Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act: Maritime Workers' Rights in 2025

Federal Workers' Compensation for Maritime Workers

Most American workers who are injured on the job turn to their state's workers' compensation system for benefits. Maritime and waterfront workers operate under a different legal framework: the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), a federal statute administered by the Department of Labor.

The LHWCA provides federal workers' compensation benefits for maritime workers who are injured on navigable waters or in adjacent areas. Understanding who qualifies, what benefits the Act provides, and how the claims process works is essential for any worker or family member dealing with a maritime workplace injury.

Who Is Covered by the LHWCA?

The LHWCA covers workers who meet both a "status" test and a "situs" test.

Status Test

The worker must perform maritime employment — work that is integral to the loading, unloading, repairing, or building of vessels. Covered occupations include:

Longshore workers who load and unload cargo
Ship repairers and ship builders working in U.S. shipyards
Drydock workers
Harbor construction workers
Marine terminal operators
Certain harbor pilots (though the Jones Act may apply to Jones Act seamen instead)

Workers who do not qualify include clerical staff whose work is not integral to maritime operations, and workers covered by other federal compensation schemes.

Situs Test

The injury must occur on the navigable waters of the United States, or in an area adjacent to navigable waters customarily used for loading, unloading, repairing, or building vessels. This includes:

Piers, wharves, and docks
Marine terminals and dry docks
Adjoining areas typically used for maritime commerce

Workers injured on a vessel itself who are seamen (members of the vessel's crew) are generally covered by the Jones Act, not the LHWCA.

LHWCA Benefits vs. State Workers' Compensation

The LHWCA provides benefits in several key categories:

Medical Benefits

The LHWCA provides medical benefits without a monetary cap. All reasonable medical treatment for covered injuries is paid, including surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, prescription medications, and prosthetics. There is no time limit on medical benefits as long as treatment is related to the compensable injury.

Disability Benefits

The LHWCA classifies disability into four categories:

**Temporary total disability (TTD):** Two-thirds of the worker's average weekly wage during total disability. The national average weekly wage caps the benefit.
**Temporary partial disability (TPD):** Two-thirds of the difference between the pre-injury wage and the post-injury wage-earning capacity.
**Permanent partial disability (PPD):** Based on a scheduled award for specific body parts or, for unscheduled injuries (back, internal organs), based on loss of wage-earning capacity.
**Permanent total disability (PTD):** Two-thirds of average weekly wage for the duration of disability.

Benefits are generally higher than most state workers' comp programs because the LHWCA's wage replacement is based on two-thirds of the national average weekly wage, which is typically higher than individual state averages.

Death Benefits

When a maritime worker dies from a compensable injury, the LHWCA provides:

50 percent of the worker's average weekly wage to a surviving spouse
An additional 16.67 percent per dependent child
Funeral expenses up to a specified federal limit

The LHWCA Claims Process

The LHWCA claims process is administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) through district directors and, for disputed claims, by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs).

Filing a Claim

A worker must file a claim (LS-203 form) with the district director within one year of the injury. For occupational diseases, the one-year period runs from the worker's knowledge of the disease and its work relationship.

The employer and its insurance carrier have the right to accept or controverted the claim. If the claim is controverted, the matter proceeds through OWCP informal conferences and, if unresolved, formal hearing before an ALJ.

Disputes and Appeals

Disputes are heard by ALJs at the Office of Administrative Law Judges. ALJ decisions can be appealed to the Benefits Review Board and then to the federal circuit courts of appeal. This process can take years for complex cases.

The LHWCA and Third-Party Tort Claims

The LHWCA, like state workers' comp, bars the worker from suing their employer in tort. However, it expressly preserves third-party tort claims against parties other than the employer. When a defective piece of cargo equipment injures a dock worker, or when a vessel owner (who is not the employer) creates a hazardous condition that injures a longshoreman, the worker can bring a tort claim against the third party while receiving LHWCA benefits from the employer.

Third-party maritime tort claims can result in full damages — including pain and suffering — unlike LHWCA benefits, which are purely compensatory. The combination of LHWCA benefits and a third-party tort case is often the optimal strategy for workers with serious injuries.

Occupational Diseases Under the LHWCA

The LHWCA covers occupational diseases caused by maritime employment, including asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other conditions caused by asbestos exposure in shipyards. Mesothelioma claims under the LHWCA are particularly significant because shipyard workers historically faced some of the highest asbestos exposure levels of any occupation.

LHWCA mesothelioma claims can be filed simultaneously with asbestos tort claims against product manufacturers, providing both immediate compensation and the potential for substantial tort recovery.

Consulting an attorney who specializes in maritime workers' compensation and tort law is strongly advisable for any serious LHWCA claim.