Defense Base Act DBA Attorneys
Is yours working in your best interest?
Looking for a Defense Base Act DBA insurance
Attorney?
Be very very careful.  There are some out there who will lead you
right into the mouth of the dragon
DBA lawyer hotline

Contractors, 202,000, outnumber troops,186,000, in Iraq and
Afghanistan (WSJ)

Contractor Injured After IED Explosion In Iraq

Justin D. English, 25
A former Springdale firefighter and emergency medical technician died
Monday, a week after arriving in Iraq to work as an independent contractor
providing fire and emergency services."They were in an armored car when
the IED went off," said Janet English, Justin's aunt, as she fought back sobs
in a telephone interview. "He had just been there over a week. He didn't
even have time to send us an e-mail address so we could keep in touch with
him."  read story here

Contractor's mysterious death leaves his widow
wondering "why"

TUMWATER — The telephone connection from Iraq was startlingly clear. But
Michelle Cook barely recognized her husband's voice. High-pitched and
squeaky, as if he had inhaled helium.
"Michelle, Michelle, Michelle," Gordon Cook said, over and over again.
"Where are the kids? I love you, Michelle, Michelle."

Then the line went silent.

A day later, on July 2, 2006, Michelle Cook learned that her husband, an
American contractor stationed at a remote post along the Syrian border, had
been killed.
The circumstances of Gordon Cook's death remain unclear two years later.  
Full Story here

US Embassy Staff Killed In Iraq
Four Americans -- two soldiers and two civilians from the Defense (and State
departments (Steve Farley) -- were killed Tuesday in a blast that rocked a
municipal building in Baghdad's Sadr City read here
"He told us just last week he was informed that he had a million dollar price
tag on his head and that obviously didn't sit well with us," Brett Farley said.
"The same day, he had three sniper shots hit his truck."

Nicole Suveges, a graduate student in political science who was working in
Iraq as a civilian, was among four Americans killed an explosion Tuesday in
the offices of the district council in the critical Sadr City section of Baghdad

The United States US Department of Labor DOL
Is yours working in your best interest?

Why was the author of this website blocked from
the DoL DBA public webpages for two days?

USDOL_OALJ_DEFENSE_BASE_ACT_POLICY_(JUNE_16_2008)
Modification of Hearing Policy on Defense Base Act Cases
Originating in a War Zone
read here

American Contractors in Iraq
4th Annual Contractors Conference 2008
Coming to Orlando Florida
the weekend of October 11
Join us to learn more about:
PTSD and TBI
Leishmaniasis
Other diseases endemic to Iraq and Afghanistan
DBA Resources and Trends
Legal Resources
How do you know if your lawyer is working on your case ?
Talk with DBA Attorneys
Supplemental Insurance
Taxes
Medical Care
Employment Contracts
Please contact us if your interested in attending
conference2008@dbacomp.com    
321 779  6799

Iraq deal with US to end immunity for foreign contractors
Washington, 18 June 2008 (The Independent)
The US has accepted that foreign contractors in Iraq will no longer have
immunity from Iraqi law under a new security agreement now under
negotiation, says the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari.

Blackwater and the US Military's Middle East Crusade for Christ
read story here

KBR tells new employees during orientation in Houston that they
gave Tommy Hamill one million dollars for his claim.
Maybe they forgot to send him the check?

KBR Workers caught up in quagmire
Good Friday Massacre
At issue is whether by questioning KBR's decision to send drivers into
harm's way, the former workers are actually challenging military decisions or
second-guessing their employer's judgment.
Military decisions can't be reviewed by a court of law. Workplace issues
can.  Read story here

Iraq Contractor Tax Loophole Closed
Congress acts to close one of the more ridiculous tax loopholes being
exploited by some of the biggest war profiteers:
"once the bill is signed into law, some companies will try to classify the
employees as independent contractors, a move that would place the sole
responsibility for paying those taxes on the worker."
This is, of course, those that haven't already done it.
read this at American Nonsense

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Not in this Army!
Norma Perez is a psychologist who leads the post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) program at a medical facility for veterans in Temple, Texas. As we
read in the Washington Post, she is pretty busy with claims. Given that
veterans with a PTSD diagnosis are eligible for up to $2,527 a month in
disability benefits, she came up with a great way to reduce caseloads and
save money: stop making the diagnosis.
DBA defense lawyer's paid for doctors are doing the same thing.
read here
Pentagon workers' comp plan blasted
Waxman said the Pentagon won't revise its approach, even though other
audits have shown that the "Defense Department model doesn't work."
"What makes the situation even worse is the people this program is
supposed to benefit -- the injured employees working for contractors --
have to fight the insurance companies to get their benefits. Delays and
denials in paying claims are the rule," he said.
read here

Defense Base Act Insurance:
Are Taxpayers Paying Too Much?
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Thursday, May 15, 2008, 10:00 AM at
2154 Rayburn House Office Building
Update:  Much of the data provided to the committee was "estimated"
and provided by the insurance companies themselves and none of the
numbers were fact checked.

The American public deserves much more after months and months of
investigations.

Data provided to the committee states:
This data indicates that of 108 disputed claims that have appeared before this
Department of Labor office, there were only five cases where the injured
contractors claim was denied.
80% of PTSD cases are denied

Civilian Contractor killed in Afghanistan Wed May 7 2008
Michael Vinay Bhatia, a native of Medway, died in a bomb blast in
Afghanistan.
read here

The two civilian contractors died Friday (May 9,2008)
when rockets slammed into the US-led coalition's base near Basra's
international airport, wounding eight others
read here

Soldier Suicides could trump war tolls
read here
What if we added the contractor suicides?

Combat Support Associates, CSA Ltd
dodges taxes for a decade
read here

MPRI dodges taxes offshore but how many of their casualties have
been covered by the DBA?
taxes

As an American contract employee working for one of these
companies not paying SS and Medicare you are still responsible
for paying these taxes along with the equal amount that your
employer would have paid PLUS Fines and Interest if you don't file
voluntarily and on time.

Louisville Contractor killed in Iraq
Maria Lockard says 46-year-old Jim Lockard was in Iraq working for a
contractor overseeing the rebuilding of Iraqi schools and hospitals. She told
The Courier-Journal he had been working there for about three years and
planned to come home in July for good.
She says her husband seldom left his office but apparently had gone out to see
one of his completed projects.
story here

Bullshit as Science:  The Fake Bad Scale
A test for Malingerers
Read here
and here
Criticism of Defense Malingering Test Gaining National Traction
readhere
SEII Employees sue for exposure
to toxic materials in Iraq
read here

Is DBA Law being interpreted to the detriment of the contract
employee to help cover up the true cost of the war?

Are you an independent contractor or
an employee?
Click here to find out what it means to you

LEISHMANIASIS and the DBA
contact us

When you sign on to go to Iraq or Afghanistan as a government
contract employee your employer is required by  law  to purchase DBA
Workman's Compensation Insurance coverage for you.  It does not
matter how many subcontractor's  down the line or what your
nationality is.

This insurance is extremely inadequate and some companies are now
providing supplemental policies.  If the company you are thinking of
going to work for does not offer this as an option then go to work for
another company.  If you already work for a company that has not
provided you with supplemental insurance
!!!!!!    QUIT NOW    !!!!!!!
You will have no choice but  to use this insurance if you are injured.  
You are entitled to private medical evacuation though you may not get
it.  Your medical care may be covered, or it may not be.   You may
receive partial compensation for your lost income up to $1,047.16 per
week, or you may not.   Your family may be compensated in the event
that you are killed, or they may not.
Your death or lost wage benefits will be based on the 52 weeks prior to
your injury or death.  If you are injured or killed a few months into a
higher wage your benefits will not be based on the higher wage.

There will be a myriad of expenses you and your family WILL incur that
will NOT be covered.

If you bring home an infectious disease endemic to Iraq, Afghanistan
or the military evacuation system and pass it on to your family they are
not covered by anyone.

If you suffer from PTSD you may have to take legal action before they
will pay for treatment.  If you die due to PTSD before being diagnosed
your family will receive nothing.

This insurance relieves the company you work for of ALL liability for
your death, injury, disease, or capture and from litigation by you or
your dependents.  There are no OSHA standards to abide by, no
Standard Operating or Safety Procedures that need to be followed.   

There is no compensation for pain and suffering due to negligence on
anyone's part.  You will have signed away many of what you might
normally consider to be your rights.

You may be left with permanent disabilities and a much lower earning
capacity than before you went.  Your family may be left in a much
worse financial position than you think you are in now.
You may have large medical bills left unpaid for years as there is
nothing that says the insurance company has to pay them in a timely
manner.

If you die for any reason once your case is stipulated  the payments
will stop and your family will get NOTHING.

The insurance company may be reimbursed for all or part of the claim
under the War Hazards Act.  One of the requirements for
reimbursement is that they do their best to prove that you are not
entitled to benefits.

Your life, your medical care, your finances, will be out of your control.

Unless you are already financially secure for the rest of your and your
families lives,  going to Iraq or Afghanistan is risky for more reasons
than you might be considering.

You too could be a DBA Casualty

We hope that the links on our site will help you and your family make
an informed decision.  

Marcie Hascall Clark  321 779 6799
junglem@yahoo.com
Defense Base Act
            Workman's Compensation
                                A Guide for the employee
Before you risk life and limb working for a contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan
  you'll want to know how much, or more importantly just how little, your life or limb                          
          are worth under the Defense Base Act Insurance your employer is required to purchase.
                                                    
The
Dark Side
of the
War Hazards
Act
Why has this link
been removed?

Department of Labor
Defense Base Act

By
Jacob Shisha

The dark side of having the
cases reimbursed under the
War Hazards Act, is that once
a determination is made that
the claim will fall under the
WHA the claim is transferred
over to a government
bureaucracy, and is no longer
handled by the OWCP.  This
is a tremendous problem with
regards to non-death claims.  
It is very difficult for an injured
worker to deal with this large
bureaucracy, if compensation  
payments are late or
terminated, or necessary
medical treatment is not being
authorized, there is very little
that can be done.  There is
no Department of Labor
claims examiner to assist him,
and it is doubtful that any
attorney would take the case,
because there is no
mechanism for the attorneys
to be paid for their time and
effort.
OIA Bomb Suspect Held Without Bail
She also said prosecutors presented evidence that Brown, while a defense contractor
last year in Iraq, grabbed an ax and threatened a female co-worker.

Iraq Afghanistan Blood Fears
An HPA spokeswoman added: "[The six civilian contractors] will be
contacted by their GPs and offered screening and counselling."

Are you an independent contractor or
an employee?
Click here to find out what it means to you

AIG moves Investigations to Iraq
Now they can determine you aren't qualified for benefits before you even
leave Iraq

Think your working for KBR?
check this out

Blackwater Dodged Millions in Taxes

Blackwater Hired Guns Above the Law
by Jeremy Scahill
Transcript and Video of testimony before Senate committee

DOD failed to stop exploitation
by Sebastian Sprenger

Officials at the Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan, which Scott leads, found
evidence in March 2006 that contractors and subcontractors working for the U.S. government
had confiscated laborers’ passports, used deceptive hiring practices, funneled workers into
Iraq by circumventing local immigration procedures and housed workers in substandard
conditions

Iraq Needs Contractors
Civilian employees -- many of them foreigners -- now fill crucial support roles once held by
soldiers, says a person on the ground.

U.S. troops outnumbered in Iraq — by contractors
by T. Christian Miller  LA Times

More than 180,000 civilians — including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis — are working in
Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the
Los Angeles Times

In outsourced US wars, contractor deaths top 1,000
More than 13,000 wounded
read more

After Iraq, Contractors Face Mental Health Issues
Contractors who have worked in Iraq are returning home with the same kinds of combat-
related mental health problems

Iraq Contractors Face Growing Parallel War
As Security Work Increases, So Do Casualties

War, Red Tape Haunt Civilian Workers
An analysis finds a pattern of blocked claims for psychological injuries sustained by contract
employees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Overseas Contractors Seek Support Back Home
GO JANA !!

Blackwater Heavies Sue Families of Slain Employees for $10 million in attempt to
Suppress their stories

Where is Your Outrage?
Blackwater Mom's

Outsourced war lawsuit moved out of court   
“This means that the shadow army (of contractors) will slip even further into the shadows.”

Deniable, Disposable, Casualties
Thousands of civilian contractors serve and die alongside
U.S. forces, with little accountability for the companies that employ them.

Outsourcing the War
Pull the Plug on the Mercenary War
by Jeremy Scahill
Deniable
Disposable
Casualties
by Rosa Brooks
When they’re injured or
killed, contractors or their
families often find it
difficult to obtain
healthcare or
compensation. The
industry is poorly
monitored and regulated,
and some contractors
have alleged that their
employers actively
misrepresented
employment conditions
and benefits
read this story

Judge
Kennington's
PTSD
Cases