Practice Areas - Workers' Compensation

March 11, 2010

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

We offer a specialized personal injury defense practice devoted solely to workers' compensation cases and issues, with a particular concentration in matters arising under the United States Longshore and Harborworkers' Compensation Act, (the LHWCA). However, our workers' compensation practice also includes defense of cases arising under New York and New Jersey state compensation laws.

Because of recent changes and trends in jurisdictional laws regarding whether an injured party is a Jones Act seaman, a longshoreman under the LHWCA, or a person entitled only to statutory state workers' compensation benefits, we frequently provide our clients with opinions on these complex jurisdictional issues before claims are even filed. In addition, our clients are often faced with insurance coverage issues and disputes, where we also provide guidance.

When a claim is filed and needs to be vigorously defended, we have vast practice experience before the United States Department of Labor's Longshore Division in handling such cases. In the past, we have not only tried a significant number of these matters before Administrative Law Judges, but have also appeared before the Benefits Review Board and Circuit Courts of Appeal to deal with the appellate issues that arise under LHWCA litigation. As can be seen from the following representative cases, we have litigated not only traumatic injury cases, but occupational disease cases as well.

Representative Cases

Because the issues which arise in the workers' compensation context also frequently arise in the area of industrial accidents and can involve occupational diseases, we refer visitors to the descriptions of our Industrial Accidents and Occupational Disease Defense practice areas as well.