Workers’ Compensation · Primary-source case analysis

Ingalls Shipbuilding: A Predeath Settlement Did Not Forfeit a Survivor’s Later Death Benefits

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 18, 2026

Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs examined Longshore Act section 33(g) after a shipyard worker’s spouse released third-party asbestos defendants while her husband was alive and later sought statutory death benefits.

The spouse joined settlements before the worker died

Maggie Yates released potential claims against asbestos manufacturers while her husband was living. Ingalls did not approve the settlements and later argued that section 33(g) barred her survivor claim.

Section 33(g) looks to entitlement when the settlement occurs

The approval rule applies when the person entering the settlement is then entitled to compensation under the Act. The Court rejected a reading based on the possibility that the person might acquire a different entitlement later.

The survivor claim had not yet arisen

Death benefits are a distinct statutory entitlement that did not exist before the employee’s death. Mrs. Yates therefore was not a person entitled to that compensation when she executed the predeath releases.

The death-benefit award was preserved

Because the statutory forfeiture did not reach her predeath settlements, the Court affirmed the judgment allowing the survivor claim to proceed. The decision did not eliminate section 33(g) for settlements made after entitlement exists.

Key takeaways

• Identify the benefit entitlement that existed on the settlement date.
• Separate an employee’s disability claim from a survivor’s later death-benefit claim.
• Obtain employer and carrier approval whenever section 33(g) may apply.
• Preserve settlement dates, release language, and the amount compared with statutory compensation.