Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation: A Complete Guide for Injured Maritime Workers

Federal Workers Comp

The most generous federal workers compensation system in the country, written specifically for maritime workers.

1. What is the LHWCA?

The LHWCA is the federal cousin of state workers compensation. It came about because, before 1927, longshoremen and harbor workers fell into a legal gap: they were not seamen (so the Jones Act did not cover them) but they worked over navigable water (so state workers comp could not cover them either). Congress wrote the LHWCA to fill that gap.

It is workers compensation, which means it is no-fault. You do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong. If you got hurt at work, you are owed benefits. The trade-off is that, like other workers comp systems, you generally cannot sue your employer directly. But unlike state systems, you may still sue third parties (we will get to that, it is huge).

Where did this law come from?

Until the 1920s, longshoremen and harbor workers lived in a legal no-mans-land. The Supreme Court had ruled in Southern Pacific Co. v. Jensen (1917) that state workers comp could not constitutionally cover maritime workers, because admiralty was a federal matter. Congress tried to fix it in 1922 by letting states extend their workers comp to maritime workers, but the Supreme Court struck that down too.

So in 1927 Congress wrote the LHWCA. Federal workers comp for federal maritime workers. It has been amended several times since (1972 amendments expanded coverage; 1984 amendments added contemporary procedures), but the core idea has not changed: no-fault benefits for maritime workers who are not seamen.

How LHWCA fits with the Jones Act

The Jones Act and the LHWCA are mutually exclusive. You are either a seaman (Jones Act) or you are a longshore-type worker (LHWCA). You cannot be both for the same job. The distinction comes from the Chandris v. Latsis Supreme Court test from 1995, which asks whether you contribute to a vessel mission and spend a substantial portion of your work time in service of that vessel in operation.

If you spend most of your time tied to a particular vessel and you are part of its crew, you are probably a seaman. If you work at a port or shipyard and you go from vessel to vessel as cargo or repair work brings them in, you are probably an LHWCA worker. The line is not always clean, and lawyers fight over it all the time. Picking the wrong framework can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Coverage Tests

You qualify if you pass both a status test (who you are) and a situs test (where you work).

2. Who qualifies (the status and situs tests)

This two-part test is the gateway to everything. If you do not pass both, you are not covered by the LHWCA, period. Most denied claims come down to one of these tests, which is why a specialty lawyer matters from day one.

The status test: are you the right kind of worker?

The status test asks whether you are an "employee" within the meaning of the Act. 33 U.S.C. § 902(3) defines that as "any person engaged in maritime employment, including any longshoreman or other person engaged in longshoring operations, and any harborworker including a ship repairman, shipbuilder, and ship-breaker."

That captures most of the obvious workers:

• Longshoremen who load and unload vessels at ports
• Stevedores who oversee or perform longshoring operations
• Ship repairers in dry docks and on the water
• Shipbuilders at yards like Newport News, Pascagoula, Bath Iron Works
• Ship-breakers who dismantle decommissioned vessels
• Harborworkers generally engaged in maritime labor

It does not cover certain categories: clerical, secretarial, security, or data-processing workers (unless they are actively engaged in maritime operations); marina workers servicing recreational boats; workers covered by another federal program; and (the big one) seamen, who are Jones Act, not LHWCA.

The situs test: were you in the right place?

The situs test asks where the injury occurred. 33 U.S.C. § 903(a) requires injury "upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjacent pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling, or building a vessel)."

Plain English: if you got hurt on the water itself, you pass situs. If you got hurt on a pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, or any adjoining maritime area where vessels are loaded, unloaded, built, or repaired, you also pass situs. The "adjoining area" language is what got expanded in the 1972 amendments to give longshoremen meaningful coverage on the dock side of things.

The hard cases

Most LHWCA fights happen at the edges of these two tests. A truck driver who hauls cargo into and out of a port may or may not have status. A welder who works at a shipyard but on a non-maritime structure may or may not have situs. A worker who got hurt at a parking lot adjacent to a marine terminal may or may not pass situs. Courts decide these on the facts. A specialty lawyer has seen them and knows how to frame them.

3. The three extensions that widen the net

The base LHWCA covers longshoremen, harbor workers, ship repairers, shipbuilders, and ship-breakers. But Congress also extended LHWCA-style benefits to three additional groups through separate statutes. Each one matters because it brings federal-level workers compensation to workers who would otherwise be stuck with weaker state systems or no coverage at all.

OCSLA: offshore platform workers

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. § 1331 et seq.) extends LHWCA coverage to workers on fixed structures (platforms, drilling rigs, production facilities) on the Outer Continental Shelf, which is generally federal waters beyond state jurisdiction. For most of the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry, OCSLA is the framework.

The big catch: OCSLA applies to fixed platforms. Floating drilling rigs and drillships are vessels, and people working on them may be Jones Act seamen instead. The distinction was sharpened in Stewart v. Dutra Construction (2005), which held that even a dredge with limited mobility could be a "vessel" for Jones Act purposes. So a roustabout on a jack-up rig could be OCSLA or Jones Act depending on the precise nature of the rig and his connection to it. Specialty lawyers fight over these distinctions because the recovery math is very different.

Defense Base Act: civilian contractors abroad

The Defense Base Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 1651 to 1654) extends LHWCA benefits to civilian contractors working for the U.S. government overseas, including on military bases, embassies, and humanitarian operations. The DBA covered tens of thousands of contractors injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It still covers contractors at bases worldwide.

DBA cases have some unique features: benefits are paid in U.S. dollars regardless of where the worker was based, the maximum benefit rate is the same as LHWCA, and the case is generally adjudicated in the U.S. through the OWCP. But DBA cases often involve unique issues: war zone injuries, evacuation logistics, mental health (especially PTSD), and complex causation. Most workers comp lawyers have never handled a DBA case. A specialty DBA practice is a real thing.

NAFI Act: certain federal employees

The Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act (5 U.S.C. § 8171 et seq.) covers civilian employees of "non-appropriated fund instrumentalities" of the U.S. government. That includes places like post exchanges (PXs), base commissaries, officers clubs, and similar entities that operate on federal property but are not funded through Congressional appropriations. These workers get LHWCA-style benefits if they are injured on the job.

4. What kinds of injuries qualify?

Any work-related injury that happens within the LHWCA status and situs framework qualifies. Workers comp does not require negligence. If you got hurt doing your job, you are covered. Here are the most common injury patterns we see across LHWCA, OCSLA, and DBA cases.

Occupational diseases and latent injuries

The LHWCA covers occupational diseases as well as traumatic injuries. The big one historically has been asbestos exposure for shipyard workers (the Navy yard generation in particular). Mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other diseases that develop decades after exposure are all covered if they arose out of and in the course of employment. Hearing loss from chronic noise exposure is another common occupational claim. PTSD and other mental health injuries qualify if they are tied to a work event or pattern.

The notice and filing rules work differently for latent injuries (we will cover deadlines in Section 10). The general rule is that the clock starts when you knew, or should have known, that your injury was work-related, not when the exposure happened. That helps workers whose cancer or hearing loss does not surface for decades.

Medical Care

All medically necessary care, no copays, no out-of-pocket cost. And you pick your own doctor.

5. Medical benefits: who pays and who picks

Medical care under the LHWCA is genuinely generous compared to most state workers comp systems. The employer covers physicians, hospital care, surgery, prescription medications, physical therapy, prosthetics, durable medical equipment, transportation to medical appointments, and any other treatment that is medically necessary and related to the work injury. There are no caps on dollar amount or duration. If you need treatment for life, you get treatment for life.

Choosing your doctor

This is one of the biggest practical advantages of LHWCA over state workers comp. Under 33 U.S.C. § 907(b), you have the right to select your own treating physician. The employer cannot force you to see their doctor.

The rule: you must notify the employer of your choice of physician, and the physician must be approved by OWCP. In practice, most legitimate doctors are pre-approved, and the choice is yours. If you switch doctors later, you generally need OWCP approval, but a specialty lawyer makes that paperwork happen.

This matters because workers comp insurance companies typically have a roster of "company doctors" who lean toward minimizing diagnosis severity, rushing return-to-work, and finding maximum medical improvement (MMI) as quickly as possible. Picking your own doctor breaks that dynamic.

Mileage, travel, and incidental costs

The LHWCA covers mileage to and from medical appointments at the federal mileage rate, lodging if treatment requires overnight travel, and other reasonable incidental costs. Keep your receipts. Most injured workers do not realize they can get reimbursed for these things, and the insurance carrier is not going to volunteer the information.

6. Disability benefits explained

Disability benefits replace lost wages while you cannot work or while you are working with restrictions. The general formula across all four categories is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to maximum and minimum caps that change each year.

The four disability categories

The 2/3 formula and the cap

Disability rate is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage (AWW). So if your AWW was $1,500, your weekly benefit is $1,000. But there is a national maximum, set each year as 200% of the National Average Weekly Wage (NAWW). For 2025, the LHWCA max is approximately $1,832 per week. If two-thirds of your AWW exceeds the cap, you get the cap.

There is also a minimum, set as 50% of the NAWW (about $458 per week in 2025). And the cap and minimum get applied based on the year of the injury, with annual cost-of-living adjustments for ongoing permanent benefits.

7. The schedule of permanent partial disability

For certain "scheduled" injuries, the LHWCA pays a predetermined number of weeks of compensation at the disability rate. The schedule, found in 33 U.S.C. § 908(c), assigns a number of weeks to each major body part. The number is roughly proportional to the disabling impact of losing that body part.

Examples from the schedule (full loss; partial loss is pro-rated by impairment percentage):

• Arm: 312 weeks
• Leg: 288 weeks
• Hand: 244 weeks
• Foot: 205 weeks
• Eye (loss of vision): 160 weeks
• Thumb: 75 weeks
• First finger (index): 46 weeks
• Big toe: 38 weeks
• Hearing in one ear: 52 weeks
• Hearing in both ears: 200 weeks

You get the scheduled compensation regardless of whether you can still work. If you lose an arm, you get 312 weeks of compensation at your disability rate, even if you go back to a different job that pays the same as before. This is in addition to medical benefits and TTD during recovery.

Unscheduled injuries

For body parts not on the schedule (back, neck, head, internal organs, mental health injuries), permanent partial disability is calculated as a percentage of lost wage-earning capacity, not a scheduled number of weeks. This requires more medical and vocational evidence and is where many LHWCA fights happen. A specialty lawyer knows how to build the wage-earning-capacity record properly.

The Math That Pays You

Your Average Weekly Wage is the most important number in your case. Get it wrong and everything else gets paid wrong.

8. Average Weekly Wage: how it gets calculated

Your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) is the single most important number in your LHWCA case. Every disability benefit, every settlement valuation, every death benefit calculation flows from it. Getting it right matters enormously, and the insurance carriers know it. They often calculate it low and hope you do not challenge it.

The LHWCA gives three methods for calculating AWW, found at 33 U.S.C. § 910. The right method depends on the nature of the employment.

Method (a): The 52-week formula

If you worked "substantially the whole" of the year before your injury, your AWW is your total earnings for the prior 52 weeks divided by 52. Simple. This method applies to workers with regular year-round employment.

Method (b): The 200 or 260 multiplier

If you did not work substantially the whole prior year (because of seasonal work, intermittent work, or recent hire), AWW is calculated differently. The basic formula: your daily wage multiplied by 200 (for 5-day-week workers) or 260 (for 6-day-week workers), divided by 52.

This method tends to favor workers in seasonal or intermittent maritime work, like longshoremen whose work depends on ship arrivals. It captures their full earning capacity rather than just their actual earnings.

Method (c): Whatever is fair

If methods (a) and (b) cannot reasonably be applied (because the employment was too irregular, the worker is too new, etc.), the OWCP uses whatever method "shall reasonably represent the annual earning capacity of the injured employee." This is the "catch-all" method, and it is where specialty lawyers earn their keep, because the calculation has real flexibility.

What counts as wages

"Wages" under 33 U.S.C. § 902(13) means "the money rate at which the service rendered is recompensed under the contract of hiring in force at the time of the injury, including the reasonable value of any advantage which is received from the employer and included for purposes of any withholding of tax."

That includes base salary or hourly wage, plus overtime, bonuses, room and board (if provided), tips, and similar items. It generally does not include fringe benefits like health insurance contributions. The case law on what counts is well-developed and a specialty lawyer knows how to push back when the carrier excludes legitimate income from the calculation.

The Big Lever

If a vessel owners negligence caused your injury, you can sue them directly. This is where the real money in LHWCA cases lives.

9. Section 905(b): the third-party negligence claim

The LHWCA generally makes workers comp the "exclusive remedy" against your employer. 33 U.S.C. § 905(a). You cannot sue the employer for negligence. That is the trade-off for getting no-fault benefits.

But the LHWCA carves out a major exception in subsection (b). If your injury was caused by the negligence of a vessel owner (or its agents) and the vessel owner is different from your employer, you can sue them for the negligence. That includes the right to a jury trial, the right to recover full common-law damages (pain and suffering, future lost wages without the LHWCA cap, etc.), and the right to negotiate from a position of leverage.

The three Scindia duties

The Supreme Court in Scindia Steam Navigation v. De Los Santos, 451 U.S. 156 (1981), defined the vessel owner duties to longshoremen. There are three:

1. The turnover duty. When the vessel is turned over to the longshoring contractor, it must be in reasonably safe condition and any hidden hazards must be warned of.
2. The active control duty. If the vessel owner retains active control over an area or piece of equipment, it has a duty of reasonable care for the safety of longshoremen working there.
3. The duty to intervene. If the vessel owner becomes aware that the longshoring contractor is failing to address an obvious hazard, the vessel owner may have a duty to intervene.

What changes when you have a 905(b) claim

A pure LHWCA case is workers comp: no-fault, capped at two-thirds of AWW (up to the national max), no jury, no pain-and-suffering money. A 905(b) case is a federal maritime negligence lawsuit: fault-based, no cap on damages, full common-law recovery, jury trial available, pain and suffering on the table.

Many LHWCA cases have a 905(b) angle because the injury happened on a vessel and the vessel was different from the employer (very common in longshoring, where the employer is a stevedoring company and the vessel is owned by a separate shipping line). Catching the 905(b) opportunity and pursuing it is where specialty representation makes a six- or seven-figure difference.

Coordinating LHWCA benefits and a 905(b) recovery

If you get LHWCA benefits and then win a 905(b) settlement or verdict, the employer (or its insurance carrier) has a lien on the third-party recovery. The mechanics: the carrier paid you LHWCA benefits, it gets paid back from the 905(b) recovery, and you keep the net. The math is complex, with credit for attorney fees and the carrier sometimes negotiating a partial waiver of the lien.

This is one of the trickiest parts of LHWCA practice. A specialty lawyer maximizes the net to the injured worker, which often means negotiating with both the vessel-owner defendant and the employer-carrier at the same time.

Clock Watch

30 days to notify. One year to file. Miss either and you may lose everything.

10. Deadlines you cannot miss

30 days to give notice

Under 33 U.S.C. § 912, you have 30 days from the date of injury (or from when you knew, or should have known, that an injury or disease was related to your employment) to give written notice to your employer or the OWCP. The notice must include the name, address, time, place, and cause of the injury, plus the nature of the injury.

The 30-day clock is strict, but the LHWCA has a forgiving "excuse" provision: failure to give timely notice does not bar a claim if the employer (or its insurance carrier) had knowledge of the injury and was not prejudiced by the delay, or if the OWCP excuses the failure based on satisfactory reasons. In practice, most "missed notice" issues get worked around if you have a real injury and a competent lawyer.

One year to file the claim

Under 33 U.S.C. § 913, you have one year from the date of injury (or one year from the last payment of compensation, if compensation has been paid) to file a formal LHWCA claim with the OWCP. For occupational diseases, the year runs from when you became aware (or should have become aware) of the relationship between the disease and your employment.

The one-year deadline is the more serious one. Miss it and you may lose the claim entirely, although the same excuse rules can sometimes apply. Specialty lawyers make sure the formal claim gets filed well within the year, often within the first month.

Three years for the 905(b) lawsuit

The Section 905(b) third-party negligence claim is governed by the federal maritime statute of limitations for personal injury, generally three years from the date of injury. This is separate from the LHWCA deadlines. You can be receiving LHWCA benefits and simultaneously preparing the 905(b) lawsuit, which is generally filed in federal district court.

11. The claim process: OWCP, ALJ, BRB

This procedural path is one of the biggest reasons specialty matters for LHWCA work. Unlike a Jones Act case (which goes to a regular federal jury trial) or a state workers comp case (which goes to a state workers comp commission), LHWCA cases go through a specific federal administrative process. A lawyer who has never been to a Department of Labor formal hearing is going to make mistakes.

Step 1: Notice and claim filing

You give written notice to the employer within 30 days. You file Form LS-203 (Employee Claim) with the OWCP within one year. The OWCP district office serving your state opens a file. The employer (through its insurance carrier) files a Notice of Controversion if it disputes the claim.

Step 2: Informal conference

If there is any dispute (about compensability, AWW, medical care, anything), the OWCP holds an informal conference. A claims examiner meets with both sides, reviews the medical and wage records, and tries to broker a resolution. Many cases resolve here, particularly when the dispute is narrow.

Step 3: Formal hearing before an ALJ

If the informal conference does not resolve things, the case goes to a formal hearing before a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the Office of Administrative Law Judges. This is like a bench trial: testimony under oath, exhibits, expert witnesses, briefs, closing arguments. The ALJ issues a written Decision and Order.

Step 4: BRB appeal

Either side can appeal the ALJ Decision and Order to the Benefits Review Board (BRB), a panel of administrative judges in Washington. The BRB reviews for legal error and substantial evidence. It does not retry facts. Appeals are briefed and sometimes orally argued. The BRB issues a written Decision and Order affirming, modifying, or reversing the ALJ.

Step 5: Circuit Court of Appeals

The BRB decision can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit covering your situs of employment. This is real federal appellate practice: appellate briefs, oral argument, three-judge panels. Few LHWCA lawyers have meaningful appellate experience. The decisions of the circuit courts (Fifth, Ninth, Second, Fourth, Eleventh in particular) shape the practical contours of LHWCA law in each region.

12. Section 8(i) settlements

Most LHWCA cases settle rather than getting fully litigated. The mechanism is the Section 8(i) settlement, named after 33 U.S.C. § 908(i). It is a one-time lump sum payment that fully and finally resolves the LHWCA case in exchange for the worker giving up future indemnity and (usually) medical benefits.

What gets resolved in an 8(i) settlement

The standard 8(i) settlement covers the full LHWCA case: past, present, and future indemnity benefits (disability payments) and future medical benefits. Sometimes medicals are carved out and kept open, depending on the worker prognosis and the carrier willingness. The settlement is reviewed and approved by the OWCP claims examiner or the ALJ. Approval is not automatic; the agency must find the settlement to be in the workers best interest.

How 8(i) settlements get priced

The math depends on the case: future indemnity expected (years of disability times weekly rate), future medical expected (often estimated by a Medicare Set-Aside analysis or a life-care plan), and the strength of the disputed issues. Settlement values can range from tens of thousands of dollars for short-term temporary disability to seven figures for permanent total disability with extensive medical needs.

The 905(b) interaction

If you have a 905(b) third-party claim running in parallel, the 8(i) settlement strategy gets complex. The employer (or its carrier) has a lien on your 905(b) recovery for the LHWCA benefits it paid you. Settling the LHWCA case while the 905(b) is open changes the lien math. A specialty lawyer coordinates both cases so the net to you is maximized, which often means timing the LHWCA settlement to come after the 905(b) recovery (or vice versa) depending on the specifics.

For The Families

Surviving spouses and dependent children receive ongoing weekly benefits, funeral expenses, and (often) a separate wrongful death recovery.

13. Death benefits for surviving families

LHWCA death benefits are governed by 33 U.S.C. § 909. The benefits go to surviving family members on a percentage scale based on the deceased AWW. They continue for life (with adjustments) and represent meaningful long-term income replacement.

The percentage scale

• Surviving spouse alone: 50% of deceased AWW
• Surviving spouse with one or more children: 50% to spouse, plus 16.66% per child (total capped at 66.66% of AWW)
• One or more children, no surviving spouse: 50% to first child, plus 16.66% per additional child
• Other dependents (parents, siblings): Varies based on degree of dependency

The maximum and minimum weekly rates are the same as for disability benefits (about $1,832 max, $458 min in 2025). Children continue receiving benefits until age 18, or age 23 if a full-time student, or for life if permanently disabled.

Funeral expenses

The Act provides up to $3,000 for "reasonable funeral expenses" under 33 U.S.C. § 909(b). This figure has not been adjusted in decades and is typically inadequate to cover actual funeral costs.

The 905(b) wrongful death angle

If the death was caused by vessel-owner negligence, the family can bring a separate Section 905(b) wrongful death lawsuit on top of the LHWCA death benefits. The recovery on the 905(b) case includes pecuniary losses (lost future earnings, lost services), funeral expenses, and (in some circuits) loss of consortium. This is where specialty representation matters most for family cases.

DBA Specifics

For civilian contractors injured working for the U.S. government overseas. Same benefit structure as LHWCA, but the cases come with unique issues.

14. Defense Base Act specifics

The Defense Base Act extends LHWCA-style benefits to civilian contractors working for the United States overseas. Iraq and Afghanistan covered the modern era of DBA litigation, but the DBA still applies broadly: U.S. military bases worldwide, embassies, USAID projects, government-funded humanitarian work, and other federal contracts performed outside the United States.

Who is covered under DBA

The DBA covers civilian employees working outside the United States on:

• U.S. military bases (under the original Defense Base Act framework)
• Contracts for defense projects funded by the U.S. government
• Public works contracts for the U.S. government performed abroad
• USAID and other foreign-assistance projects funded by the U.S.
• The Welfare and Recreation Act for certain morale, welfare, and recreation activities

That is a wide net. Truck drivers, security contractors, IT workers, translators, cooks, construction workers, medical staff: all potentially DBA-covered if working under qualifying U.S. government contracts.

Unique issues in DBA cases

War-zone injuries. Combat-related injuries (mortar attacks, IED explosions, sniper fire) are generally covered if they occurred during the course of employment. The DBA has special provisions for "war hazard" exposures.

Mental health and PTSD. Civilian contractors returning from war zones often develop PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other psychological injuries. The DBA covers these, but they require careful medical documentation and specialty advocacy.

Foreign medical care. Workers injured overseas may receive initial treatment locally, then be evacuated to a U.S. military hospital or stateside facility. The DBA covers all of this care, including transport.

Foreign witnesses and evidence. Building the case may require depositions of witnesses in Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever the injury occurred. This is procedurally complex and expensive.

Currency, residency, and benefits delivery. Benefits are paid in U.S. dollars, but workers may live overseas, hold dual citizenship, or face other logistical issues.

By Industry

Every covered maritime sector has its own hazards, its own employers, and its own legal patterns.

15. Industry-specific notes

The LHWCA covers a wide variety of maritime sectors. Each has its own pattern of injuries, its own employer landscape, and its own typical 905(b) opportunity. Here is a quick orientation across the main industries.

16. Major LHWCA cases that shaped the law

A handful of Supreme Court and circuit court decisions define the practical contours of LHWCA practice today. Knowing them is part of what separates a specialty lawyer from a generalist.

The Right Specialist

LHWCA practice has its own administrative track, its own benefit calculations, its own 905(b) opportunity. Generalists get this wrong.

17. How to pick an LHWCA lawyer

This is the most important section of the whole guide. Most workers injured under LHWCA call a personal injury or workers comp lawyer in their area. The vast majority of those lawyers have never handled an LHWCA case. They will accept the case, do their best, and miss critical things: the right AWW, the 905(b) opportunity, the procedural strategy at OWCP. The result is benefits left on the table and sometimes catastrophic claim mistakes.

What to look for in an LHWCA lawyer

1. Specialty concentration. Ask what percentage of their practice is LHWCA work. You want 50% or more. Many top LHWCA lawyers do nothing but maritime injury work.
2. Federal administrative experience. Specifically, OWCP claims experience, ALJ hearing experience, and BRB appellate experience. Each is a different skill.
3. Section 905(b) trial readiness. The 905(b) third-party case is where the real money lives. Your lawyer must be able to file it in federal district court and try it to a jury if needed.
4. AWW expertise. Ask how they calculate AWW. A specialty lawyer can walk you through Methods (a), (b), and (c) without thinking. A generalist will have to look it up.
5. DBA capability (if applicable). If you were injured overseas under a U.S. government contract, you want a lawyer with actual DBA experience, not someone who is about to learn DBA on your case.
6. Case-funding resources. Serious LHWCA cases with 905(b) angles can require $50,000 to $200,000 or more in expert and case expenses. The firm needs to fund the case without pressuring you into early settlement.
7. Direct attorney access. Ask who personally handles your case. If you are being passed to a paralegal, that is a warning sign for any complex federal practice.

18. Questions to ask in a free consultation

Bring this list to your free consultation. The lawyer should be able to answer all of them without hesitation. If they cannot, they are not the right lawyer for your LHWCA case.

About their experience

• What percentage of your practice is LHWCA work?
• How many LHWCA cases do you handle per year?
• Have you handled cases at OWCP, ALJ, and BRB levels?
• Have you tried Section 905(b) cases to verdict?
• If applicable: Have you handled DBA cases? How many?

About my specific case

• Do I qualify under the status and situs tests?
• What is my likely Average Weekly Wage, and which method will be used?
• Do I have a Section 905(b) third-party claim? Against whom?
• What is the timeline you expect for my case?
• What documents do you need from me in the first 30 days?
• How will you communicate with me throughout the case?

About fees and money

• What is your fee structure for LHWCA and for 905(b)?
• Are you handling this on a contingency basis?
• Who pays case expenses, and when are they reimbursed?
• If I dont win, do I owe you anything?
• How is the employer-carrier lien on a 905(b) recovery typically handled?

About their team

• Will you personally handle my case, or someone else in your office?
• Who is my main point of contact?
• How quickly can I expect callbacks?

19. Red flags: warning signs to walk away

Here is what to watch for. Any one of these is a yellow flag. Two or more and you should keep looking.

Red flag: vague answers about LHWCA specifics

If the lawyer cannot explain Section 905(b) without consulting a book, they have not done enough LHWCA work to handle your case well. The 905(b) action is the single most important feature of LHWCA practice.

Red flag: no federal administrative experience

If they have never tried a case before an ALJ at the Office of Administrative Law Judges, they may settle your case too cheaply because they are not prepared to go the distance. Insurance carriers know which lawyers will fight at hearings and which will not. The lawyers willing to fight get better settlements.

Red flag: pressure to settle quickly

An early settlement offer is often a clue that the case is worth more than the offer. A good lawyer will tell you whether the offer is reasonable based on the math, not push you to take it.

Red flag: cannot articulate the 905(b) opportunity

If your injury happened on a vessel and the lawyer does not raise Section 905(b) within the first conversation, they are missing the biggest potential recovery in your case.

Red flag: no DBA experience for an overseas case

DBA cases have unique procedural and evidentiary issues. A first-time DBA lawyer is going to learn on your case, and the carrier knows it.

Red flag: passing you to a paralegal

You should know the actual lawyer who is handling your file. A paralegal can do many things, but representing you at an OWCP informal conference or ALJ hearing is not one of them.

Red flag: charging hourly

LHWCA and 905(b) cases are virtually always handled on contingency. A lawyer who wants hourly billing is signaling either they expect a weak case or they are not actually a maritime injury specialist.

The Strategic Choice

Lump sum now versus weekly benefits forever. The right answer depends on your specific medical and financial picture.

20. Settling vs. continuing on benefits

One of the most important strategic decisions in an LHWCA case is whether to accept a Section 8(i) lump-sum settlement or continue receiving weekly benefits. This is rarely a simple choice and the right answer depends on individual factors.

Arguments for settling (lump sum)

• Certainty: a lump sum is yours, no more disputes
• Investment opportunity: a properly invested settlement can generate income for life
• Closure: ending the case lets you move forward without insurance company involvement
• Time value: money now is worth more than money over decades
• Reduced carrier interference: no more medical surveillance, IMEs, work-capacity disputes

Arguments for continuing on benefits

• Open medical: ongoing medical care covered, possibly for life
• COLA: permanent total disability benefits get annual cost-of-living adjustments
• Risk transfer: if your condition worsens, you are still covered
• No discount: lump-sum settlements typically discount future benefits significantly

What good lawyers actually do

A specialty LHWCA lawyer runs the math both ways before recommending a path. The key inputs: life expectancy, expected future medical needs (often via a Medicare Set-Aside analysis or life-care plan), discount rate, current weekly benefit amount, and the specific settlement offer on the table. The right answer is rarely obvious.

One critical principle: never settle while the medical picture is unstable. If your treating physician thinks you might need future surgery, or your prognosis is uncertain, the right move is usually to wait until the medical picture is clearer. Insurance carriers want to settle early because the uncertainty cuts in their favor; a specialty lawyer waits them out.

21. Why specialty matters even more here

The Jones Act guide makes the case that specialty maritime representation matters. For LHWCA work, the case is even stronger.

Most lawyers in the United States have never opened an LHWCA file. The cases live in a federal administrative track that does not exist in any other practice area. The procedural rules (claims at OWCP, hearings before an ALJ, appeals to the BRB and then to a Circuit Court of Appeals) are unique. The benefit calculations (AWW under three methods, two-thirds rate, scheduled disabilities, the COLA, the lien against 905(b) recoveries) are technical and easy to get wrong. The 905(b) third-party action is the single biggest source of recovery in many cases and requires specialty federal maritime trial experience.

If you injured your back on a regular job in Texas, dozens of competent personal injury or workers comp lawyers can handle it. If you injured your back as a longshoreman in Houston, you need one of the small group of lawyers who concentrate in LHWCA practice. The difference in outcome is routinely the difference between a $80,000 settlement and a $400,000 settlement plus a parallel $1.5 million 905(b) recovery.

Maritime law is a tribal practice area. Lawyers who do it know each other. The carriers know the lawyers and price cases accordingly. When a specialty maritime plaintiffs lawyer files a case, the carrier prices it differently than when a general personal injury lawyer files the same case. That is not a guess; it is documented behavior. Picking specialty representation is the single biggest financial decision in an LHWCA case.