Last Employer Rule

Calendar year 2018 was a relatively uneventful year for jurisprudence under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA). Although there are several important issues that still need...

On January 18, 2018, we discussed the Top Ten Principles of the Last Employer Rule in Occupational Disease cases and the different applications of the Last Employer Rule as applied in occupational...

The Last (Maritime) Employer Rule and the Aggravation Rule are the two methods of assigning liability in Longshore Act cases. Since they are well-established in Longshore Act jurisprudence, it may...

This is Part Two of a brief review of some interesting Longshore Act cases from calendar year 2017. In the Matter of the Complaint of Buchanan Marine, L.P., as Bareboat Charterer of the Barge...

It’s been 100 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Southern Pacific RR Co. v. Jensen, (244 U.S. 205 (1917)), established the “Jensen” line, limiting the coverage of states’ workers’...

Awhile ago I discussed the “Aggravation Rule”. There are some recent cases that illustrate how this Rule works, so I thought that I would repeat much of my earlier discussion and then briefly note...

Number 1. Joint and Several LiabilityI occasionally see references to the nature of ALMA member’s liability as “Joint and Several”. This is a serious misstatement.In fact, ALMA members are NOT, and...

How is the winner determined when a controverted Longshore case goes to a formal hearing at the Office of Administrative Law Judges? The ALJ considers all of the testimony and all of the...

I’m surprised that I haven’t yet discussed the Aggravation Rule here at AEU’s Longshore Blog. So it’s about time. First, let’s start with the “Last Employer Rule”. This is a judge created rule that...

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...