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Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation

Knowing your rights is the first key to obtaining the benefits to which you are entitled, and which you deserve, when you are injured on the job. For those workers who perform their work on or near the navigable waters of the United States, and whose jobs relate in any way to the building or repair of ships and other marine vessels, or the loading or unloading of ships, barges or marine vessels of any kind, this statement could not be more true.

Our waterways are also becoming increasingly crowded with pleasure vessels, from tiny jet skis to huge yachts. The clogged waterways, combined with an upsurge in incidents of drunk boating, have resulted in a much higher number of injuries caused on the water. The laws governing boating accidents are complicated and different from those governing accidents that happen on land. You will need the help of a professional maritime attorney to make sure that your claim is filed and investigated properly. In order to get the amount you need from insurance companies to cover injuries and damages, your best option is hiring a team of experienced maritime injury lawyers. Call the law firm offices of Rutter Mills today to find out how we can help take the weight off your shoulders.

Depending on the type of work you perform and where you perform that work in relation to navigable waters, you may be covered not only under the workers' compensation law in the state where you are injured, but also by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act ("LHWCA"), a federal law administered by the United States Department of Labor through its Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. That agency's Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Program includes a mission statement that reads as follows:

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, provide medical benefits, compensation for lost wages, and rehabilitation services to employees who are injured during the course of employment or contract an occupational disease related to employment. Survivor benefits are also provided if the work-related injury causes the employee's death.

The employees referred to in this statement are those who work on the navigable waters of the United States, or in nearby areas and certain types of other workers. Some examples of those who might be covered include employees who work in the shipyard buildings, those involved in building structures over water, longshoremen and crane operators, harbor-workers, and shipbreakers. There are also extensions of the LHWCA that provide similar benefits for individuals working for private contractors on U.S. military bases, both in the United States and overseas, and other employees whose work is tied to the military and federal government, but who are not civil service employees, such as employees of various federal exchange facilities. The message in the end is that if you are injured on the job and your work is on or near a waterway, tied in any way to maritime related work, or you work for a private contractor whose job is tied to the military, you may be covered by the LHWCA, and that coverage is worth investigating further.

Laws that apply to injuries that happen on or around the water are different from those applying to injuries that happen on land. If you are injured or made sick as a result of a job on or around the shipping industry, your injury is covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act ("LHWCA"), a federal law administered by the United States Department of Labor through its Office of Workers' Compensation Programs or the Jones Act, which are very similar to the regular Workers’ Compensation Act. In 1936, the United States passed the Merchant Marine Act, also called the Jones Act, which protects the rights of sailors who have been injured on the job. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act extended this right to any worker involved with the shipping industry, including barge workers, crane operators, longshoremen, shipyard builders, dock loaders, tugboat operators, and just about any employee who works in or around navigable United States Waters or on certain military bases.

Under these laws, if you are injured, your employer’s insurance company is responsible for paying for your medical expenses. The laws vary from state to state, but you are usually also entitled to receive a portion of your previous average weekly salary while you are unable to work as a result of an injury or illness. Often an injured employee is unable to work due to the injury. In this case temporary disability benefits are paid monthly and the employee should receive 66 2/3 percent of his or her average weekly wage at the time of the injury. Of course, your employer’s insurance company is not going to want to pay these expenses. After all, they are interested mainly in their own bottom line. If you have been injured, those insurance agents are going to do everything they legally can to prevent you from getting the money you need for medical care, transportation, and basic living expenses. The process of filing for benefits under these laws is a long and complicated one. If you have been injured on the water you must file a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Claim within ONE (1) year from the date of the injury. Jeff Slayton was unable to get any money from his employer’s insurance company for two years after a tugboat line snapped and left him unable to work for two years. He says that the Virginia maritime lawyers at Rutter Mills “made the difference- their support gave me back my life and my family.”

If you are injured as a result of an accident while on a pleasure boat, your injuries and damages may be covered under personal injury laws similar to those covering car accidents. Whether you’ve been hurt on the job or while trying to relax, the Norfolk and Newport News Maritime lawyers at Rutter Mills is the best choice to get you what you need you can get on with your life.

Do not get confused between Jones Act claims and Longshore-Habor Workers' Compensation Act claims. State and federal agencies do not get involved with Jones Act claims. Longshore-Harbor Workers' Compensation Act claims are similar to Workers' Compensation, however the claims are handled before the U.S. Department of Labor. TheLongshore and Harbor Workers' Compenstation Act provides the injured worker medical care and income benefits. After Nelson Smallwood’s accident at the shipyard where he worked, he was told that he couldn’t go back to his job as a welder, his life’s work. He was devastated until he got in touch with the skilled maritime lawyers at Rutter Mills. We got him a settlement that will take care of him for the rest of his life. As he said, the Rutter Mills marine attorneys “took care of absolutely anything and everything I needed.”

The attorneys of Rutter Mills, L.L.P. have a proven track record in handling claims under the LHWCA. We have handled countless cases before the Department of Labor, and related appeals before both the Benefits Review Board of the Department of Labor and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We feel that it is important that the employees covered by the LHWCA are made aware of their rights, and pursue those rights so that they receive the compensation they deserve for their injuries. Our attorneys and large support staff are in the business of serving and helping injured workers. We know the law, and how that law applies to those injured on the job. Our goal is to obtain a result for each client that puts them in a better place, in spite of their injuries, so that they can move on with their life in a positive direction. If you have been seriously injured at your job and would like additional information about how we can help you, click here.

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