It’s your first week abroad as a U.S. military contractor and you’re excited about traveling while making good money. 

But say you’re working on the plumbing and everything is going well until a pipe bursts and knocks you unconscious. What do you do now?

How do you navigate an on-the-job injury while you’re on a base overseas?

The Defense Base Act will help you gain compensation to recover, but let’s break it down further. Do you fall under the permanent disability benefits or temporary disability benefits category? Keep reading to learn more.

Which Category Do I Fall Under?

When you file for DBA benefits, claim workers will look at the nature of the injury/disability and the extent of the condition. From there, your company pays you on which of the four workers’ compensation categories you fit under. 

Permanent Disability Benefits

The first category within the Defense Base Act is permanent disability benefits. In partial cases, the worker gets the result of being forever unable to do the same pre-injury job function, but can still return to general work.

The compensation will either be 2/3 of the weekly pay for scheduled or unscheduled injuries.

In total cases, the injury or condition prevents the worker from returning to the job in any capacity. Compensation in this case, whether the result is a scheduled injured or not, is 2/3 of the weekly wage. 

Temporary Disability Benefits

For injuries that workers’ can recover from, given proper time, you’ll receive temporary disability benefits.

If the injury or condition makes it so that you can’t perform any work-related activity, the case is total. You’ll receive 2/3 of your weekly wage.

A partial case means that you can’t perform the job task that injured you. You can still do the daily tasks required by your position, however.

Most partial temporary disability cases last a week. For that time period, you’ll get 2/3 of your weekly wage. 

Scheduled Versus Unscheduled Injuries

When you seek compensation through BDA benefits, your claim worker will determine whether the result is a scheduled or unscheduled injury. Teams determine disability compensation using pre-injury wages and productivity. 

Scheduled injury benefits come with a set time schedule – how many weeks you can be paid). Any injury to the arm, hand, fingers, leg, foot, toes counts. Hearing or seeing related trauma is also included. 

Unscheduled injuries usually occur in the head, neck, shoulders, spine, and brain, among other places. PTSD also falls under this category.  

Want to Apply for DBA Benefits?

Navigating the waters of the Defense Base Act can be confusing while you’re struggling to recover from a work-related injury. 

Hopefully, you’ll have an idea of whether you qualify for permanent or temporary pay. Plus, you now know the line between scheduled and unscheduled injuries. 

Do you want to apply for permanent disability benefits? Contact the team at Barnes Law Firm today! Our professional legal workers are ready to help you get the compensation you deserve.