Compensation benefits for American contractors injured overseas under the DBA

The Defense Base Act (DBA) exists to provide critical medical and wage-loss benefits to contractors injured while supporting U.S. military, diplomatic, and reconstruction operations
overseas. Unfortunately, many injured workers are not fully informed of their rights, and DBA insurance carriers frequently work hard to limit or deny benefits.

From our office in Stuart, Florida, Van Riper & Nies Attorneys represents American contractors across the United States in DBA claims, regardless of where they live or where the injury occurred overseas.

What Benefits Are Available Under the Defense Base Act?

If you are injured while working overseas on a U.S. government contract, the DBA provides two main categories of benefits:

1. Medical Benefits

DBA medical benefits cover all reasonable and necessary medical care related to your work injury, for as long as that care is needed. This may include:

• Emergency treatment and hospitalization
• Surgery and follow-up care
• Pain management and medications
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Psychological and psychiatric care (including PTSD treatment)
• Transportation for medical appointments

Importantly, you have the right to choose your own physician in the United States, not just a doctor selected or “recommended” by the insurance company.

2. Indemnity / Wage-Loss Benefits

If your injury prevents you from working—temporarily or permanently—the DBA provides weekly compensation benefits. The amount you receive each week is based on your
Average Weekly Wage (AWW) and a percentage set by law.

Understanding how AWW and compensation rates work is essential to making sure you are not underpaid.

Understanding Average Weekly Wage (AWW)

Your Average Weekly Wage is the foundation of your Defense Base Act claim. It is intended to reflect your true earning capacity immediately prior to your injury and is used to
determine the amount of your weekly benefits.

Under the DBA, AWW is typically calculated based on your earnings in the year before your injury, taking into account the unique pay structure of overseas contracting. This can include:

• Base salary
• Overtime pay
• Post-differential and danger pay
• Hardship and overseas uplifts
• Per diem or similar taxable income
• Concurrent employment (other jobs held at the same time, in many cases)

DBA insurance companies often attempt to minimize AWW by ignoring or undervaluing uplifts, overtime, or side jobs. As a claimant’s attorney, one of my first priorities is to carefully review pay records, contracts, and tax documents to ensure that AWW accurately reflects what my client was truly earning because of their overseas work.

Compensation Rates Under the Defense Base Act

Once the AWW is calculated, your weekly compensation rate is determined by a straightforward formula:

Weekly Compensation Rate = 2/3 (two-thirds) of your AWW

For example:

• If your AWW is $1,800, your compensation rate is $1,200 per week.
• If your AWW is $2,400, your compensation rate is $1,600 per week (subject to the maximum rate).

These benefits are generally paid in the following categories:

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

Paid when you are completely unable to work for a period of time due to your injury, but your condition is not yet considered permanent.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD)

Paid when your injury is so severe that you are permanently unable to return to any suitable employment on a long-term basis.

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)

Common in orthopedic and spinal injuries, PPD applies when you have permanent restrictions but can perform some type of work. Your entitlement may depend on whether your injury is “scheduled” or “unscheduled” under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (incorporated into the DBA).

In many Defense Base Act cases, the most significant long-term exposure for the insurance company comes from unscheduled, loss-of-wage-earning-capacity claims—especially for contractors who can no longer return to high-paying overseas jobs.

The Maximum Compensation Rate

While the law provides for two-thirds of your AWW as compensation, there is a statutory cap known as the Maximum Compensation Rate. This maximum is tied to the National Average Weekly Wage and is updated every year on October 1.

If two-thirds of your AWW is higher than the maximum rate in effect on the date of your injury, your benefits will be limited to that maximum.

For example (illustrative only):

• If the maximum compensation rate for the year of your injury is $1,899.24 per week,
• And two-thirds of your AWW equals $2,100 per week,
• You would receive $1,899.24 per week, not $2,100.

The important points to remember:

• The maximum rate that applies is based on the date of injury.
• There is no cap on medical benefits as those are not subject to the maximum rate.
• Correctly identifying the applicable maximum rate is critical in valuing both past benefits and settlement.

Why AWW and Compensation Rates Are So Important

The battle over AWW and compensation rates is at the heart of many DBA claims. DBA insurance carriers often:

• Exclude danger pay or uplifts from the AWW calculation
• Minimize or ignore significant overtime earnings
• Dispute concurrent employment or side jobs
• Argue that lower-paying “suitable alternative employment” eliminates or reduces entitlement

As a former Army Ranger, I approach these cases with the same focus and preparation I brought to my military service. Injured contractors are not just names in my file, they are men and women who stepped up to support U.S. missions overseas and deserve to be treated fairly under the law.

Getting the AWW right, applying the correct compensation and maximum rates, and challenging improper denials or terminations of benefits are all critical to protecting your financial future and your family.

Representing American Contractors Nationwide

Our DBA law firm, Van Riper & Nies Attorneys, represents American contractors across the United States in Defense Base Act claims. Whether you live in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, or anywhere else in the country, we can assist you with:

• Ensuring deadlines under the Defense Base Act are met
• Filing and prosecuting your DBA claim
• Ensuring your AWW reflects your true overseas earnings
• Securing and protecting your weekly compensation benefits
• Coordinating and enforcing your right to medical treatment
• Negotiating fair DBA settlements when appropriate, including at DBA mediations
• Litigating your case before the U.S. Department of Labor and federal administrative law judges (OALJ)

If you or a loved one has been injured while working overseas under a U.S. government contract, you do not have to face a powerful DBA insurance company alone. There is a path forward, and there are legal protections in place to help you and your family.

Contact DBA lawyer Tim Nies of Van Riper & Nies Attorneys

For a confidential consultation about your Defense Base Act claim, please contact our office in Stuart, Florida at 772-283-8712 day or night. We are honored to stand up for American contractors who were injured while serving U.S. interests abroad.