Caution Longshoremen--Your employer must approve any third party settlement under the Longshore Act. You can lose your rights under the Longshore Act--read why here.

If you're a longshoreman and you have a claim against a third-party, does your employer have to approve a settlement of that case? The short answer is absolutely and this is a very technical but critical part of the law.

If you're a longshoreman and a third-party company is responsible for your injury such as a boat company that may have been transporting you, or a third party service company on your fixed platform, you may have serious rights against that third party to collect a lot of your damages. However, you cannot accept any money from that third party without the approval of your employer. If you do so, you'll be giving up all of your rights against your employer under the Longshore Act. This is a very technical part of the Longshore Act law and it's very important for you to understand. We actually have a client who was injured on a vessel when they were transporting him. He's a longshoreman, he has a very good suit against the vessel company but he cannot and he will not settle the third-party case until his employer approves it or we reach a settlement with his employer at the same time.

Call us if you have any questions about maritime law and the Longshore Act and how they work together sometimes and sometimes against each other.