Before 1927, waterfront workers who were not seamen often fell into a legal gap between general maritime law and state workers’ compensation, especially when injuries happened on navigable waters....

This three part series traces the long road to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, beginning not in 1927, but in the decades when American industry expanded faster than worker...

I will point out what I think are inequities in the way that hearing loss claims are handled under the Longshore Act. But first, I understand that hearing loss is clearly a legitimately compensable...

Unfortunately, Brandon Miller, the Chief, Branch of Insurance and Financial Management at the Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, U.S....

The U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida on January 15, 2013. The issue was whether Mr. Lozman’s floating home was a vessel, subject to Admiralty...

The situs coverage provision of the Longshore Act, Section 3(a) (33 U.S.C. 903(a)) has been discussed on several prior occasions here, and situs questions keep coming up. We’ll just have to keep...

A couple of weeks ago in “ Interesting Year – Part One” we noted that with regard to jurisprudence, 2012 was an interesting year for those who follow developments under the Longshore Act. Several...

With regard to jurisprudence, 2012 was an interesting year for those who follow developments under the Longshore Act. Several cases were decided (or are in the process of being decided) at the U.S....

I’d like to remind everyone about the Defense Base Act (DBA). We last looked at it here in February, 2010, so it’s time for another review. First, an update on claims reported under the DBA:...

It’s a common observation among employers, insurance carriers, and the defense bar that the Longshore Act is interpreted too liberally in favor of injured workers. Let’s assume that this observation...

I’m three miles away from the water. I can’t possibly need USL&H insurance!” Don’t be too sure. Let’s talk about situs, again (see previous discussions, for example, October 12, 2011). By way of...

I will now attempt to discuss workers’ compensation coverage under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Let’s start in 1953. Oil and gas exploration off the coasts of the United States...

Previously, we discussed fights at work, and we recognized that fighting employees can quickly become workers’ compensation claimants. It would be helpful here if you referred back to the discussion...

I’d like to discuss a contentious issue: fights at work between coworkers. In the process we’ll see two more examples of the application of the Section 20 presumptions. It is obviously a problem...

What is a “vessel”? This is anything but a simple question, especially at the fringes of any attempt at an all inclusive definition. If you write marine insurance exposures, whether inland or...

INSOLVENCY – PART FOUR Upon default on the payment of benefits (not the filing of a petition in Bankruptcy Court), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will seize the self-insurer’s security deposit....

Section 20(a) of the Longshore Act (33 U.S.C. 920(a)) states: In any proceeding for the enforcement of a claim for compensation under this Act it shall be presumed, in the absence of substantial...

INSOLVENCY - PART THREE We’ve previously looked at what happens when an insurance carrier defaults on the payment of benefits due to insolvency (Part One) and what happens when both the insurance...

Maritime employers have received some good news, courtesy of the U.S. Supreme Court. On March 20, 2012, the court issued its decision in the case of Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc., et al., a...

Virginia is in the process of doing something fair and reasonable for the maritime employers in the State. On February 28, 2012, the state legislature completed the process of passing a Bill that...