Back Injury Claims under the Defense Base Act

Common Back Injuries in Defense Base Act Claims

Overseas contractors face hazardous environments daily, ranging from heavy lifting and equipment operations to blast forces, vehicle impacts, falls, wearing heavy body armor, and repetitive strain. The result is often severe spinal injuries, including:

• Herniated and bulging discs (lumbar, thoracic, cervical)
• Fractured or compressed vertebrae
• Facet joint injuries
• Spinal stenosis
• Radiculopathy and nerve impingement

Treatment varies widely depending on severity and may include diagnostic imaging, epidural injections, radiofrequency ablations, physical therapy, pain management, bracing, and when necessary, spinal surgery such as microdiscectomy, laminectomy, or spinal fusion procedures.

Back Injuries Are “Unscheduled Injuries” Under the Defense Base Act

Back injuries fall under the category of unscheduled injuries within the Defense Base Act. Unlike “scheduled” injuries (such as loss of a hand, arm, eye, etc.), compensation for unscheduled injuries is based on:

• The worker’s loss of wage-earning capacity
• The impact of the injury on the worker’s ability to work in the future
• Ongoing medical needs and restrictions

This makes the quality of the medical records, credible reporting, and effective legal advocacy by a DBA attorney critically important. A well-presented unscheduled injury case, such as a back injury claim or a neck injury claim, often results in significantly higher compensation than scheduled injury cases because the award is tied to the claimant’s long-term vocational impact, not just a table.

Why Medical Care Is Protected Under the DBA

The Defense Base Act requires insurance carriers to provide all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury. This includes diagnostics, pain management, medications, surgery, and rehabilitation. Tim Nies fights hard to secure this care because medical treatment is the foundation of a successful DBA case, and because injured contractors deserve the dignity of healing without unnecessary delay, interference, or insurer-selected doctors. In fact, in DBA cases, I believe that a claimant’s doctor plays a more important role than the DBA lawyer.

Your Right to Choose Your Own Physician

DBA claimants are entitled to the physician of their choice. DBA insurance companies may attempt to direct injured contractors to doctors they select, doctors who often minimize injuries and push workers back to duty prematurely. Tim works hard to ensure that his clients receive treatment from independent, reputable physicians, not carrier-selected examiners whose opinions are designed to save the carrier money.

Representing Contractors Nationwide and Worldwide

From his Florida office, Tim represents injured contractors living anywhere in the United States and abroad. He handles claims arising from deployments and missions in:

• Iraq – Al Asad Air Base, Balad Air Base, Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center
• Afghanistan – Bagram Airfield, Kandahar Airfield, Camp Marmal
• Kuwait – Camp Arifjan, Camp Buehring
• Syria
• Qatar – Al Udeid Air Base
• Jordan – Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, King Faisal Air Base
• Niger
• Somalia – Camp Lemonnier (Djibouti support), various classified support sites

Whether the contractor is a protective security specialist, cook, linguist, truck driver, armed guard, aviation mechanic, welder, IT specialist, or project manager, our DBA law firm ensures the DBA claim is built correctly from the start.

No Upfront Cost: How Fees Work Under the Defense Base Act

It costs nothing to hire Tim. The DBA contains a fee-shifting provision, meaning:

• You do not pay a percentage of your settlement.
• Your attorney is not paid out of your compensation settlement funds.
• The DBA insurance carrier pays Tim’s fees and costs when he secures a benefit for you, whether through settlement, DBA mediation, or after a formal hearing at the Office of Administrative Law Judges.

This ensures every injured contractor, regardless of income or location, has access to experienced legal representation.

The Best Time to Speak With a DBA Lawyer about Your Back Injury Is While You’re Still Overseas

Tim is available 24/7, including for contractors still deployed or still working abroad. Early legal involvement is crucial because:

• Overseas medical records should be obtained before leaving, before they disappear or become inaccessible.
• Injuries must be reported within 30 days to preserve certain rights. It is important to list all areas of pain in any incident reports and communications with employers.
• Witness names and contact information should be documented immediately.
• Researching medical providers back home, such as spine orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation physician,s should be done before leaving home, so injured workers are not waiting weeks for medical care at home. For back injury claims under the DBA it is important to select a qualified and experienced physician.
• Insurers often dispute injuries that are not clearly documented from the start.

A short call from overseas can prevent months or years of litigation problems later. Tim is available day or night and oftentimes communicates with his clients overases via WhatsAp and Facetime.

Nationwide Defense Base Act Lawyer, Tim Nies, 772-283-8712

Call our DBA attorney 24/7 about Spine Injury Claims under the Defense Base Act