Defense Base Act Lawyers Blog

Private defense contractors are more important to the United States Military than ever before. The Department of Defense (DOD) has mission requirements throughout the world and uniformed servicemen and women simply can not do everything. We have the finest and most dedicated military personnel on earth, but private defense contractors are still vital to the missions. Contractors provide critical logistical support "on the ground" at defense bases and occupied territories wherever our military personnel are based or deployed.

Despite common perceptions, our defense contractors are not new! This is not a brand new trend. During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army relied heavily on contractors. The newly formed army was ill equipped, untrained, and incredibly inexperienced, but they had the drive and the spirit to prevail. The contractors of the day provided food, clothing, horses, wagons, weapons, scouting services, and other goods and services necessary to help the Army fight for the freedom of all Americans.

Today we need fewer horses and wagons. Our Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force are incredibly equipped, well trained, experienced, and they still have that drive and dedication that motivated the first Continental Army recruits. Also today's military forces do still need the private defense contractors. In the past twenty years, the missions in the Balkans, Somalia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and in Iraq have demonstrated the continuing and growing importance of private defense contractors. In these missions, the contractors supplied translation services, local intelligence, security, construction work, and they have fulfilled a multitude of other services. They also provide local supplies where needed.

Unfortunately, working with the military in their missions can be hazardous. Even where there is no active armed conflict, training accidents still happen. Trucks can get into crashes. It can be as simple as a translator sitting on a defective chair that collapses in a conference room, etc., etc. Of course, where there is armed conflict or an organized insurgent presence, injuries and death can easily take place. An insurgency of locals can cause incredible trouble to the military and to the defense contractors.

When an active duty serviceman or woman is injured or killed, the U.S. Military provides medical care; evacuation, surgery, physical therapy, medication, etc., or death / survivor benefits if death takes place. The United States Department of Veteran Affairs continues to provide medical benefits even after the serviceman or woman is discharged from active duty service. So, what happens to the private defense contractor?

The United States Defense Base Act provides medical care and treatment; as well as death benefits if the contractor dies. This protection covers you if you are an American, an Iraqi, an Afghan, a German, a Kuwaiti, an Egyptian, etc., etc. It covers anyone of any nationality anywhere in the world that is injured or killed while serving as a contractor aiding the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force at defense bases, occupied territories, and other sites. To secure these valuable medical and financial benefits (lost wages), you or your family members should immediately contact a Defense Base Act lawyer. By contacting and consulting with a Defense Base Act attorney, you can pursue your claim from anywhere in the world. The reach of the statute is great, but the rules and time requirements are complex, so legal counsel is critical to your receipt of the right benefits. An experienced attorney based in Florida can easily handle these cases throughout the world.

Jo Ann Hoffman, Esquire, our founding partner, (shown here with featured lecturer, Dr. Bruce Berkowitz) participated in the 2011 Defense Base Act Conference held at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, she met with fellow practitioners who devote themselves to helping private defense contractors who aid and assist the United States Military (Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force) in their missions throughout the world. Private defense contractors provide logistic support, technical support and other valued services to our military at bases, outposts, occupied territories, and on other missions on all seven continents.

The 2011 Defense Base Act Conference brought together some of the finest legal and medical minds from our nation and internationally so that they can help educate each other to better help those who are injured or killed while on assignment as military contractors. These cases present serious and complex legal issues that those attending the conference reviewed and discussed. The reach of the Defense Base Act is extraordinary. It is United States Federal Law and it applies all over our planet, applies to all kinds of injuries, and it applies to persons regardless of their nationality. As we reported in prior articles, a private military contractor can be a German or any other national working in Iraq for a company from Great Britain, but aiding the U.S. Army and he or she is protected by this law.

The types of injuries covered can range from a simple motor vehicle accident in Afghanistan where a defense contractor is just delivering food supplies to someone killed tragically by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) near Baghdad to someone providing translation service in Japan that is exposed to radiation. All necessary medical care and treatment can be secured through the help of an experienced Defense Base Act lawyer. Further, lost wages and other monetary benefits (even a possible settlement) can be received by an injured DBA claimant with the help of a Defense Base Act attorney.

The medical issues are profound as well. The injuries range from exposure to regional diseases or parasitic exposure endemic to a certain areas, through 'normal' orthopedic and neurological injuries, through to a much more catastrophic losses of limbs (amputation), paralysis, and even death. Emotional and psychiatric consequences also can play a role in these cases. Pretty much anything that can happen to the human body, can become a part of a Defense Base Act case.

Ms. Hoffman (shown here with the Hon. Lance Africk, a Federal Judge) devotes her energies, time, resources, and talent towards helping the injured and their families. Her passion is to help them get the best possible medical care and as much financial compensation as the laws allow. Please contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns that you may have as to whether you are entitled to the worldwide protection and the benefits of the Defense Base Act; and then let her and our entire team help you.