Longshore and Harbor Workers' Claims

Banning Micklow & Bull LLP - California Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act Attorneys - San Diego - San Francisco

If you're a longshoreman or dock worker who has been injured or disabled in a California waterfront accident, call or e-mail the Long Beach-Oakland longshoreman injury lawyers at Banning Micklow & Bull LLP.

The federal Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) allows harbor workers (including stevedores, crane operators, longshore checkers, terminal workers, shipbuilders, marine construction workers, vessel repair workers, and others employed in shipyard or waterfront occupations) to recover the costs of medical care and two-thirds of their average weekly wages during periods of disability due to injury on the job. The LHWCA also applies to certain gas or oil rig employees working from fixed offshore platforms.

While these benefits are payable without regard to an employer's fault, in most cases they will be considerably less than the damages recovered in a negligence action. The LHWCA prohibits the injured dock worker from suing his or her employer, but allows the injured employee to sue a third party - such as a shipowner, or equipment manufacturer - for damages under the general maritime law, or state-law negligence proceedings.

The experienced maritime and San Diego-Long Beach longshore personal injury attorneys of Banning Micklow can help you determine whether you have the right to sue a negligent third party for substantial damages. We can also advise you whether a maritime lawsuit represents a more complete recovery for you than a negligence claim under state law.

You don't necessarily have to be right next to the water to recover negligence damages under maritime law. If you're a forklift driver injured a quarter mile inland while stacking cargo pallets, and the accident was caused by poorly balanced loads due to unsafe handling or repacking at sea, you might have a claim for negligence against the owner of the vessel.

To find out more about your rights as an injured longshoreman, linesman, or boat yard worker, call the San Diego-San Francisco maritime negligence attorneys at Banning Micklow & Bull LLP.

Banning Micklow & Bull LLP - California Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act Attorneys - Long Beach - Oakland

One Market Street
Steuart Tower, Suite 1440
San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone: (415) 399-9191
Fax: (415) 399-9192

501 West Broadway, Suite 2090
San Diego, California 92101
Telephone: (619) 230-0030
Fax: (619) 230-1350

E-Mail Us

California Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act attorneys Banning Micklow & Bull represent longshoremen, longshore checkers, terminal workers, stevedores, cargo handlers, ship repair and shipbuilding workers, forklift and crane operators, and other workers at ports, harbors, docks, piers, wharves, and waterfronts on claims under the Act, and in admiralty or civil actions against third parties for negligence in California, Alaska, Hawaii, Tijuana, Mexico, Ensenada, Puget Sound, San Francisco, San Diego, Mission Bay, Santa Barbara, Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Ventura, Moss Landing, Richmond, Sacramento, Stockton, San Pedro, Crescent City, Wilmington, Bodega Bay, Pillar Point, Oxnard, Eureka, Half Moon Bay, Guam, Honolulu, Pago Pago, American Samoa, Saipan, Coos Bay, Los Angeles Harbor, and the San Francisco Bay Area and Delta.