Defense Base Act Articles
For Civilians Injured Overseas

Statute of Limitations in Defense Base Act Cases

Our experienced Defense Base Act lawyers are often asked how long does an civilian contractor has to file a claim under the DBA act.

In most cases the civilian injured overseas has is one year from the date of the injury to file a DBA claim. If an injured worker was being paid DBA compensation, and then the employer terminates the payments, the worker will also have a statute of limitations of one year from the time that the employer terminated compensation to file a claim for additional compensation benefits.

However there are exceptions to these statute of limitations that may give a worker longer to file a claim.

In this article our lawyers discuss the general statute of limitation exceptions that can apply to Defense Base Act cases. However, the only way to know specifically how long you have to file your DBA claim is to discuss your case with an experienced lawyer.

Statute of Limitations on Occupational Disease Defense Base Act Cases

Occupational diseases are injuries or illnesses which develops as a result of harmful workplace conditions.

If a DBA claim is for an “occupational disease” – including hearing loss or exposure to toxic chemicals – the applicant has two years to file a DBA claim.  And, the two years does not start to run until the worker first becomes aware of the relationship between the occupational disease and their employment.

In many cases the insurance company will try to deny a DBA claim for occupational disease by contesting when the disease manifested, and/or when the employee actually became aware of the link between the disease and their employment. If this happens, it is very important to retain a qualified Defense Base Act attorney to help you fight the employer and the DBA insurer.

Employers Failure to file Defense Base Act Form LS-202

Another exception to the one year statute of limitations is applied if the employer does not file the required Employer’s First Report of Injury (Form LS-202) with the Department of Labor.  Employers must file an LS-202 Form with the Department of Labor within 10 days of their knowledge of any injury which causes the loss of one or more of your shifts of work.

When the employer fails to file the form, the worker has one year from the date the employer files the report, instead of from the date of injury.

Best Defense Base Act Lawyer

If you are a civilian contractor injured abroad and your employers DBA insurance carrier is not paying you – and/or has advised you that the statute of limitations has expired – it is important to talk to an experienced Defense Base Act Lawyer as soon as possible.

Our highly specialized Defense Base Act lawyers are committed to ensuring that every injured or disabled civilian employee obtains the benefits he or she has earned. We have successfully filed hundreds of Defense Base Act applications and appeals – obtaining millions of dollars in DBA benefits in over four decades of legal service.

Call today, or fill out the short form on the right to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION with one of our skilled and experienced Defense Base Act lawyers.

Free Consultation with a Defense Base Act Lawyers: 800-964-8047