Annual Longshore Conference

Photo Source U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command

The Annual Longshore Conference is March 19 - 20, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. I attended the previous conference organized by Loyola University College of Law and the U.S. Department of Labor in the fall of 2008 in Washington D.C. and found it very informative. Pretty much everyone who knew anything about the Defense Base Act was there.

From the registration brochure:

This year’s program will address several timely topics of importance to any workers’ compensation practitioner.

We will examine issues of competing jurisdiction. Despite decades of litigation seeking clarity in competing jurisdictional schemes, significant problems remain in navigating the myriad compensation programs that exist in the maritime field. Recent amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act will impact return to work issues in workers’ compensation claims. Medicare Set-Asides continue to be important in settlements of longshore claims, and recent changes to the regulations and procedures for MSA will be explained.

We will also address various practice issues, such as trying claims before the Office of Administrative Law Judges, posthearing proceedings, and attorney fee claims. We will have medical experts address the expanding field of chronic pain conditions, and the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. With the War on Terror continuing in both Iraq and Afghanistan, we will explore the Defense Base Act and War Hazards Compensation Act, as these remain important extensions of the [Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act] LHWCA.

The Defense Base Act/War Hazards Compensation Act Handbook is on sale through Loyola College of Law for $60. Call (504) 861-5441 or Toll Free at (866) 250-8617 to order. For more information, email clelaw@loyno.edu

For anyone with an interest in the Defense Base Act and/or issues facing American contractors working overseas, absolutely buy a copy of the DBA/WHCA Handbook. Most of the chapters were written by lawyers and judges whose careers are narrowly focused in DBA law.

Additional Reading

Defense Base Act Practice: We're Not in Kansas Anymore
By Roger A. Levy, Editor of the DBA/WHCA Handbook, Lexis/Nexis, August 19, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) webpage