You got hurt on an overseas contract. Somebody in the office gave you a claim number, said the insurance company would call, and that was the last plain answer you got. You have never seen the policy. So who is paying the hospital? Can you keep your own doctor? And what if nobody bought coverage for your job?
I am Mark Hirsch. I handle Defense Base Act attorney for civilian contractors, plus Longshore Act claims nationwide. Hardly anyone who calls has read the policy their benefits come from, so they learn what it covers one denial at a time.
Here is the short answer. Defense Base Act insurance is workers' compensation coverage your employer has to buy for civilian work on a United States government contract overseas. You never pay a cent of it.
- It pays your medical care and part of your lost wages, whether or not anyone was careless.
- You choose your treating doctor, not the insurance company.
- Harm from an act of war runs through a second federal law, where the government pays.
- If your employer never bought coverage, you can sue, and three of its usual defenses are gone.
How I know: the coverage rules sit in 42 U.S.C. section 1651, and the clause forcing your employer to buy a policy is FAR 52.228-3.
By the end you will know who buys the policy, what it pays for, who picks your doctor, and what to do when there is no policy at all.
Key takeaways
- Coverage follows the contract, not the name on your badge, so a job layers down still counts.
- Under 33 U.S.C. section 907(b) you pick your doctor, and the employer picks only when you need care right away.
- Injuries from a war-risk hazard go through the War Hazards Compensation Act, where the government pays.
- No policy is not the end. Section 905(a) lets you sue, and the company cannot blame a coworker or you.
Who Has to Buy the Policy, and Who Does It Cover?
Your employer buys it, because the government contract says so. The clause is FAR 52.228-3, dated July 2014. It tells the contractor to cover disability, medical care and death benefits by "purchasing workers' compensation insurance or qualifying as a self-insurer," and it goes into every subcontract the Act touches.
That last part saves people. 33 U.S.C. section 904(a) says every employer has to secure payment, and if a subcontractor fails to, the prime contractor is liable. A small company folding does not leave you with nothing.
Whether the law reaches your job depends on where you worked and whose contract you were on. Section 1651(a) lists six:
| If this was your job | Where it sits in the law |
|---|---|
| A military, air or naval base the United States got from another country after January 1, 1940 | Section 1651(a)(1) |
| Land the United States uses for military purposes in a territory or possession | Section 1651(a)(2) |
| A public work in a territory or possession, working for a contractor | Section 1651(a)(3) |
| A contract with a United States agency, performed outside the country | Section 1651(a)(4) |
| A foreign aid contract the United States approved and paid for | Section 1651(a)(5) |
| Welfare or morale work for the Armed Forces overseas, for an American employer | Section 1651(a)(6) |
This comes up on nearly every call. The Department of Labor can waive the rule for some countries, but the Department of Defense says in its contract policy that waivers do not apply "to citizens or legal residents of the U.S. or to employees hired in the U.S." If that is you, a country waiver cannot take your coverage away.
What the Policy Pays, and Who Picks Your Doctor
Two things: your medical care, and part of your wages. Fault plays no part, because section 904(b) says compensation is payable "irrespective of fault as a cause for the injury." Nobody has to have done anything wrong for you to be paid.
Medical care. 33 U.S.C. section 907(a) tells the employer to pay for treatment, nursing, hospital care, medicine and equipment for as long as your recovery needs it. Notice what is missing: no dollar cap, no fixed number of months.
Your doctor, your choice. Section 907(b) gives you "the right to choose an attending physician authorized by the Secretary," and the employer picks somebody only when you need care right away and cannot choose. One limit is worth knowing: under section 907(c) the Department of Labor keeps a list of providers who are not authorized, and care from a doctor on that list usually will not be paid. So ask before the first visit, not after.
The doctor who follows you for two years is the one whose notes decide the case.
Weekly money. The wage side pays two thirds of your average weekly wage while you cannot work, up to a ceiling that resets every October 1 under 33 U.S.C. section 906(b)(3). The current numbers are in how Defense Base Act settlements are calculated.
Want a rough sense of it on your own numbers? The calculator below runs the same math. It is a starting point, not a promise, because a real claim value needs an attorney to review.
What the Carrier Does Not Cover, and Who Picks It Up
A rocket attack is not an ordinary workplace accident, so Congress passed a companion law: the War Hazards Compensation Act, at 42 U.S.C. section 1701. The Department of Defense sums it up in one line, that the government self-insures when a covered worker is hurt or killed by a war risk hazard.
People ask about kidnap, evacuation and repatriation cover, usually because a broker page listed them. Here is the honest split. FAR 52.228-4 and the policy above require protection for war-hazard injury, death, capture and detention. Anything past that, an evacuation flight or bringing remains home, is an add-on your employer either bought or did not. Ask which ones your contract carried.
Here is the phrase worth carrying around. Benefits apply when the injury "proximately results from a war-risk hazard, whether or not such person then actually was engaged in the course of his employment," so being off shift does not sink the claim. Where all this reaches you is delay, one of several gaps in Defense Base Act coverage worth knowing early.
What If Your Employer Never Bought the Policy?
People are afraid to ask this one. The answer is better than they expect: an employer who skipped coverage loses the protection the system gave it.
Normally a compensation claim is the only thing you can bring against your employer. 33 U.S.C. section 905(a) changes that when the employer failed to secure payment. Then you "may elect to claim compensation under the chapter, or to maintain an action at law or in admiralty for damages." A real lawsuit, before a judge.
The company walks into that suit with its hands tied. Section 905(a) says it may not plead "that the injury was caused by the negligence of a fellow servant, or that the employee assumed the risk of his employment, or that the injury was due to the contributory negligence of the employee." Those three defenses are the ones employers lean on hardest.
There are teeth on the other side too. 33 U.S.C. section 938(a) makes skipping coverage a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $10,000, up to a year in prison, or both. The company's president, secretary and treasurer are "severally personally liable, jointly with such corporation" for what you are owed, which is a personal bill rather than a corporate one. So no policy is not the end of your claim, it is a different and often stronger one.
5 Things I Check When Someone Is Told They Are Not Covered
Most of the time, "you are not covered" is a guess, not a legal answer. Here is what I check before accepting it.
- Whose contract you were really working under. Not who paid you. The badge names one company while the work sits under a government prime contract further up.
- Whether the clause is in the subcontract. FAR 52.228-3 has to be passed down, and when it is missing that is the employer's problem, not yours.
- Whether a waiver could even apply to you. If you are a United States citizen or legal resident, or you were hired here, the Department of Labor does not waive coverage.
- Whether the injury was a war-risk hazard. Hostile fire, a device, a detention. If so, the War Hazards Compensation Act applies.
- What the carrier put in writing. A phone call denying coverage is worth nothing, so ask on paper. A written notice starts clocks and shows which argument is coming.
Earlier than that? The steps are in filing a claim under the Defense Base Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use my own health insurance while the claim is being fought?
A: People do, because bills do not wait. Tell the provider it is a work injury claimed under the Defense Base Act, and keep every statement. Your health plan usually wants repaying out of the claim.
Q: Can my employer fire me for filing a claim?
A: Not lawfully. Under 33 U.S.C. section 948a it is unlawful to fire or punish you for claiming compensation. The penalty runs $1,000 to $5,000, and the employer has to put you back to work and pay the wages you lost.
Q: If there was no policy, do the normal deadlines still run?
A: Treat them as running. The deadlines are short, and arguing about coverage is no reason to let one pass. Protect the dates first.
Find Out Whether There Is a Policy Behind Your Claim
Hurt on an overseas government contract, and nobody has shown you where your benefits come from? That is worth one phone call. Our team at Templer & Hirsch, Injury Lawyers handles Defense Base Act and Longshore claims nationwide, with no fee unless we recover. Call 305-937-2700 or request a free case evaluation.
This is general information, not legal advice; consult an attorney about your situation.