Broward County Longshore Claim Lawyer

Broward County Longshore Claim Attorney

By Tim Nies | Florida Longshore Attorney and Army Ranger Veteran

As a Broward County Longshore Claim Lawyer, I work hard at protecting longshoremen injured at Port Everglades and throughout South Florida. I have been an injury attorney in Florida since 2001. For the first eight years of my career, I worked as an insurance defense attorney representing insurance companies and large companies. Since approximately 2008, I have focused my practice on representing injured workers as a claimant’s lawyer in Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and Defense Base Act claims, which falls under the Longshore Act.

My law firm maintains convenient offices in Deerfield Beach in Broward County, as well as Boca Raton and Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, and Stuart in Martin County. From these locations, I represent longshoremen and harbor workers injured in and around Port Everglades, including crane operators, mechanics, line handlers, stevedores, and dock workers.

Understanding the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is a federal workers’ compensation law that protects maritime workers who are injured on the navigable waters of the United States or in adjoining areas such as docks, piers, shipyards, terminals and wharves. For injured longshoremen in Broward County, including those working at Port Everglades, the LHWCA provides two primary categories of benefits: medical benefits and compensation for wage loss.

Medical Benefits

If you are injured while working as a longshoreman, the LHWCA requires your employer and its insurance carrier to pay for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to your injury. This includes emergency care, follow-up visits, diagnostic testing, surgery, physical therapy, pain management, medications and durable medical equipment. Importantly, you have the right to choose your own physician under the Act, rather than being forced into a doctor selected by the Longshore insurance company.

Compensation (Wage-Loss Benefits)

Compensation under the Longshore Act is based on your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) and your Compensation Rate (CR). In general, the compensation rate is equal to 66 ⅔% of your AWW, subject to the federal maximum compensation rate in effect for the year of your injury. As a Broward County Longshore Claim Attorney, I carefully examine wage records, overtime, bonuses and other earnings to ensure my clients’ AWW is correctly calculated.

Types of Disability Benefits Under the Longshore Act

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

Temporary Total Disability benefits are paid when you are completely unable to work because of your injury, but you have not yet reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). While you are in this healing period and unable to return to any work, you are generally entitled to weekly benefits equal to 66 ⅔% of your AWW, up to the statutory maximum.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)

Temporary Partial Disability benefits apply when you are able to return to some form of light-duty or modified work, but you earn less than you did before the injury. In that situation, you may be entitled to 66 ⅔% of the difference between your pre-injury earnings and your post-injury wages. TPD benefits help bridge the gap while you recover and attempt to return to regular work.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD)

Permanent Total Disability benefits are paid when your injury permanently prevents you from performing any suitable gainful employment. These are serious cases, often involving catastrophic injuries, where injured longshoremen can no longer safely perform longshore work or other jobs in the open labor market. PTD benefits are typically paid at the same rate as TTD, subject to cost-of-living adjustments and statutory caps.

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)

Permanent Partial Disability benefits are paid when you have reached maximum medical improvement but are left with a permanent impairment. Under the Longshore Act, some injuries are classified as “scheduled” (such as loss of or impairment to arms, legs, hands, feet, and certain other body parts), while others, like injuries to the back, neck or shoulders, are considered “unscheduled”. Scheduled injuries are compensated according to a statutory schedule, while unscheduled injuries are compensated based on a loss-of-earning-capacity analysis.

Compensation Example: Longshoreman Earning $2,500 Per Week

To illustrate how compensation is calculated, consider a longshoreman in Broward County whose Average Weekly Wage is $2,500. Under the Longshore Act, the Compensation Rate is typically 66 ⅔% of the AWW.

Example:
AWW = $2,500 per week
Compensation Rate (CR) = 66 ⅔% of $2,500 = $2,500 × 0.6667 ≈ $1,666.67 per week

In this example, the injured longshoreman would be entitled to approximately $1,666.67 per week in TTD or PTD benefits, subject to the statutory maximum compensation rate for the applicable year. As a Broward County Longshore Claim Attorney, I carefully review the federal maximum rates, your wage history, and any issues the Longshore insurance carrier may raise in an effort to underpay benefits.

What I Do for Injured Longshoremen in Broward County

When I represent an injured longshoreman, my role is to protect you from the moment of injury through the conclusion of your claim. I understand how Longshore insurance carriers evaluate cases because I used to work for insurance companies. Now, I use that knowledge only for injured workers and their families.

• I explain your rights under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and help you make informed decisions. I explain the Longshore claim process in detail as well as steps to follow after an injury.
• I assist with filing the necessary forms, including the LS-203, to preserve and enforce your claim.
• I work to ensure that medical treatment is promptly authorized, and that your chosen physicians receive timely payment.
• I monitor your compensation checks for accuracy and timeliness, and challenge any improper reductions, suspensions or terminations of benefits.
• I prepare extensively for and attend informal conferences with the U.S. Department of Labor when disputes arise. A DOL informal conference in a Longshore claim is a non-adversarial meeting held by a U.S. Department of Labor claims examiner (not a judge) to address disputes between the injured worker and the insurance carrier, such as compensation, medical care, or average weekly wage. The goal is to narrow issues, encourage agreement, and issue written recommendations that guide the parties before any formal hearing.
• I develop medical and vocational evidence to establish your disability status, whether TTD, TPD, PTD or PPD.
• I represent you at mediations and formal hearings before administrative law judges at the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) when necessary.
• When appropriate, I negotiate settlements, oftentimes at Longshore mediations, designed to protect your long-term financial and medical interests.

My goal in every claim is to level the playing field for injured longshoremen facing powerful employers and insurance carriers. As a Broward County Longshore Claim Attorney, I take pride in standing between my clients and those who seek to minimize or deny their Longshore injury claims.

Offices Serving Longshoremen in Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties

As a Broward County Longshore claim lawyer I represent injured longshoremen throughout Port Everglades and South Florida from multiple convenient office law office locations. You do not have to face the Longshore insurance company lawyers alone. Below are my law firm’s offices. Contact me day or night.