Drone and Missile Attacks Across the Middle East – Know Your Rights
I am a Defense Base Act (DBA) attorney and a veteran of the U.S. Army’s Third Ranger Battalion, where I served as an Infantry Airborne Ranger until I was injured during a line-of-duty incident. Since late February 2026, the escalation of conflict involving Iran has resulted in widespread violent drone and missile attacks across multiple regions of the Middle East where U.S. government contractors are working. These attacks have affected contractors stationed in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, and surrounding operational areas. It is important to speak with a Defense Base Act lawyer about DBA claims for contractors injured during drone and missile attacks during the Iran conflict.
Contractors in these regions have been exposed to repeated alarms, missile defense activity, incoming strikes, and ongoing threats to their safety. These events have caused not only serious physical injuries, but also significant psychological trauma, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If you were working overseas under a U.S. government contract and experienced these conditions, you may be entitled to benefits under the Defense Base Act.
What Is the Defense Base Act?
The Defense Base Act is a federal law that provides workers’ compensation benefits to civilian contractors working outside the United States on U.S. government contracts. DBA law covers injuries and illnesses that arise out of and in the course of employment, including those caused by war-related events such as drone and missile attacks.
These benefits include medical care paid by the DBA insurance carrier, weekly disability compensation, and potential long-term disability benefits. Importantly, the Defense Base Act covers both physical injuries and psychiatric injuries, including PTSD and other trauma-related conditions.
Where Are These Attacks Occurring?
In recent months, Iranian drone and missile activity has impacted areas where U.S. contractors are located, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait (including Ali Al Salem Air Base and surrounding areas), Bahrain (home of the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet), the United Arab Emirates (including Al Dhafra Air Base), Qatar (including Al Udeid Air Base), Iraq, and Jordan.
Contractors in these locations have faced repeated exposure to life-threatening situations, often with limited warning, creating a high-risk environment for both immediate injury and long-term psychological harm.
Physical Injuries from Drone and Missile Attacks
Physical injuries from these attacks may include blast-related trauma, head injuries and concussions, orthopedic injuries involving the shoulders, neck, back, and knees, hearing loss from explosions, and burn injuries. Even when symptoms initially appear minor, they should be documented and evaluated right away, as many injuries worsen over time or have delayed onset.
Psychiatric Injuries and PTSD from Repeated Attacks
One of the most significant consequences of repeated exposure to drone and missile attacks is psychological trauma. Many contractors experience ongoing stress from missile alerts, drone strikes, the constant threat of harm, and in many cases not being able to fly home.
Common symptoms of PTSD may include flashbacks, intrusive memories, nightmares, sleep disturbances, hypervigilance, anxiety, panic attacks, avoidance of reminders of the trauma, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can significantly impact a person’s ability to function both overseas and after returning home.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is critical to seek evaluation from an experienced psychiatric doctor.
Why Seeing a Psychiatrist Is Critical for Your DBA Claim
Under the Defense Base Act, psychiatric injuries must be properly diagnosed and supported by medical evidence. A board-certified psychiatrist plays a central role in these claims.
A psychiatrist will diagnose PTSD or other psychiatric conditions, relate the condition to your work environment and exposure to attacks, prescribe medication if necessary, and provide work restrictions. In many cases, those restrictions include removal from the conflict zone. Psychiatrists also complete important documentation, including the OWCP-5A form, which outlines work limitations.
While therapists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and physician assistants may be involved in treatment, a physician’s opinion, particularly from a psychiatrist, is often essential to establishing and supporting a DBA claim. Typically, psychiatrists refer patients out for therapy.
What Contractors Should Do While Still Overseas
There are several important steps contractors can take while still overseas to protect and strengthen their claims. It is important to document each attack to the extent possible by recording dates, times, alarms, explosions, and your reactions to these events. Maintaining a personal journal describing both the attacks and your symptoms can be extremely helpful.
You should preserve communications from your employer, including emails, WhatsApp messages, and text messages regarding the attacks, procedures to follow, and operational status. If permissible, retaining photographs or videos of attacks, missile defense activity, alarms, or damage can be valuable evidence, not only for your claim but also for your treating physicians to better understand the conditions you experienced.
Contractors should also secure wage records, including pay stubs and contracts, as these are necessary to calculate benefits under the Defense Base Act. Any medical records from treatment overseas, whether from doctors, medics, physician assistants, or clinics, should be preserved. These records can be critical in establishing the timeline of your injuries and symptoms.
30-Day Notice Requirement
Under the Defense Base Act, contractors must notify their employer of any injury or psychiatric diagnosis within 30 days. This notice should be provided in writing whenever possible. Incident reports should be completed, and copies of all notifications should be retained.
Providing timely and documented notice helps protect your right to benefits and reduces the likelihood of disputes.
Deadlines for Filing PTSD and Other Occupational Injury Claims Under the Defense Base Act
In addition to the 30-day notice requirement, there are important deadlines for filing formal claims under the Defense Base Act, particularly for occupational injuries such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Unlike a single traumatic physical injury (such as if you fall while at work and suffer a fractured hip) with a clear date of accident, psychiatric injuries like PTSD are often considered occupational injuries that develop over time due to repeated exposure to stressful or traumatic events, such as ongoing drone and missile attacks.
Under the Defense Base Act, a claim must generally be filed within one year of the date you become aware, or should have been aware, that your condition is related to your employment. In PTSD cases, this is often not the date of the attacks themselves, but rather the date a medical professional, typically a psychiatrist/psychologist, diagnoses the condition and relates it to your work environment with your employer.
This distinction is critical. Many contractors do not immediately recognize that their symptoms are related to their employment or may delay seeking treatment. The one-year filing period typically begins when you have both a diagnosis and an understanding that the condition is connected to your work overseas.
Even if you are unsure whether your symptoms rise to the level of PTSD, it is important to seek medical evaluation as soon as possible. Early diagnosis not only helps protect your mental health, but also helps establish the timeline necessary to preserve your legal rights.
It is also important to understand that providing notice to your employer within 30 days of a psychiatric diagnosis remains a separate requirement from filing a formal claim. Both deadlines must be satisfied.
Because these timelines can be complex, especially in cases involving delayed symptoms or multiple exposures, it is strongly recommended that you speak with an experienced Defense Base Act attorney immediately, to ensure that your DBA claim is properly preserved and filed within the applicable deadlines.
The Defense Base Act Claims Process
The process typically begins with reporting the injury to your employer and ensuring that it is documented. A formal claim is then filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, typically using the LS-203 form. After filing, the injured contractor begins medical treatment and develops supporting medical evidence.
The DBA insurance carrier may accept the claim or dispute it. If there is a dispute, an informal conference can be requested with the Department of Labor, where a Claims Examiner reviews the issues and provides recommendations, typically after an “informal conference.”
If the case is not resolved at that stage, it may be referred to the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) for formal litigation and a hearing.
At any point during the process, the insurance carrier and the claimant, through his or her attorney, may resolve the case through settlement. These settlements are often reached during a Defense Base Act mediation, where both sides negotiate a lump sum resolution of the claim.
Before Leaving the Middle East – Speak With a DBA Lawyer
Before returning home, it is strongly recommended that you speak with an experienced Defense Base Act attorney, if possible. The decisions you make before leaving, such as how your injury is documented, your wage history, what medical care is initiated, and how you communicate with your employer, can have a significant impact on your claim and your benefits.
You may contact me for free about DBA Claims for Contractors Injured During Drone and Missile Attacks During the Iran Conflict
Speak With an Experienced Defense Base Act Lawyer
If you have experienced drone or missile attacks during the Iran War and are dealing with physical or psychological injuries, you do not have to navigate this process alone.
I have represented injured Defense Base Act claimants for more than 18 years and began my career representing insurance companies. I am also a veteran of the U.S. Army’s Third Ranger Battalion and understand firsthand how line-of-duty injuries can affect your life.
Consultations are free.
Tim Nies
Van Riper and Nies Attorneys, P.A.
900 SE Ocean Blvd, Suite 140-E
Stuart, FL 34994
Phone: 772-283-8712
defensebaseactlawyers.com
If you were injured as a result of drone or missile attacks in the Middle East, contact us today for free to discuss your rights under the Defense Base Act. I oftentimes speak with injured workers while still overseas via WhatsApp.