Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

43 U.S.C. § 1333

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”) extends the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA” or “Longshore Act”) to employee injuries and deaths that arise “out of or in connection with any operations conducted on the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of exploring for, developing, removing or transporting by pipeline the natural resources . . . of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf . . . .” OCSLA excludes government employees and masters and members of a vessel’s crew. OCSLA benefits are generally the same as under the Longshore Act.

The Supreme Court recently clarified the test for OCSLA coverage, holding that it is not necessary that the injury occur on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”), merely that there must be a “substantial nexus” between extractive activities on the shelf and the injury. Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid, 565 U.S. 207 (2012). There, the claimant usually worked on a drilling platform on the OCS off the California coast, but was at an onshore processing facility when he was killed by a forklift accident. Because borderline OCSLA coverage cases are relatively rare and this decision is recent, courts are still determining what type of nexus must exist between the OCS operations and the injury.

Further, because OCSLA employees are often required to sleep on a platform or other facility, an injury may well be compensable even if it did not occur during what your employer may consider to be your standard job duties or work hours. See Phillips v. PMB Safety & Regulatory, Inc., 44 BRBS 1 (2010) (injury covered where another employee hauled the injured worker out of bed and assaulted him); Hotard v. Devon Energy Corp., L.P., 308 F. Appx. 739 (5th Cir. Jan. 23, 2009) (venomous spider bit the OCS worker while he was sleeping aboard the platform).

If a platform or other drilling rig is not on the OCS, it may be that the platform is considered “upon water” or another covered Longshore Act situs, and so covered by the Longshore Act directly.

If you believe you may have suffered an injury covered by the Longshore Act or one of its extensions, including OCSLA, please contact Merrigan Legal for a free consultation.