Longshore Claims

Longshore Claims

Longshoremen and other harbor workers receive worker’s compensation benefits for their workplace injuries under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Act. People who work for military contractors here and abroad can press claims for workplace injuries under the same law and principles, as is provided for by the Non-Appropriated Funds Instrumentality Act and the Defense Base Act, two more federal statutes. Similarly, people who are injured on offshore oil platforms can raise claims under the Outer Continental Shelves Lands Act that again incorporates the provisions of the Longshore Act. These Acts provide coverage that is generally more favorable to workers than their state-side counterparts. Persons receive temporary disability, permanent disability often at a rate of 66 and 2/3 percent of a person’s average weekly wage, medical benefits, and rehabilitation services. A competent attorney should be consulted to determine whether these Acts provide coverage, or what other laws might do so.