented in your request, the Supreme Court of Louisiana in Billiot v. B.P. Oil Company 93-C-1118, 9/29/94, recently allowed an employee to recover exemplary damages from an employer in addition to the damages allowed under Louisiana's Worker's Compensation Law. This decision exposes employers and their worker compensation insurers to liability for exemplary damages in work…