Workers’ Compensation · Primary-source case analysis

Perini: Work Injuries on Actual Navigable Waters Retained Longshore Coverage

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 15, 2026

Director, OWCP v. Perini North River Associates reviewed a construction worker injured on a cargo barge used to build a sewage-treatment plant extending over the Hudson River.

The worker was injured aboard a barge on the Hudson

Churchill performed construction duties from the deck of a cargo barge positioned on the river. An administrative decision denied benefits because his work allegedly lacked a significant relationship to navigation or maritime commerce.

The 1972 amendments expanded rather than contracted coverage

Congress extended situs landward and added maritime-employment status to cover shoreside work. The Court found no clear indication that Congress simultaneously meant to withdraw traditional coverage from employees injured while working on the actual navigable waters.

Actual-water employment supplied coverage

A worker injured on navigable waters in the course of employment met the Act’s coverage rule preserved from the pre-1972 statute, even though the construction task was not itself traditional longshoring.

The holding has defined limits

The Court did not decide every transient or fortuitous water-contact scenario and did not eliminate exclusions or other statutory requirements. Current claims still require precise proof of situs, work circumstances, employer status, and later circuit law.

Key takeaways

• Fix the worker’s exact location and activity at the injury moment.
• Determine whether presence on navigable waters was employment-related rather than fortuitous.
• Apply statutory exclusions and employer requirements separately.
• Preserve vessel, platform, project, and assignment evidence.