DBA Compensation Benefits

This article focuses on DBA compensation benefits, how disability benefits are calculated, when they should start, how long they last, and how attorneys’ fees work under the Act.

1. DBA Compensation Benefits: TTD, TPD, PTD & PPD

DBA disability benefits are generally paid at two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the injured worker’s Average Weekly Wage (AWW), subject to a federal maximum weekly rate.

The main categories are:

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

• You cannot work at all for a temporary period.
• Benefit: 2/3 of AWW, up to the maximum compensation rate, paid while you are totally unable to work and still improving medically.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)

• You can work, but at reduced earnings (for example, light duty at lower pay).
• Benefit: 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury AWW and what you now earn in suitable work.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD)

• You are permanently unable to perform any suitable alternative employment (see below).
• Benefit: 2/3 of AWW, up to the maximum rate, for life, with annual cost-of-living increases for PTD and death claims.

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)

• You have a permanent impairment, but can do some work.
• Benefits depend on whether the injury is scheduled or unscheduled (explained in detail below).

2. DBA Compensation Benefits & Average Weekly Wage (AWW)

Under Section 10 of the Longshore Act (which was incorporated into the Defense Base Act), the average weekly wage (AWW) is usually calculated using a worker’s wages from the 52 weeks before the injury date.

Common methods include:

• 52-week method – Total gross earnings in the 52 weeks before injury ÷ 52.
• Similar-employee method – If you did not work substantially the whole year, wages of a similar employee where you worked can be used.
• There are other methods that the OALJ considers.

Example: Worker Earning $3,000 per Week

Assume, for example, a protective security specialist in Iraq earned $3,000 gross per week overseas for at least 52 weeks:

• AWW = $3,000
• TTD or PTD rate = 2/3 × $3,000 = $2,000 per week, subject to the maximum compensation rate.

3. Maximum Compensation Rate under the Defense Base Act

The DBA uses the Longshore maximum compensation rate, which is twice the National Average Weekly Wage (NAWW) and changes every October 1st. You can check your applicable maximum compensation rate here.

For example, for injuries between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced:

• NAWW: $999.55
• Maximum compensation rate: $1,999.10 per week. Again, this changes every October 1st.

Using our $3,000/week example for the protective security specialist above:

• 2/3 of AWW = $2,000
• Current maximum = $1,999.10
• DBA compensation benefits would be capped at $1,999.10 per week, not $2,000.

4. Suitable Alternative Employment & Labor Market Surveys

Once you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) and cannot return to your old job, the DBA insurance carrier may argue that you are not totally disabled because there is “suitable alternative employment” (SAE) available.

Suitable Alternative Employment (SAE)

SAE means jobs that:

• Are within your physical and psychological restrictions,
• Are reasonably available in your local or reachable labor market, and
• Pay wages that reflect your remaining earning capacity.

If the employer/DBA insurer proves SAE exists, you typically move from TTD/PTD to TPD/PPD, and your benefit becomes:

2/3 × (AWW – post-injury earning capacity).

Your AWW itself does not change, but your weekly DBA compensation benefits go down if they claim you can earn wages in alternative work, for example back home where you reside.

Labor Market Surveys (LMS)

To prove suitable alternative employment (SAE), DBA insurance carriers often hire vocational experts to prepare a Labor Market Survey, which:

• Lists jobs supposedly available to you,
• Provides job titles, physical demands, wages, and locations, and
• Tries to show your post-injury earning capacity.

A strong DBA practice often challenges labor market surveys, for example, showing jobs are not truly available, are mis-described, or violate your medical restrictions.

5. Timing of DBA Compensation Benefits

There are two timing issues: (1) the waiting period, and (2) when payments are legally due.

A. Three-Day Waiting Period

Under Section 6 of the Longshore Act (applied to the DBA), there is a three-day waiting period before wage loss compensation is payable. However:

• If the disability lasts more than 14 days, compensation is payable from day one of disability.

B. When DBA Compensation Must Start

Under 33 U.S.C. § 914(b):

• The first installment of compensation is “due” on the 14th day after the employer has notice or knowledge of the injury.
• On that date, all compensation then due must be paid, and thereafter, payments must be made at least semi-monthly.

If the employer/DBA insurer chooses not to pay, they must file a timely controversion (notice disputing entitlement). If they neither pay nor properly controvert, there can be an additional 10% compensation added to late payments under Section 14(e).

In practical terms, if the DBA carrier has notice:

• They should start DBA compensation benefits within roughly two to four weeks of learning of a disabling injury, assuming liability is not genuinely disputed and medical evidence supports disability.

6. Scheduled vs. Unscheduled Injuries – How Long Do DBA Benefits Last?

The DBA adopts Section 8(c) of the Longshore Act, which divides permanent partial disabilities into scheduled and unscheduled injuries.

A. Scheduled Injuries Under the Defense Base Act

A scheduled injury is a permanent impairment to a body part listed in the statute, such as:

• Arm, leg, hand, foot, eye
• Fingers, toes, hearing, etc.

The law assigns a fixed number of weeks of benefits for total loss of each part. For example (illustrative only):

• Arm lost – 312 weeks
• Leg lost – 288 weeks
• Hand lost – 244 weeks
• Eye lost – 160 weeks

For a partial permanent impairment (say a 20% impairment to the arm), the benefit is:

2/3 of AWW × percentage impairment × scheduled weeks

How long benefits last

• Scheduled PPD benefits are time-limited to the number of weeks in the schedule multiplied by the impairment percentage.
• A worker may also receive TTD or TPD before or after the scheduled award, depending on the medical course, but the PPD portion itself is a finite period.

B. Unscheduled Injuries Under the Defense Base Act

Unscheduled injuries are not listed in the schedule, for example:

• Back and neck injuries
• Shoulder and hip injuries
• Brain injuries, internal organ damage
• Psychological injuries such as PTSD, depression, anxiety

For unscheduled PPD, the worker is paid:

2/3 of the loss of earning capacity – i.e., 2/3 of the difference between pre-injury AWW and post-injury earning capacity, for as long as the partial disability and wage loss continue.

How long DBA benefits last for unscheduled injuries:

• There is no fixed end date tied to a schedule.
• Payments continue while the disability and resulting wage loss persist, subject to modification if your condition or earning capacity changes.

C. Practical Contrast

• Scheduled PPD:
  Example: 20% permanent impairment to the leg. You receive 2/3 of AWW for 20% of the scheduled weeks for a leg—then PPD benefits end (though PTD or TTD could still apply in rare cases).
• Unscheduled PPD:
  Example: Chronic back injury with permanent lifting limits and lower earnings. You receive 2/3 of wage loss for the duration of that wage loss, potentially many years if your earning capacity remains reduced.

Because many serious contractor injuries involve the spine, shoulder, brain, or psychological trauma, understanding the unscheduled rules is critical to valuing DBA compensation benefits.

7. Practical Tips to Protect Your DBA Compensation Benefits

To help ensure the carrier starts paying the right amount as soon as possible:

1. Gather 52 Weeks of Wage Records

• Obtain all pay stubs, payroll summaries, contracts, overtime logs, danger pay, uplifts, and per diem for at least 52 weeks before the injury.
• When workers leave an overseas post, they often lose portal access to payroll systems; download or print records before you depart.

2. Leave the Post with Your Medical Records

• Request complete medical records from the base clinic, hospitals, and specialists before you rotate home.
• Keep copies of imaging (MRI/CT), operative reports, and medications.

3. Report the Injury Promptly and in Writing

• Report to your supervisor and complete required forms as early as possible, which helps start the clock on compensation. You may use this form: LS-201 – Notice of Employee’s Injury or Death (it is recommended to talk to a DBA lawyer, if possible, before completing this form).

4. Talk to a DBA Lawyer Early (Preferably Before Leaving the Overseas Post to Return Home)

• Early advice can protect your AWW calculation, help ensure proper medical referrals, and guard against tactics designed to reduce DBA compensation benefits later.

8. About Defense Base Act Lawyer Tim Nies

I am Tim Nies, a U.S. Army Ranger Veteran (3rd Ranger Battalion) and an injury attorney since 2001. For the first eight years of my career, I worked for large insurance defense firms, litigating all types of injury cases, from airplane crashes and medical malpractice to premises liability and product liability claims. That legal experience gave me a detailed understanding of how insurance companies evaluate and defend injury claims.

Now, at Van Riper and Nies Attorneys, P.A., I exclusively represent injured workers and their families, using that knowledge to pursue full and fair DBA compensation benefits.

9. Fee-Shifting & How DBA Lawyers Are Paid

The DBA incorporates Section 28 of the Longshore Act, a fee-shifting statute. When certain conditions are met and the injured claimant successfully prosecutes a claim or obtains additional compensation, the employer or its insurance carrier can be ordered to pay the claimant’s reasonable attorney’s fees, as approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or the court.

Key points:

No Contingency Percentage of Your DBA Settlement

• Unlike typical car accident or state personal-injury cases, DBA lawyers do not take a percentage of your settlement or weekly DBA compensation benefits. So, for example, if you are awarded X Dollars for past due compensation from an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge), your DBA lawyer does not take a percentage of that award. Same thing following a Defense Base Act mediation. If the parties agree to settle your claim in full, your DBA lawyer does not receive a percentage of your settlement like in state car accident cases.
• Contingency fee percentages of DBA compensation and unapproved legal fees are prohibited under the Act.

Fees Must Be Approved and Are Usually Paid by the DBA Insurer

• DBA Attorney’s fees are generally billed hourly, submitted to the DOL or judge (OALJ), and must be approved as reasonable.
• When the statutory requirements are satisfied, the employer/insurer pays those fees directly, not the injured worker.

The goal of this fee structure is to make it possible for injured contractors to hire experienced DBA attorneys without paying out of pocket and without sacrificing a percentage of their DBA settlement.

10. Contact & Availability of Tim Nies – DBA Lawyer

If you have questions about DBA compensation benefits, your AWW, a labor market survey, or a scheduled vs. unscheduled injury, you are welcome to reach out to me, Tim Nies, a Defense Base Act lawyer. I represent injured contractors nationwide for all types of injuries from spine injuries such as herniated lumbar or cervical discs, to shoulder injuries, head injuries, thoracic outlet syndrome, nerve injuries, hip injuries, psychiatric injuries such as PTSD, and many more injuries:

Tim Nies
Van Riper and Nies Attorneys, P.A.
900 SE Ocean Boulevard, Suite 140-E
Stuart, FL 34994
Tel: 772-283-8712

I am available to speak with injured claimants day or night, 7 days a week, and I routinely meet with clients by phone, Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, and other secure platforms, including for those still deployed or recently returned from overseas posts.