Darvel Burgess v. Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans

Summary

The court held that the employer, rather than the injured employee, has the right to select the pharmacy supplying workers' compensation prescription drugs because the statute grants the employee a specific right to choose a treating physician but does not grant a comparable pharmacy-selection right. The court also held that resolving pharmacy choice did not determine whether the employer owed the disputed bill, because the out-of-state pharmacy had to satisfy statutory availability or comparable-cost requirements and reimbursement limits. The judgment was reversed and remanded for those determinations. Justice Johnson concurred regarding consent under the reimbursement cap, while Justice Genovese, dissenting, would have held that the employee may choose the pharmacy.