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Charts show which countries have the most DBA cases

On Behalf of | Feb 11, 2019 | Uncategorized |

Longshoremen and harbor worker have some of the most dangerous and unpredictable jobs in the nation. Most of the contractors and employees that work oversea face even more challenges due to their unfamiliar surroundings.

For decades, the United States Department of Labor have released Defense Base Act (DBA) case summary charts detailing the amount of cases created in each nation. While it doesn’t reveal the total amount of injuries and deaths in the countries, it does showcase which types of environments may present more hazards to oversea workers than others.

War-torn lands

Since September of 2001, Iraq and Afghanistan have been consistently ranking the highest in the charts. Iraq has had over 56,000 cases while Afghanistan has had over 41,000. The combined total makes up more than half of the total cases in the last two decades as evidenced by the following rankings:

Total amount of DBA cases from 2001-2018

  1. Iraq – 56627
  2. Afghanistan – 41434
  3. Nation pending – 9671
  4. Kuwait – 9235
  5. United States – 2777
  6. Puerto Rico – 1632
  7. Marshall Islands – 1592
  8. Germany – 994
  9. Qatar – 819
  10. In-flight – 614

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

This may not come as a surprise given how both countries went to war against the U.S. They have more soldiers, contractors and defense bases present than the other nations on the list. While Iraq’s numbers have gone down in recent years thanks to the war ending in 2011, it still often lands in the top 2 spots annually since more help is still required there.

U.S. and associated countries

The U.S. and countries associated with it rank just behind the war nations. While working in the U.S. itself may not provide as many challenges as working in unfamiliar territory, it places high because there are still plenty of workers in the country eligible for it and the process for filing a claim is easier here.

Puerto Rico and the Marshall Islands both rely on the United States military, so they tend to be popular spots for harbor workers to be sent to. They are also both highly susceptible to natural disasters that can result in major injuries for longshoremen.

Countries closer to water

Most of the highest-ranking nations tend to be a mix of the two aforementioned topics. Other nations that make it to the top 20 often make it due to their country’s location. Colombia, Japan and the Bahamas have unpredictable waters surrounding them. They can receive floods within mere hours. While it is not a country, Antarctica often has a lot of claims coming from it. The continent even made it to the top 10 last year.

Total amount of DBA cases from 10/1/17 – 9/30/2018

  1. Afghanistan – 2063
  2. Iraq – 1857
  3. Nation Pending – 1230
  4. Kuwait – 465
  5. Marshall Islands – 167
  6. Germany – 60
  7. Antarctica – 57
  8. Qatar – 56
  9. United States – 51
  10. Republic of Korea – 41

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

This shouldn’t discourage workers from coming to these locations. It should instead remind them that they can still rely on a program to cover for them even if they aren’t working in the U.S. Regardless, it is important to know more about the DBA claim filing process in the event of an emergency.