33 U.S.C. § 920
Section 920 · Presumptions
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 231 court decisions — leading case Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries (1994)
Most recently applied in G4S Int'l Emp't Servs (Jersey) v. Newton-Sealey (September 2020)
Applied most in the District Circuit Circuit (29 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 33 U.S.C. § 901 · 33 U.S.C. § 921 · 33 U.S.C. § 902
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In any proceeding for the enforcement of a claim for compensation under this chapter it shall be presumed, in the absence of substantial evidence to the contrary—
(a) That the claim comes within the provisions of this chapter.
(b) That sufficient notice of such claim has been given.
(c) That the injury was not occasioned solely by the intoxication of the injured employee.
(d) That the injury was not occasioned by the willful intention of the injured employee to injure or kill himself or another.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Cross References
Intoxication, suicide and homicide as excluding coverage, see section 903 of this title.