The United States Supreme Court agreed this past Tuesday to hear a case that could lead to a decision as to whether certain injured maritime workers would be able to receive workers compensation through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

The case in question was Pacific Operations Offshore L.L.P. vs. Luisa L. Valladolid, brought by the widow of a longshoreman killed after being crushed by a forklift 250 feet from shore. The case is especially interesting, as the man spent the majority of his employment working on a drilling platform three miles offshore.

The widow of the man sought and received death benefits through her state's workers' compensation system, then filed to collect additional benefits via the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). The filing came directly as well as through an OSCLA extension option available to maritime workers employed on the outer continental shelf.

The widow's attempt to receive benefits through the OSLA extension as well her LWHCA claim were both denied. An administrative law judge and review board both found that her deceased husband was working too close to shore at the time of his death in order to be considered conducting the sort of maritime work covered under either act.

The case was then brought through the appellate court system, where it was determined that the woman could be eligible for the OSCLA extension, but was still ineligible to receive workers comp benefits under through the LHWCA. The appellate court made a special note that injuries eligible for coverage under the OSCLA were those "resulting from operations on the outer continental shelf, regardless of the [geographic] location of the injury." This bodes well for the man's widow, as it will likely be argued the longshoreman was engaged in a supporting operation to his normal job duties on the outer continental shelf on the day of his death.

The appellate court's ruling was further appealed by the defendant, and the U.S. Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the case. We will be reporting updates to on this situation as they come available. Check back on our blog for more.

Source: BusinessInsurance.com "Supreme Court to hear case of worker killed offshore" by Roberto Ceniceros 2/22/11