For the last six weeks, military installations within the Middle East have experienced an exponential rise in war-risk hazards due to the ongoing hostilities between the United States, Iran, and Israel. On many of these installations are career military contractors who previously sustained Defense Base Act-covered injuries that were resolved via settlement or an administrative law judge’s decision. A question we have recently begun fielding is whether contractors who resolved a prior DBA claim and returned to work may file a new DBA claim for injuries sustained to the same previously injured body part during recent hostilities. The short answer is yes. The Aggravation Rule The DBA recognizes that injuries that previously resolved can become aggravated by subsequent events. Under the “aggravation rule,” where an employment-related injury contributes to, combines with, or aggravates a pre-existing disease or underlying condition, the entire resultant condition is compensable; the relative contributions of theRead more