Teleca Donachricha v. Nightingale Nurses, LLC

Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided June 24, 2026·No. WCA-0025-0729·Unknown

Opinion

STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

25-729 consolidated with 25-730

TELECA DONACHRICHA

VERSUS

NIGHTINGALE NURSES, LLC, AND LOUISIANA INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION, ET AL.

**********

APPEAL FROM THE OFFICE OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION - # 3 PARISH OF CALCASIEU, NO. 23-04740 C/W 22-00929 MELISSA A. ST. MARY, WORKERS COMPENSATION JUDGE

GARY J. ORTEGO JUDGE

Court composed of Sharon Darville Wilson, Gary J. Ortego, and Clayton Davis, Judges.

AFFIRMED. John C. Turnage Mayer, Smith & Roberts, LLP 8570 Business Park Dr., Suite 200 Shreveport, LA 71105 (318) 221-2135 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: CHRISTUS Health Southwest Louisiana

Michelle M. Sorrells Walters, Thomas, Cullens 12345 Perkins Rd., Building 2 Baton Rouge, LA 70810 (225) 236-3646 COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE: Teleca Donachricha

Eric J. Waltner Allen & Gooch 2000 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Suite 400 Lafayette, LA 70508 (337) 291-1400 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES: Louisiana Insurance GuarantyAssociation Nightingale Nurses, LLC ORTEGO, Judge.

This case arises from a worker’s compensation claim. However, the appeal

involves only a dispute between party defendants regarding reimbursements of

benefits payments made by the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (“LIGA”)

to a claimant after the insolvency of the employer’s worker’s compensation

insurance carrier.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff, Teleca Donachricha (“claimant”), filed a claim for worker’s

compensation benefits after an accident on September 30, 2011. Claimant claims

she sustained an injury to her right knee and reinjured the knee a few nights later.

Claimant was a direct employee of Nightingale Nurses, LLC (“Nightingale”) as a

traveling nurse.

The accident occurred at CHRISTUS Health Southwest Louisiana d/b/a

CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital (“CHRISTUS”) which had contracted with

Nightingale to supply certain nurses at the St. Patrick facility when requested.

Michelle Aguillard, a CHRISTUS representative, testified that hospitals acquire

travel nurses by either (1) directly contracting with a nursing agency or (2)

contracting with an intermediary entity that contracts directly with nursing agencies.

In the case of an intermediate entity’s involvement, Ms. Aguillard testified the

contract would be between the nursing agency and the intermediary.

Although CHRISTUS and Nightingale sometimes worked together through

an intermediary such as ShareStaff (a nursing agency), evidence shows CHRISTUS

paid Nightingale directly at the time of this accident. The worker’s compensation

judge (“WCJ”) found that CHRISTUS was the “borrowing employer” of claimant

at the time of the accident and that a direct contract existed between CHRISTUS and

Nightingale. Additionally, at the time of claimant’s injury, CastlePoint Insurance Company

(“CastlePoint”) provided worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Pursuant to

claimant’s injury and claims, CastlePoint paid claimant’s benefits on behalf of

Nightingale from the date of the injury until March 2017, when CastlePoint went

into receivership. Thereafter, LIGA was called upon to pay these claims.1

LIGA paid medical and indemnity benefits from 2017 until 2022, specifically

520 weeks of supplemental earnings benefits. In 2022, LIGA terminated payment

of claimant’s indemnity benefits. On February 14, 2022, claimant filed a 1008

against Nightingale and LIGA seeking reinstitution of indemnity benefits. On

August 4, 2022, claimant filed an amended 1008 adding LIGA as a defendant. LIGA

answered the 1008 on August 23, 2022, and filed a third-party demand against

CHRISTUS. On December 12, 2022, CHRISTUS was served with the third party

demand, this was the first notification CHRISTUS had of CastlePoint’s insolvency.

The claim was officially tendered to CHRISTUS in November of 2024 via email to

counsel for CHRISTUS.

LIGA’s original, supplemental and amended third party demands, sought

reimbursement from CHRISTUS for all of sums paid on this claim since

CastlePoint’s 2017 receivership.

The trial was on June 4, 2025. On June 23, 2025, the WCJ rendered judgment

in favor of LIGA and against CHRISTUS. Specifically, the WCJ awarded LIGA

the full amount of its claim of $247,928.35 for reimbursement against CHRISTUS

and denied CHRISTUS’s request for reimbursement from Nightingale/LIGA for any

1 LIGA is a private nonprofit unincorporated legal entity created by statute to provide payment of covered claims under certain insurance policies with minimal delay and financial loss to claimants or policyholders due to insurer insolvency. La.R.S. 22:2052. Claims by insurers, including excess insurers or self-insured employers, seeking subrogation or reimbursement from LIGA are generally excluded as covered claims under LIGA. 1 Couch on Ins. § 6:30.

2 amounts it has paid or will pay on the claim, including penalties, attorney’s fees,

costs, and interest.

Thus, the only issues on appeal are the reimbursement claims between LIGA

and CHRISTUS, and CHRISTUS’s claim for reimbursement against Nightingale/

LIGA.2

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

1. The [WCJ] committed manifest error in ordering CHRISTUS to reimburse LIGA for the full amount paid to or on behalf of the claimant, by LIGA, including all costs of the case and attorney’s fees.

2. The [WCJ] committed manifest error in not ordering Nightingale Nurses, LLC/LIGA to reimburse CHRISTUS for any amounts that CHRISTUS has or will pay on this claim, including penalties, attorney’s fees, costs and interest.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In worker’s compensation cases, the appropriate standard of review to be applied by the appellate court to the OWC’s findings of fact is the “manifest error-clearly wrong” standard. . . . Accordingly, the findings of the OWC will not be set aside by a reviewing court unless they are found to be clearly wrong in light of the record viewed in its entirety. . . . Where there is conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable.

Dean v. Southmark Const., 03-1051, p.7 (La. 7/6/04), 879 So.2d 112, 117 (citations

omitted).

LAW AND DISCUSSION

As to these reimbursement claims by these parties, there is no dispute that

CHRISTUS is self-insured.

2 Other issues in this case regarding a 1009 appeal concerning a spinal cord stimulator, along with the disability status of the claimant, past due indemnity due to the claimant, compensability of the left knee injury to the work accident, and any penalties, attorneys fees, or costs have been settled and are not before the court in this appeal.

3 LIGA argues and primarily relies on La.R.S. 22:2062(A)(1) (titled

“Exhaustion of other coverage” in the LIGA statutory scheme) in asserting that it is

owed reimbursement from CHRISTUS, which states, in pertinent part, as follows:

A. (1) Any person having a claim against an insurer shall be required first to exhaust all coverage provided by any other policy, including the right to a defense under the other policy, if the claim under the other policy arises from the same facts, injury, or loss that gave rise to the covered claim against the association. The requirement to exhaust shall apply without regard to whether or not the other insurance policy is a policy written by a member insurer.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Teleca Donachricha v. Nightingale Nurses, LLC, (La. Ct. App. 2026).

Teleca Donachricha v. Nightingale Nurses, LLC (Teleca Donachricha v. Nightingale Nurses, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Cline v. Pacific Marine Ins. Co.
619 So. 2d 1256 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)