The Defense Base Act doctrine from O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon (1951) extending coverage to injuries arising from the conditions of overseas employment.
If you were hurt working as a civilian contractor overseas, the Defense Base Act is the law that pays you, and the question you most want answered is what your claim is worth. The honest answer is that there is no single number, but the ranges, the benefit formula, and the factors that move a…
A denial letter from a Defense Base Act insurer is written to sound final. It is not. The DBA was built to compensate civilians hurt working overseas for U.S. government contractors, and it hands you something most injured workers never realize they have: a legal presumption that your injury is covered, a layered appeal process…
Not every injury from overseas contract work is visible. For many civilian contractors, the lasting wound is psychological, and the law that protects them recognizes it. But a Defense Base Act PTSD claim is also one of the hardest to get paid, because what you cannot see, an insurer will dispute. Knowing how these claims…
If you were hurt working overseas for a U.S. government contractor, the first thing to know is that a federal law almost certainly covers you, no matter your job title or your nationality. The Defense Base Act is the workers’ compensation system built for civilians who support U.S. operations abroad, and its protections are broader…
If you have worked as a civilian contractor for the U.S. government overseas, on a military base, supporting a federal contract, or in an embassy or development project abroad, and you have been hurt, become ill, or developed PTSD, you may be entitled to substantial benefits under the Defense Base Act. The protections are broader…
