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Maritime Injury Lawyers

If you are a longshoreman and have been injured on the job, you might be feeling overwhelmed and confused. You are sure there must be avenues that will provide you with the compensation you need to cover your mounting medical bills and financial needs, but you aren’t sure what they are or how to go about finding out more.

Our maritime injury lawyers can help. Maritime law is a vast and confusing subject; there are multiple avenues for recovery, and developing a strategy to make sure that all of your bases are covered is half the battle. We invite you to browse the resources on our website, and then hope you will contact our maritime injury lawyers for your free case review.

Visit our Maritime and Offshore Injury Homepage for more general information about Maritime Injuries.

Who is Covered by the LHWCA?

A longshoreman is any worker who is involved in the process of tying up, loading, unloading, or casting off a ship.

This is clearly a broad and inclusive category, which includes the following types of workers:

  • Ship-repairers
  • Shipbuilders
  • Shipbreakers
  • Harbor Construction Workers

Longshoremen often work with very heavy cargo and hazardous materials. They are surrounded by heavy equipment with many moving parts that can easily injure or maim the workers around it. They may also be called upon to operate equipment themselves. Because of the hazardous nature of the tasks that longshoremen are called upon to perform everyday, the federal government has enacted the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act to provide compensation and rehabilitation to employees that have been injured on the job.

What does the LHWCA Provide?

Under the LHWCA, an injured longshoreman can be compensated for the medical care he needs to recover, including vocational rehabilitation services. This is a very valuable service that can help an injured worker get back into the workforce in the appropriate capacity.

In order to be covered, the injuries must occur on the job, and on navigable waters or the adjoining areas of such waters, such as docks where loading, unloading, building, and repairing may take place. Injuries may include diseases arising from the occupation. An example of this may be hearing loss. The Act also provides survivor benefits in case of death.

The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs oversees the LHWCA. The maritime injury lawyers at Kirkendall Dwyer LLP can help you navigate the steps required in order to recover compensation for your injuries.

LHWCA Process

One of the maritime injury lawyers from Kirkendall Dwyer LLP can make the process of recovering under the LHWCA much easier on you. As an injured harbor worker, you have enough to contend with. You will probably find it very difficult to comply with all aspects of the rules that allow for recovery. There are rules that require you to give notice to various parties within certain time frames, and if these rules are not complied with, you risk losing your benefits.

As a harbor worker, you are entitled to the protections of the LHWCA. We encourage you to contact our maritime injury lawyers to walk you through this process, so that you can rest assured you are getting as complete a recovery as possible.

Contact the Maritime Injury Lawyers at Kirkendall Dwyer LLP Today

Longshoremen, stevedores, and other harbor workers risk their well-being on the job everyday. This physically grueling work can lead to serious injuries and even death. The federal government recognizes this and has provided harbor workers with protections under the LHWCA, but the process must be carefully followed and time restrictions must be met in order to recover compensation. Our maritime injury lawyers are ready to help you seven days a week. When you contact us, you will speak directly to an attorney that can get you the immediate answers that you need. Get on the road to recovery; contact us today.