PJC General Negligence 2024

W ORKERS ’ C OMPENSATION —L IFETIME I NCOME B ENEFITS

PJC 25.8

Answer “Yes” or “No.” Answer: _______________

COMMENT When to use. In 2001, the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act was amended to provide that lifetime income benefits (LIBs) are also available for certain burn injuries effective June 17, 2001, even where there is no showing that the burn injuries are dis abling. PJC 25.8 should be used for injuries occurring on or after June 17, 2001, if there is a dispute about the existence, nature, or extent of an injury that results in third degree burns that cover at least 40 percent of the claimant’s body and require grafting or third-degree burns covering the majority of either both hands or one hand and the face (or—if the injury occurred on or after September 1, 2023—both hands, one hand and one foot, one hand and the face, or one foot and the face.) The question should track the statutory language. See Tex. Lab. Code § 408.161(a)(7). Burden of proof. The burden of proof should be placed appropriately in accor dance with the decision of the appeals panel. See PJC 15.1. Accrual date. LIBs accrue and become payable on the date that the injured worker suffers from one of the conditions listed in Tex. Lab. Code §408.161(a), and not before. Once an injured worker is adjudicated eligible to receive LIBs, LIBs should be paid retroactively to the date the injured worker first became eligible. Mid Century Insurance Co. v. Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission , 187 S.W.3d 754 (Tex. App.—Austin 2006, no pet.). If the accrual date is in dispute, PJC 25.3 or 25.4 should be used if there is a dispute about the beginning date or permanence of a qualifying condition listed in Tex. Lab. Code § 408.161(a).

373