The United States has the most widespread military presence of any nation, with over 750 bases on foreign soil and in more than 80 countries! The operation is so vast that many civilians get employed to do specialized jobs at many of these sites.

Working with the US armed forces does come with special risks, which is why the Defense Base Act (DBA) was passed. This act regulates how civilians working for the government claim compensation for injuries they may have sustained on duty.

Working with a DBA attorney to get your claim is a unique process. Find out more about its intricacies by reading this useful guide.

Attorney Avoidance

A common joke in the legal profession is that 50% of a lawyer’s job involves solving problems that the client created while trying to avoid seeing an attorney. If you sustained a work-related injury or contracted a foreign illness while working on base overseas, the very first person you must contact is a Defense Base Act attorney.

Attorney avoidance often comes because lawyers are reputedly expensive. You don’t have to worry about that with a Defense Base Act lawyer. A good DBA lawyer or firm will claim their fee directly from the insurance carrier, which means they don’t even take a portion of your payout the way some lawyers do in contingency cases.

Not getting an attorney can cause many problems because a DBA claim is a very complex process. If you make a mistake then your claim may never succeed.

Taking the Wrong Calls

Once you’ve got a DBA lawyer then you need them to represent you exclusively; never represent yourself. The DBA insurer will have you on their radar once you’ve first filed your Defense Base Act claim. Some of their tricks include calling you directly to ask a few innocent-sounding questions or requesting your full medical history.

If an insurance adjuster ever contacts you with such requests, your immediate response should be to refer them to your attorney. Insurers hate paying and often try to frustrate claims by blaming your illness or injuries on factors they don’t cover.

Giving Your DBA Attorney Bad Information

The three people in the world you should never lie to are your spouse, your doctor, and your lawyer. Your attorney will need to know exactly what disease or injury you have and how you got it for your DBA claim to work.

Many people twist the facts behind their DBA claims because many injuries have embarrassing backstories. Twisting the facts is a bad idea because you don’t know if something is material to the claim and your lawyer won’t know if you lie to them.

Getting the Right Attorney

A good DBA attorney would have dealt with many DBA claims in their career. That’s why it’s easy to trust them with the whole truth behind your injury or illness, as they’ve probably seen something similar before. Be sure to trust them and only them to deal with the claim and avoid speaking to the DBA insurer yourself.

The best part about DBA attorneys is that their services are free. If that’s the case, then why not contact the best DBA attorneys in the business? Please find our contact details on this page and let us help you today.