What LHWCA Benefits Am I Eligible For?

A longshoreman, dockworker or any stevedore, who has been injured in a shipyard or harbor, may be eligible for a variety of benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act that include medical care, disability and rehabilitation.

Medical benefits for a worker under the LHWCA can include medical expenses, hospitalization costs, surgical costs, and costs of medical supplies. It can also include the cost of travel for treatment.

The employee may be eligible for disability compensation, which is paid every 2 weeks, while the person suffers total disability because of the injury. The kind of payments that are made for disability can include permanent total and temporary total disability, permanent partial disability and temporary partial and nonscheduled permanent partial disability

Permanent total and temporary total disability payments may be equal to the employee’s average weekly wage.

Permanent partial disability payments can be made if the worker has suffered loss of certain parts of the body or the use of certain parts of the body. For instance, if the person has suffered an injury that has necessitated amputation of the arm, hand, fingers, limbs, or if he has suffered an injury that renders him unable to use these limbs, then he may be eligible for partial disability payments.

A person, who’s eligible for temporary partial and nonscheduled permanent partial disability, will receive compensation equal to two-thirds of his weekly wage loss or loss of his income earning capacity.

The worker may also be eligible for vocational benefits, including tuition, books and services. These benefits are provided when the injury is such that he cannot return to the former job.