i need a maritine lawyer in tacoma wa that deals with personal injury

Generally, the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) states your employer (more correctly their insurance carrier) has to provide you with temporary total disability benefits (TTD). Which is 2/3's of your average weekly wage (AWW). Since taxes are not paid on the TTD benefits, this amount is pretty close to your after tax take home pay.

Average Weekly Wage is one of the most heavily contested parts of the LHWCA. There are many ways to compute AWW. A skilled LHWCA lawyer can oftentimes raise your TTD rate considerably based upon a faulty (and employer sided) AWW analysis.

I assume that has a longshoreman, your husband is a member of a union. I suggest that you contact your husband's Union representative and see whether or not they could recommend a competent maritime attorney to you, who has probably represented other union members over the years. Your husband has a specialized type of claim which needs an attorney reversed in maritime law.

Legal Disclaimer:

Mr. Lundeen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Vermont. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter in question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that, if known, could significantly change the reply and make it unsuitable. Mr. Lundeen advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in their state in order to ensure that proper advice is received.

Depending on the facts of the accident, your husband may be entitled to additional benefits under Section 905(b) of the Long Shore Act. The reason 905(b) claims are so important is because you can seek full damages. Currently, it sounds like he only receiving the compensation and medical benefits available under sections of the LHWCA. In contrast, if he qualifies for a 905(b) claim he can seek pain and suffering, full lost past and future wages, full lost fringe benefits and any other damage. But in order to collect under a 905(b) claim he must be able to prove that the defendant was negligent in causing or contributing to his injury. And he would only collect the percentage damages from that company for which the company was negligent.