DBA Claims for Overuse Injuries

Those suffering from overuse injuries because of their occupation as a civilian employee working under contract with the U.S. government or outside the United States on U.S. military bases may be eligible for benefits under the Defense Base Act (DBA).

 

DBA Benefits

The DBA provides disability and medical benefits to eligible employees who suffer injuries from or during employment. Further, the DBA allows eligible survivors to secure death benefits for a qualifying family member who was killed in the course of employment or because of their employment.

Generally, compensation amounts to two-thirds of a qualifying worker’s average weekly wage. DBA claimants must provide substantiating evidence to support their application for benefits. Some documents that the Department of Labor (DOL) uses to calculate an employee’s average weekly wage include:

• Employment contracts
• Tax Forms
• Payroll Forms
• Social Security Records

The DOL should consider additional factors when computing foreign wages. For instance, allowances typically include the cost of living and housing adjustments, bonus awards, holiday pay, and overtime.

 

Repetitive Stress Injuries and Overuse

The DBA is essentially a workers’ compensation program for U.S. contractors working overseas. As such, the central inquiry is “whether the injury arose out of or during an employee’s employment?” If the employee answers in the affirmative and establishes the causal connection between their work and subsequent injury, they may have a claim.

Although many people associate work-related injuries with a traumatic accident, in reality, many injuries manifest slowly over time. A common injury that many U.S. civilian employees experience is repetitive stress injuries (RSI), sometimes known as “overuse” injuries. RSI occurs when a repetitive task causes strain to a person’s tissue, joints, bone, or muscles.

 

Causes of Overuse Injuries

The physical and occupation demands required by many civilian contractors overseas require these workers to engage in repetitive and extremely dynamic movements, such as heavy lifting and loading. These duties are often even more onerous in areas with active combat. Unlike many military servicemembers, civilian contractors are often disadvantaged because their positions do not always provide the training necessary to avoid these injuries.

RSI’s can stem from various forms of repetitive movements. Some typical motions that lead to injury and pain include:

• Hoisting objects
• Swiping items
• Grasping tools
• Assembly line and factory work
• Data entry

Although individually, these motions may seem harmless, the extensive and repetitive nature of these motions can lead to significant pain.

 

Injuries Related to Overuse

The unique occupational demands of civilian work may predispose some workers to various injuries. In many situations, employees may not realize that their occupations are causing them damage, while others may fear reporting their injury. Research on the underreporting of musculoskeletal injuries in the U.S. Army suggested that many of these debilitating injuries go unreported.^[1] This underreporting can cause reinjury, chronic pain, performance issues, and increased treatment costs.

Some of the common RSI injuries include:

• Tendonitis
• Trigger finger and trigger thumb
• Shin Splints
• Tennis Elbow
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Those who believe their RSI stems from their occupation should contact a DBA attorney to discuss their rights and remedies.

 

Defense Base Act Attorney

The experienced attorneys at Friedman Rodman & Frank handle Defense Base Act claims for those workers who suffered injuries overseas or while working as a civilian on a military base. In addition to DBA claims related to repetitive stress injuries, we handle claims involving PTSD, hearing loss, paraplegia, and gun injuries. Contact our office at 877-448-8585 to schedule a free initial consultation with a DBA attorney on our team.

 

 

 

^[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5089359/