§905 Exclusiveness of Liability

Summary

An employer’s responsibility under section 904 replaces other legal claims by the injured worker, the worker’s family, or anyone else who might seek money for that injury or death. But if the employer did not secure the required payment of compensation under this chapter, the injured worker (or the worker’s representative if the worker died) can choose either to take the benefits under the chapter or to sue the employer for money. If they sue, the employer cannot defend by saying a coworker was at fault, that the worker accepted the risk, or that the worker’s own carelessness caused the injury. A contractor counts as the employer of a subcontractor’s workers only when the subcontractor failed to secure payment as required by section 904. If a vessel’s negligence caused the injury, the injured person (or those entitled to recover) may sue the vessel as allowed under section 933, and the employer cannot claim damages from the vessel or rely on contracts that say otherwise. Special rules stop suits in certain stevedoring and shipbuilding/repair situations as described in the law. The vessel’s liability is not based on a seaworthiness warranty, and this remedy is the only one against the vessel except those in this chapter. Subsection (b) does not prevent enforcing any mutual indemnity agreements between employer and vessel.