Secondhand Smoke Claims Against Casino Barred by Workers’ Comp Act

NEW ORLEANS — A U.S. district judge has ruled that a mother’s wrongful death action against a Louisiana casino she blames for her son’s death from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is barred by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act. Bevrotte v. Caesars Entertainment Corp., No. 11-543 (E.D. La.).

The Judge Sarah S. Vance of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, who earlier dismissed Denise Bevrotte’s class and equitable relief claims, ruled July 11 that the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act provides the exclusive remedy for an occupational disease.

Judge Vance declined to address provisions in any prior …