THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS UNDER THE LHWCA

As an injured employee, you are entitled to file a third-party suit against any responsible third party companies for your injury.  However, as a practical matter it is sometimes not worth pursuing third parties unless the claim is somewhat substantial.  This will often depend upon how negligent the third party was in causing your injury and the nature and extent of your injury.  The LHWCA provides your employer with a statutory lien for reimbursement and repayment of any and all compensation and medical benefits it may have paid to you.  If you file a third-party claim against any negligent third party, your employer is entitled to receive the full amount of compensation and medical benefits it has paid to you or on your behalf from any type of settlement that you may receive from the third party.  There are ways a good lawyer can negotiate this lien down, or even require that your employer add ‘new money’ to any third party settlement.  But the lien sometimes makes it very difficult for you to actually recover any substantial money from a third party unless the third party is truly at fault for causing a significant injury to you.

You should speak with an attorney in order to properly evaluate any possible third-party claims that you may have.  Even though the statutory lien enjoyed by your employer under the LHWCA seems to make it difficult to file a successful third-party claim, a good maritime attorney will be able to tell you immediately if it is worth pursuing any type of third-party claim that may be available to you.  And often a successful third-party claim can result in significantly greater recovery for you as an injured employee than you will be entitled to under the Longshore Act from your employer.  This is true even though your employer may be entitled to receive money out of your third-party claim.  Thus while the statutory lien can present a challenge to some third-party claims, it is critical that you evaluate each third-party claim independently and discuss each possible third-party claim with a qualified maritime attorney.

Complete this simple form now for us to review your situation. You may be entitled to file a third party claim or avoid Longshore jurisdiction altogether, but we can’t help you if you don’t contact us!
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