Facilities Must Directly Abut Navigable Waters for Longshoremen Workers Comp Claims, says 5th Circuit
Port workers are entitled to Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act benefits only if their worksites directly abut navigable waters, said the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. As a result, New Orleans Depot Services (NODSI) does not have to pay a workers compensation claim to a container mechanic that worked at its facility 300 yards from the Intracoastal Canal in New Orleans, it said. The appeals court’s ruling overturns its own precedent on the issue, adopting instead the 3rd Circuit’s more restrictive definition of “adjoining” navigable waters.
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The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) covers workers injured in performance of their duties at a port. LHWCA originally covered only injuries occurring on navigable waters. But in 1972, in response to concerns that longshoremen loading and unloading vessels (and continuously moving on and off ships) move in and out of coverage, Congress amended LHWCA to include injuries occurring on land “adjoining” navigable waters. Congress also limited coverage to traditional maritime occupations.
Juan Zepeda filed a LHWCA workers compensation claim against the New Orleans Marine Contractors, a former employer, for hearing loss from exposure to loud noises. NOMC argued that Zepeda’s subsequent employer, NODSI, was responsible for the hearing loss, and took up the claim on Zepeda’s behalf. The NODSI facility where Zepeda worked as a container repairman sits 300 yards from the Intracoastal Canal; a bottling plant separates the facility from the water.
The 5th Circuit had already ruled on the issue in 1980, holding that a worker was entitled to LHWCA benefits, even though he worked five blocks from a navigable waterway. The 9th and 3rd Circuits had also taken expansive interpretations of the “adjoining” navigable waters requirement, finding injuries that happened near navigable waters, and in traditional maritime occupations, were covered. The 4th Circuit, in contrast, took the narrow interpretation in 1995 that injuries were only covered if they happened on land that sat directly next to navigable waters.
Overturning its 1980 precedent, the 5th Circuit adopted the 4th’s restrictive definition of “adjoining.” Echoing the 4th Circuit, the 5th said that the ordinary meaning of “adjoining” does not mean close, but rather directly adjacent. When Congress amended LHWCA, it didn’t intend to extend coverage inland, the appeals court said. It only meant to make sure longshoremen were covered, regardless of where they stood on a gang plank. Because NOPSI’s facility does not sit directly adjacent to the Intracoastal Canal, any injury occurring there would not be covered by LHWCA, the court said.
(New Orleans Depot Services, Incorporated v. DOWCP, et al.; 5th Cir. Court No. 11-60057, dated 04/29/13)