Where Georgia’s DBA Claims Come From

Four posts drive the volume. Fort Benning at Columbus trains infantry and pushes a large separating population into contractor work. Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield cover the coast around Hinesville and Savannah. Fort Gordon at Augusta anchors Army signal and cyber, which sends technical specialists overseas on support contracts. Robins Air Force Base at Warner Robins handles logistics and maintenance work that has direct overseas counterparts. Contractors hired out of any of these markets file federal Defense Base Act claims through the U.S. Department of Labor, not through the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

Defense Base Act lawyers David L. Templer and Mark Hirsch, who handle Georgia contractor claims
David L. Templer and Mark Hirsch at the firm's Aventura office. Both attorneys work these claims directly.

Burn Pit Illness and Hearing Loss Claims

Two conditions dominate the claims we see from Georgia contractors, and both surface late. Open burn pits ran for years at base camps across Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and the Horn of Africa, and the illnesses that follow, asthma, chronic bronchitis, sinus disease and in some cases rarer conditions, often appear long after a contractor comes home. Hearing loss builds the same way, from gunfire, generators, flight lines and blast exposure, and most people never report it while deployed. Both are treated as occupational diseases rather than accidents, which changes how the filing deadline runs. For hearing loss the audiogram is the single most important document in the file, because the payment is set by a formula based on measured impairment.

What Georgia Contractors Are Owed

The DBA incorporates the Longshore Act benefit structure. That means medical care for the work injury with your own choice of doctor, temporary total or partial disability paid at two thirds of your average weekly wage up to the federal maximum, permanent disability including scheduled awards, vocational rehabilitation, and death benefits for surviving dependents. Because overseas pay is built from a base wage plus hazard pay, per diem, differential and bonuses, the average weekly wage calculation is where the most money is won or lost. Carriers frequently calculate on the base wage alone, and that choice follows the claim for its entire life.

The Port of Savannah and the Longshore Act

Georgia’s port economy generates a separate stream of Longshore Act claims. Workers at the Garden City Terminal in Savannah and at the Port of Brunswick who load, unload, build or repair vessels are generally covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act rather than Georgia workers’ compensation. Federal coverage pays at different rates, lets the worker choose the treating physician, and runs through federal administrative judges. Workers are sometimes placed into the state system when the federal one would have paid more, which is worth checking early rather than late.

Estimate What Your Georgia Claim Could Be Worth

The estimator below runs the same average weekly wage math a carrier uses. It takes about a minute and gives you a range to check any offer against.

Defense Base Act Settlement Estimator

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Georgia Defense Base Act: What to Do

  1. Report the injury or illness to your employer in writing and keep a copy
  2. For a breathing problem, note which camps you served at and how close the burn pit was
  3. Ask for a copy of any audiogram, including one taken before deployment if it exists
  4. Keep pay records showing hazard pay, per diem, differential and bonuses
  5. If a claim is denied, have it reviewed before the 30-day appeal window closes

Georgia Defense Base Act: Common Questions

I came home years ago and only now have a breathing problem. Is it too late?
Often not. Burn pit illness is treated as an occupational disease rather than a single accident, and the filing clock generally starts when you knew or reasonably should have known the illness was connected to your work. Contractors regularly file years after a rotation ends. The claim is worth a review even when the deployment is well in the past.
How is hearing loss paid under the Defense Base Act?
As a scheduled award, which means the payment is set by a formula based on measured impairment rather than by how much work you missed. That makes the audiogram the central document in the claim. A baseline test from before deployment, when one exists, strengthens the case considerably. Tinnitus is commonly claimed alongside the hearing loss.
Does Georgia workers’ compensation cover an overseas injury?
No. A Defense Base Act claim is federal and runs through the U.S. Department of Labor rather than the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Benefit rates, choice of physician and the appeal process are all set by federal law, and Georgia rules do not control the outcome.
I work at the Port of Savannah, not overseas. Which law covers me?
Probably the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act rather than Georgia workers’ compensation, if your work involves loading, unloading, building or repairing vessels on or adjoining navigable water. The federal system differs on benefit rates, physician choice and procedure, and it frequently pays more.

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