Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation FAQs
Who Is Covered By the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?L
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) is a federal law – which means that it applies not only to dock workers in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Southern California – but to harbor workers anywhere in the US, that are injured on the navigable waters of the U.S.
What Occupations are covered by the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?
The Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) covers employees in traditional maritime occupations such as Longshore workers, stevedores, fork lift operators, crane operators, platform builders, repair workers, ship-repairers, shipbuilders or ship-breakers, and harbor construction workers.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act provides for the payment of compensation, to workers disabled from injuries on the job that occur on the navigable waters of the United States, or in an adjoining area customarily used in the loading, unloading, repairing, or building of a vessel. (Note: The term “injury” also includes occupational diseases, such as hearing loss and other diseases or illnesses directly arising out of the longshoreman’s employment.)
The injured dock employee’s injuries must have occurred on the navigable waters of the United States or in the adjoining areas, including piers, docks, terminals, wharves, and those areas used in loading and unloading vessels.
Our Experienced Long Beach Lawyers Can Help You Determine if You Are Covered by the LHWCA
If you were injured while working on or near a dock in the Port of Long Beach, or the Port of Los Angeles, or another California port, and are unsure if you qualify for Longshoreman’s benefits, our experienced lawyers can help you understand if you qualify for benefits under the LHWCA.
Congress has also extended the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) to include other types of employees, as follows:
- DEFENSE BASE ACT – employees at overseas military bases of the US, and employees of U.S. government contractors working outside the United States in public work projects or in national defense and military operations;
- OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT – employees working on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States in the exploration & development of natural resources, (example: off-shore oil drilling rig);
- NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES ACT – civilian employees of non-appropriated fund instrumentalities of the Armed Forces (example: military base exchanges; morale, welfare, and recreational facilities).
Who Is Excluded From the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?
There are numerous exceptions to coverage under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. If you were injured on or near navigable waters, our experienced Orange County lawyers can review your unique situation and help you determine if you are eligible or excluded under the LHWCA. However, here are the primary exclusions.
The LHWCA specifically excludes the following individuals:
- Seamen (masters or members of a crew of any vessel);
- Employees of the United States government or of any state or foreign government;
- Employees whose injuries were caused solely by their intoxication;
- Employees whose injuries were due to their own willful intention to harm themselves or others.
The LHWCA also excludes certain clerical, secretarial, security, recreational, restaurant, marina or data processing workers if they are covered by California (or other state) workers’ compensation law. Individuals employed to build any recreational vessel under sixty-five feet in length, or to repair or to dismantle any part of such recreational vessel are also excluded.
Our Lawyers Can Help You Collect the Maximum Longshoreman & Harbor Workers Compensation
Under the Longshore Act, your employer may be required to pay attorneys’ fees and costs incurred while attempting to collect longshore benefits. Therefore, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by consulting the experienced lawyers at the Southern California Law Firm of Cantrell Green. We will handle your longshoreman’s workers’ comp case with the individualized care and aggressive representation that ensures you receive the maximum benefits that you deserve.
If you have been made disabled while working as a longshoreman, dock worker, or ship builder or repairer in Orange County, the greater Los Angeles area or anywhere in Southern California, we offer a free consultation with an experienced California Longshore lawyer to help you understand your rights and obtain the maximum longeshore workers’ compensation. Call us today to protect your benefits.
Free Longshore Workers’ Compensation Consultation: 562-622-4800
If you or a loved one has suffered an accident, injury, or a work related illness, while working on the docks in the Port of Long Beach, or the Port of Los Angeles, or another California port, our experienced lawyers are here to help you get the Longshoreman’s Workers Compensation benefits that you deserve.
The Law Office of Cantrell Green is a group of highly qualified and experienced workers’ compensation attorneys who have obtained millions of dollars in longshoremen workers’ compensation benefits for hundreds of injured and disabled clients, including dock workers and ship builders. Call today. We can help.
Free Longshore Consultation: 800-964-8047
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