DOL Clarifies Requirements for Coverage of Psychiatric Injury Claims Under War Hazards Compensation Act

On June 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC) issued FECA Bulletin No. 18-03 to clarify the requirements for coverage of psychiatric claims under the War Hazards Compensation Act (WHCA). The Bulletin makes clear that in order for a Carrier to obtain reimbursement of benefits paid under the Defense Base Act (DBA), it must produce evidence of “sufficient specificity of the employee’s potential exposure to a war-risk hazard such that it is reasonable to conclude that the employee was actually exposed to such war-risk hazard(s)”. This standard is especially geared towards cumulative trauma claims in which the claimant might develop psychiatric injury from exposure to multiple war-risk hazards over a sustained overseas deployment. The new policy recognizes that war-risk hazards such as explosions or gunshots may be so prevalent in a warzone that it is not realistic for a claimant or employer to…

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