Why Virginia Generates So Many Defense Base Act Claims

The Defense Base Act (DBA) extends Longshore Act coverage to civilian employees working outside the United States on U.S. military bases, or under contracts with U.S. government agencies for public works or national defense.

Virginia is where a large share of those workers live and get hired, and the state does it from two separate places. Hampton Roads holds Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton and Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. Northern Virginia holds the Pentagon in Arlington, Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Prince William County.

Fort Belvoir alone employs more people than the Pentagon does. Around all of it sit the prime contractors and the staffing firms that hire for overseas work, which is why a Virginia address turns up on so many DBA claims.

A DBA claim is federal. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers' Compensation Programs administers it and administrative law judges hear it, so where you live affects logistics rather than rights. Whether you call it a Defense Base Act attorney, a DBA lawyer or a Defense Base Act law firm, it is the same job, and the office does not have to sit in Virginia to do it.

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

What the Defense Base Act Pays

DBA benefits follow the Longshore Act structure: medical treatment for the work injury with your choice of physician, temporary total or partial disability compensation calculated from your average weekly wage, permanent disability including scheduled awards for specified body parts, and death benefits for surviving dependents.

There is a ceiling on the weekly check, and it moves every October 1. 33 U.S.C. section 906(b) ties it to the national average weekly wage: 200 percent of that figure for the maximum, 50 percent for the minimum.

For the year running October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the national average weekly wage is $1,081.96. That puts the maximum at $2,163.92 a week and the minimum at $540.98. The Department of Labor publishes the replacement figures each fall, so check the year your injury falls in rather than the year you are reading this.

Because overseas contractor wages often run well above domestic wages for the same work, the average weekly wage calculation is where the largest disputes arise, particularly over whether overseas premiums, per diem, hazard pay and completion bonuses count toward it. That argument decides which end of the range your check lands on.

PTSD and Psychological Injury Claims

Psychological injuries are compensable under the Defense Base Act, and PTSD claims from contractors who served in conflict zones are among the most commonly disputed. Insurers contest causation, argue pre-existing conditions, and dispute the extent of disability far more aggressively than in orthopedic claims. These cases are built with contemporaneous records where they exist, deployment and incident documentation, consistent treatment history and qualified psychiatric or psychological opinion. A contractor whose claim was denied on the basis that the condition was not work-related should not assume that determination is final.

Virginia Ports and the Longshore Act

Separately from the DBA, Virginia's port and shipyard economy generates a substantial volume of ordinary Longshore Act claims. A longshoreman at Norfolk International Terminals or Portsmouth Marine Terminal, a shipfitter or ship repairer at the Newport News yards, and any harbor worker loading, unloading, building or repairing vessels is generally covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act rather than Virginia workers' compensation, with different benefit rates, your own choice of physician and a federal administrative process instead of a state one. Longshoremen are sometimes placed into the state system when federal coverage would pay more, and a Virginia longshore workers' compensation claim filed under the wrong law can be moved once someone reads the job description against the statute. Our nationwide longshoreman and dock worker injury lawyers handle the two-part coverage test in detail.

Your Virginia Claim Is Administered Out of Norfolk

The Department of Labor does not sort Longshore and Defense Base Act claims by state. It sorts them into compensation districts, and Virginia sits in the one run from Norfolk.

That office is the Fifth Compensation District. Since September 1, 2014 it has held jurisdiction over Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. You will find it at 200 Granby Mall, Room 212, Norfolk, VA 23510.

So a contractor hired in Fairfax and hurt in Kuwait has a file in Norfolk, the same as a shipfitter hurt at a Portsmouth terminal.

Two forms open it. Form LS-201 is the notice of the employee's injury or death. Form LS-203 is the employee's claim for compensation, and it is the one that actually starts the claim.

Two deadlines matter more than the rest. Give your employer written notice within 30 days of the injury, under 33 U.S.C. section 912. File the claim within one year of the injury or the last payment of compensation, whichever comes later, under 33 U.S.C. section 913. For an occupational disease that did not disable you right away, the claim window is two years from the date you became aware the condition was work related.

Missing the written notice is the avoidable mistake here. Tell your employer in writing, date it, and keep your copy.

Northern Virginia, Fairfax and Where a DBA Case Is Actually Heard

Northern Virginia is the other half of this map. Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria and the Tysons corridor are where the prime contractors keep their headquarters, where overseas hiring and medical clearance get processed, and where the employment paperwork behind a deployment usually lives. That is why so many searches for a Defense Base Act lawyer in Northern Virginia or a DBA attorney in Fairfax come from people whose injury happened nine thousand miles away. Here is the part worth knowing: the case does not follow your address either. Under 42 U.S.C. section 1653(b), judicial proceedings on a DBA compensation order are brought in the U.S. district court for the district holding the office of the deputy commissioner who issued it, and where that office sits in no judicial district, in the district nearest the base where the injury occurred. The hearing itself runs in front of a Department of Labor administrative law judge under 33 U.S.C. section 919(d). Choose the office by how many of those hearings it has argued, not by how close it is to Fairfax.

Estimate What Your Virginia 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

1 Eligibility
2 Your Pay
3 Contact Info

Please answer the following questions to begin your estimate.

Were you injured while working under the Defense Base Act?

Are you currently receiving medical treatment for your injury?

Have you missed work due to your injury?

Virginia Defense Base Act: What to Do

  1. Report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days and keep a dated copy
  2. Preserve deployment records, incident reports and any contemporaneous medical documentation
  3. Note whether overseas premiums, per diem and bonuses were part of your pay, they affect the wage calculation
  4. Do not accept a denial as final, DBA denials are routinely contested successfully
  5. Get treatment and keep the record continuous, gaps are used to argue against causation

Virginia Defense Base Act: Common Questions

I was hired in Northern Virginia but injured overseas. Does that change anything?
Not for your rights. It affects logistics only. The Defense Base Act is federal, so a contractor hired out of Fairfax, Arlington or Alexandria has the same claim as one hired out of Norfolk. Under 42 U.S.C. section 1653(b), any court proceeding on the compensation order is brought where the deputy commissioner's office sits, or where that office is in no judicial district, in the district nearest the base where the injury happened. What matters is that whoever represents you has argued Defense Base Act hearings before Department of Labor administrative law judges.
Which Department of Labor office handles a Virginia DBA claim?
The Norfolk office, wherever in Virginia you live. Longshore and Defense Base Act claims are sorted into compensation districts rather than by state, and Norfolk runs the Fifth Compensation District at 200 Granby Mall, Room 212, Norfolk, VA 23510. Since September 1, 2014 that district has covered Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. A contractor hired in Fairfax or Arlington has a file in Norfolk, the same as one hired in Hampton Roads.
How long do I have to report an overseas injury and file a DBA claim?
Give your employer written notice within 30 days of the injury, under 33 U.S.C. section 912, and keep a dated copy. File the claim itself within one year of the injury or of the last payment of compensation, whichever comes later, under 33 U.S.C. section 913. An occupational disease that did not disable you right away runs on a different clock: two years from the date you became aware the condition was work related. Form LS-201 gives the notice and Form LS-203 files the claim.
Do I need a Virginia lawyer for a Defense Base Act claim?
No. The Defense Base Act is federal, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and heard by administrative law judges rather than by Virginia courts. What matters is experience with DBA and Longshore practice, not proximity. Templer & Hirsch handles these claims nationwide.
Does hazard pay and per diem count toward my benefits?
Often yes, at least in part, and it is one of the most consequential disputes in DBA claims. Benefits are calculated from average weekly wage, and overseas contractor pay frequently includes premiums, per diem, hazard pay and completion bonuses. Whether each component is included materially changes the compensation rate, so the calculation is worth challenging when it looks low.
My PTSD claim was denied. Is there anything left to do?
Usually yes. Psychological injuries are compensable under the DBA, and denials frequently rest on contested causation or alleged pre-existing conditions rather than on a final legal determination. There is a formal process for disputing a denial, with deadlines, so a denied claim should be reviewed promptly rather than abandoned.
I work at a Virginia port, not overseas. Which law covers me?
Probably the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act rather than Virginia workers' compensation, if your work involves loading, unloading, building or repairing vessels on or adjoining navigable water. Longshore benefits, physician choice and procedure differ from the state system, and workers are sometimes routed into state comp when federal coverage would pay more.

Sources