If you are injured while working as a civilian for a company supporting the U.S. Department of Defense in Iraq, Kuwait or anywhere overseas, you may be entitled to receive Federal workers compensation benefits under the Defense Base Act (42 U.S. Code § 1651).  One of the benefits, established by the U.S. Congress, is to have attorney representation for free.  No attorney’s fees come from a worker’s weekly benefits or settlement.  They are awarded to the attorney by the U.S. Department of Labor based on his reasonable time spent on the case.

Injured workers are entitled to weekly compensation while the doctor has them off of work, all of the reasonable and necessary medical care (including the right to a doctor of their choice), and compensation for any permanent disability.  The spouse and minor children of a worker, whose death is attributable to the work environment, are entitled to compensation benefits.

I have had the honor of representing injured workers, or their surviving family members, in worker’s compensation cases under the U.S. statutes for over two decades.  My office has been across the hall from the U.S. Department of Labor, where these cases are heard, for the last 18 years.  Some of my brief biographical information is below.  I accept Defense Base Act clients from all over the United States. I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have about your rights, or your loved one’s rights, under the Defense Base Act.

Gary B. Pitts Pitts & Associates 8866 Gulf Freeway, Suite 117 Houston, TX 77017 defensebasecomp@AOL.com (800) 269-6345 (713)910-0555 (713)910-0594 fax

Private practice, civil litigation, State and Federal Courts, and U.S. Dept. of Labor, 1979- present

Owner, Pitts & Associates, Houston, Texas

Captain, Army National Guard, 1975-1987, Military Intelligence & Artillery

Tulane University (New Orleans), J.D., 1979

McGill University (Montreal), B.A., 1974

(Joint Honors: History and Political Science)

Born in 1952, married, four children

Licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, the U.S. District Courts in the Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and all State Courts in Texas.

Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.


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