§1201.4.  Forfeiture of benefits while incarcerated; exclusions; medical expenses

A.  Except as provided in Subsection B of this Section, the employee's right to compensation benefits, including medical expenses, is forfeited during any period of incarceration, unless a workers' compensation judge finds that an employee has dependents who rely on a compensation award for their support, in which case said compensation shall be made payable and transmitted to the legal guardian of the minor dependent or other person designated by the workers' compensation judge and such payments shall be considered as having been made to the employee.  After release from incarceration, the employee's right to claim compensation benefits shall resume.  An employee who is incarcerated but is later found to be not guilty of felony criminal charges or against whom all felony charges have been dismissed by the prosecutor shall have the prescriptive period for filing a claim for benefits under this Chapter extended by the number of days he was incarcerated.

B.  When an employee has been assigned to a work release or transitional work program and has been injured as a result of such assignment, the provisions of this Section shall not be construed to limit the obligation of the employer to pay medical expenses to a health care provider when such medical expenses would be otherwise compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act.

Acts 1989, No. 454, §5, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1997, No. 88, §1, eff. June 11, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 320, §1; Acts 2012, No. 610, §1.