Ninth Circuit Reconfigures Circuit Split On Workers’ Comp for Oil Rig Workers

Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act benefits for certain offshore oil well workers do not hinge on the injury’s taking place on the outer continental shelf, but need only be substantially related to operations conducted there, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held May 13, complicating a circuit split (Valladolid v. Pacific Operations Offshore LLP).

Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), LHWCA benefits extend to employee death and disability “resulting from any injury occurring as the result of operations conducted on the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of exploring for, developing, removing, ...