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State ALABAMA ALASKA ARIZONA ARKANSAS CALIFORNIA COLORADO CONNECTICUT DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA GEORGIA HAWAII IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MAINE MARYLAND MASSACHUSETTS MICHIGAN MINNESOTA MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI MONTANA NEBRASKA NEVADA NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW MEXICO NEW YORK NORTH CAROLINA NORTH DAKOTA OHIO OKLAHOMA OREGON PENNSYLVANIA PUERTO RICO RHODE ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS UTAH VERMONT VIRGINIA WASHINGTON WEST VIRGINIA WISCONSIN WYOMING

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Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act or LHWCA

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act or LHWCA provides workers compensation benefits for maritime workers who do not meet the definition of seamen under the Jones Act. Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act benefits are like those of state workers' compensation, and are not based on finding the employer at fault. The benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers COmpensation Act include disability payments and rehabilitation services. The act also provides benefits to survivors when a maritime worker dies from work-related injuries.

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act is a comprehensive workers' compensation plan for maritime workers who are injured on navigable waters but do not meet the defination of seamen under the Jones Act. The act was written because these maritime workers often received no workers compensation protection because the Jones Act and state workers' compensation laws didn't apply to them. The compensation system is administered by the Federal Department of Labor and injured workers who qualify for coverage are entitled to disability benefits. Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act the right to receive benefits does not depend on a finding that the employer was at fault for the worker's injuries.

Maritime workers commonly covered under the Longshore and Harbor Worker' Act include the following workers:

• Loading/unloading vessels
• Servicing vessels
• Repairing vessels
• Building a vessels
• Truck drivers
• Forklift workers
• Crane operators
• Cargo workers

Injured Workers Must Act Quickly to Protect their Rights

Workers who are covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Act have only 30 days to report and injury or work related illness to their employer. In addition to notifying your employer within 30 days, injured workers must also submit a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act claim for benefits must be filed with the Department of Labor within one year from the date of injury or diagnosed work related injury.

Employers have 14 days to dispute the claim or begin making payments. If an employer disputes the claim there is a conciliation procedure designed to help the parties come to an agreement about how the dispute should be resolved. If the parties cannot resolve the problem, an administrative law judge (ALJ) working for the Department will conduct a hearing and render a decision.

Ability to File Suit Against Other Entities

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act also allows an injured worker to sue persons or entities, other than the employer or a co-worker, whom the worker believes to be at fault for his or her injuries. Such when a worker is injured on a vessel, there may be a claim of negligence against the vessel and its owner. However, the worker is not permitted to allege a claim of unseaworthiness, because that claim is reserved to seamen. These claims are subject to state and federal statutes of limitations.