In Defense Base Act claims, injured workers file claims against their employer. The employer is a party to the litigation. The employer’s DBA insurance carrier merely stands in employer’s shoes for liability purposes. The insurance carrier assigns a lawyer to defend the employer. The employer is the lawyer’s client. Yet, during DBA litigation, the attorney assigned by the insurance carrier rarely interacts with the employer. Instead, the carrier-assigned attorney answers the written discovery requests propounded by claimant without actually interacting with the employer. Not only does this practice violate the Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative Hearings Before the OALJ, it deprives the DBA claimant of relevant evidence that the claimant may want to use to corroborate their injury claim. So, what’s the answer? In most cases, the claimant must depose an employer representative. That is the only way to get answers from the employer to claim-related questions. TheRead more