Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) is federal law which provides a federal workers' compensation remedy for longshore workers, shipyard workers and other covered workers in any state, or even outside the country. Benefits under the Longshore Act are payable for any injury of illness arising out of covered employment without regard to fault. The disability benefits payable under the Act are typically higher than the benefits available to a covered worker under state workers compensation acts.

Do you have a longshore injury claim?

Aboard ship, longshore workers are confronted with dangerous conditions created by careless ship owners in cargo holds and on deck. Stevedore company superintendents expect longshoremen to get the job done no matter how dangerous. Lashing gangs are expected to unlash or lash an entire ship in short order so the work of unloading can begin or the ship can sail on time. Many of the ships are owned and operated by foreign companies who don’t follow American safety standards, and some of the ships are ready for the scrap yard.

Harbors and ports are busy places with the potential for chaos everywhere. Container terminals sprawl for hundreds of acres and heavy equipment congestion prevails. Hundreds of teeming highly paid, highly skilled employees – clerical workers, marine clerks, foremen, mechanics, heavy equipment operators, handlers, crane operators, and more – all work under tremendous pressure to get the unloaded/loaded and back to sea. Unique hazards that are common in the longshore industry include falling loads, working on the top of cargo containers, having a UTR or yard tractor picked up and then dropped by a crane. Outside truckers in a hurry to find their load and get on the road are a danger to longshoremen in the yard. Defective or poorly maintained equipment can malfunction and cause injuries.

Longshoremen suffer many injuries including , asphyxiation, blindness, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, repetitive trauma, burns, amputation, broken bones, back and neck injuries, paralysis, cancer, and drowning (not conclusive).

Do you have a shipyard worker injury claim?

Shipyard workers are employed at harbors and major river waterways doing ship building, ship maintenance and ship repairs. According to OSHA, shipyard work is extremely hazardous with an injury-accident rate more than twice that of construction and general industry work.
This list is not exclusive. For a shipyard worker, employment dangers lurk everywhere.

Do you have a Longshore Act lawsuit?

The Longshore Act allows injured longshore workers, shipyard workers and other port workers to sue negligent ship owners, Marine Terminal operators and outside truckers.

For longshore workers, if a ship owner negligently fails to turn over its ship in a condition that is reasonably safe for the longshoremen to work, the ship owner can be sued under the Longshore Act. Marine Terminal owners and operators can be held liable to longshore workers truck driver and other port workers for injuries caused by dangerous conditions such as overcrowding, trip and fall hazards, pot holes and defective or poorly maintained vehicles or other equipment. Outside trucking companies can be held responsible for the negligent operation of their trucks and tractors and can be sued when their drivers injure longshoremen or others.

For shipyard workers, if a third party ship owner (not your employer) negligently fails to turn over its ship in a condition that is reasonably safe for the ship yard work to be done, the ship owner can be sued under the Longshore Act. Third party contractors (any company other than your employer) can be held liable to shipyard workers for injuries caused by poorly maintained vehicles or other equipment they supply, dangerous conditions created by their work, or the negligence or their employees. If the shipyard owner/operator is not your employer it can be held responsible for dangerous conditions such as overcrowding, trip and fall hazards, or exposure to toxic chemicals or products.

Statute of Limitations for workers compensation benefits under the LHWCA: Written Notice to employer and district director or the US Department of Labor: within 30 days from date of injury/ within 1 year of awareness of connection between employment and occupational illness.

Claim Filing: The claimant has 1 year from the date of injury or death, or one year from the date of the last payment of compensation (indemnity) to file a claim with the district director of U.S. Department of Labor. The claimant has 2 years from the date he becomes aware, or should have become aware of the connection between employment and occupational illness, or 1 year from the date of the last payment of compensation (indemnity), whichever is later, to file a claim with the district director of US Department of Labor.

Statute of Limitation for suing for personal injuries: Varies from state to state, and depending on whether the ship is owned by or operated for the United States or other governmental entities. You should seek prompt legal advice to determine the time within which a suit must be filed to avoid losing your right to sue.

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) provides workers compensation coverage to offshore (usually oil) workers involved with energy production or exploration, who work on platforms three or more miles from shore (except off shore from Texas and Florida where the Act applies beyond 10.4 miles). OCSLA is an extension of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. Workers covered under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act receive the compensation and medical benefits provided by the Longshore Act.

Defense Base Act (DBA)
The Defense Base Act applies to civilian employees under contract to the United States to perform "public works" outside the continental United States. This includes many civilians working in conjunction with the U.S. military or other government agencies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and on military, air, and naval bases outside the United States.

Examples of covered workers include interpreters, private security, medical teams, construction workers, utility workers, engineers, and non-military support staff. Many other workers are also covered.

The Defense Base Act is an extension of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) and provides disability compensation and medical benefits to employees and death benefits to eligible survivors of covered workers.

All types of injuries and illness that arise from the employment are covered. In war zones, serious physical injuries such as paralysis, amputation and brain damage are all too common. Psychological injuries are covered as well. Civilian workers exposed to life threatening harm suffer the same kind of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as their fellow soldiers when returning home. Prompt, expert treatment for PTSD is essential for maximum recovery. The lawyers at the Naylor Law Group can help you find the expert medical care you need.

Some of the dangerous jobs covered by the Defense Base Act are bomb disposal expert, PMC (private military contractor-former soldier/police officer), engineer, medic, truck driver, translator, constructor worker, technician, electrician, consultant, utility worker, project manager, and carpenter.

Companies who employ non-military civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan include KBR, Halliburton, Blackwater Security, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications, DynCorp International, Titan Security, and Environmental Chemical Corp. to name a few.\

The Defense Base Act also covers American civilian employees providing welfare or similar services outside the U.S. for the benefit of the military such as the United Service Organizations (USO).

Civilian workers, wounded in war zones get treated in military hospitals, but once home, must find their own doctor to receive care; and while covered workers are entitled to a "free choice" physician, the worker only gets one free choice. Many Defense Base Act employers unlawfully try to steer injured workers to their handpicked, or so called "approved" doctors. Choosing a company doctor or the wrong doctor can jeopardize your recovery and your claim. The lawyers at the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor can help you avoid that mistake.

While one war is over for you in the Middle East, another war is beginning in your own backyard: The war of receiving benefits and treatment for the injuries suffered or the fight for loved ones to receive wrongful death compensation.

What should be straightforward is instead a maze of complex forms and bureaucratic red tape to stymie the uninitiated, the injured, the stressed, and the saddened non-military civilians and their next of kin.

The lawyers at the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor can help you to understand your rights and your responsibilities under the Defense Base Act. There is no cost and no obligation for this free information. If you do want one of our lawyers to represent you, there are no attorney fees unless you are awarded benefits under the Defense Base Act. The same applies to next of kin seeking wrongful death compensation.

You can live anywhere in the United States and contact the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor; there are no geographical boundaries. The expertise you are looking for is uncommon. Most lawyers don't know what the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) is, and don't know how it is applied through the Defense Base Act. The lawyers at the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor know the Longshore Act, the Defense Base Act and care about you.

---

Contact Us

For a FREE Consultation