Cite as: 505 U. S. 469 (1992)
Blackmun, J., dissenting
nized, then, as suggested by the Court's closing remarks on the "stark and troubling" implications of its interpretation, ante, at 483, it follows that recognition of Cowart's claim is fully consistent with the Act.
A
Were the Court truly to interpret the Act "as written," it would not conclude that Cowart is barred from receiving compensation. Section 33(g)(1) of the LHWCA, on which the Court's "plain meaning" argument relies, provides that if a "person entitled to compensation" settles with a third party for an amount less than his statutory benefits, his employer will be "liable for compensation as determined under subsection (f)" only if the "person entitled to compensation" obtains and files the employer's written approval. The "plain language" of subsection (g)(1) does not establish any general written-approval requirement binding either all "persons entitled to compensation," or the subset of those persons who settle for less than their statutory benefits. Instead, it requires written approval only as a condition of receiving compensation "as determined under subsection (f)." Where the "person entitled to compensation" is not eligible for compensation "as determined under subsection (f)," subsection (g)(1) does not require him to obtain written approval.
The "plain language" of subsection (f) in turn suggests that the provision does not apply to Cowart's situation. Subsection (f), by its terms, applies only "[i]f the person entitled to compensation institutes proceedings within the period prescribed in subsection (b)." And the "period prescribed in subsection (b)" begins, by the terms of that subsection, upon the person's "[a]cceptance of compensation under an award in a compensation order filed by the deputy commissioner, an administrative law judge, or the Board." Cowart's third-party suit was clearly not instituted within this period: He filed suit before any award of LHWCA benefits, and he still has not accepted (or been offered) compensation
493
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