Defense Base Act Lawyers Blog

For those who are interested in reviewing the decisions rendered by the Benefit Review Board, the court in Defense Base Act cases and Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act cases, please see the following link: http://www.dol.gov/brb/decisions/lngshore/published/main.htm. Once you are at this web page, you can simply click on the year of the decision and bring up the specific case to find out what the court ordered and what law was applied. This link will be helpful to those trying cases and keeping up to date with the law.

Additionally, please remember that a claim for medical benefits in a Defense Base Act case or a Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act case is never time-barred; and when the attorney establishes the claimant's entitlement to medical expenses, the attorney has successfully prosecuted the claim, entitling him or her to an attorney's fee.

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.

Hello and Welcome to the Blog!

Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman & Vance B. Moore, P.A., are excited to celebrate the launch of our new blog -- the Defense Base Act Lawyers Blog. We'll be keeping you updated on all the most recent news in the DBA claims industry and hope to be a resource for you if you or a loved one has been injured in the course and scope of employment performing public work overseas under a contract with the U.S. government. Our attorneys have over 57 years of combined experience representing injured workers, and we know those contracted with the U.S. military overseas are entitled to medical and compensation benefits just as any other employee working at home in the United States. Under the Defense Base Act (DBA), government contracted employees can receive medical benefits and lost wages compensation, so if you're an injured contractor employee, make sure that you get the help you deserve. If you have any doubts as to whether you're covered under the Defense Base Act, be sure to contact an attorney to be absolutely certain.

The launch of the blog couldn't be better timed. We're gearing up for the 2011 Defense Base Act conference, known as the "Loyola Annual Longshore Conference." The conference is co-sponsored by the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and the United States Department of Labor. This year's DBA conference will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in New Orleans, LA, from March 24-25. March will be here before you know it, so keep checking back to hear the latest updates for the 2011 DBA Conference!

Your Injury Attorneys,
Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman & Vance B. Moore, P.A.