Smith v. Datachem, Inc.

GAUDIN, Judge.

The only issue involved in this appeal is whether LSA-R.S. 23:1081(1)(b) unconstitutionally discriminates against alcoholics. In pertinent part, the statute states that no workmen’s compensation benefits shall be allowed for an injury caused by the employee’s intoxication at the time of the injury. For the following reasons, we affirm the district court holding that the statute is constitutional.

Curtis Wayne Smith was fatally injured while piloting a rented Cessna 180 seaplane. He crashed into a pipeline embankment near Lafitte, Louisiana. Blood tests performed after the…