If you suffer an on-the-job injury or occupational illness, the first place you’ll usually turn to seek help is workers’ comp. Workers’ compensation cases in our state are handled by the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC). Almost all employers in MD are required by state law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. These workers’ comp benefits help offset your losses if you are injured or become sick through the course of your employment.

But many injured workers are, understandably, not sure how to file a workers’ compensation claim in Maryland. Filing a workers’ comp claim is a complex process—and not something most people know how to do without having done it before. Furthermore, many employers and their insurers only complicate the process by working to deny workers’ compensation benefits to injured employees or attempting to give out fewer benefits than are deserved.

Many of us head off to work daily in the Baltimore area, never thinking of potential dangers we may face on the job. While there are certainly some Maryland residents who work in high-risk roles, an overwhelming majority of us wouldn’t classify our jobs as such. However, data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that an estimated 2.6 million private sector workers suffer nonfatal illnesses and injuries annually.

The injuries or illnesses these employees are diagnosed with run the gamut from minor to major and include physical ailments and emotional or behavioral ones. Read on where we’ll highlight qualifying injuries and illnesses for worker’s compensation so you’ll be better informed about your rights if you get hurt on the job in Baltimore.

Going to work shouldn’t mean risking your health, safety, or wellbeing. Despite this, approximately 62,600 workers in Maryland suffered nonfatal on-the-job injuries and illnesses in 2017 alone.

When you’ve been hurt on the job and can no longer work, you need access to benefits that will address your lost wages and cover related medical expenses. Determining whether you are covered under Maryland workers’ compensation is just the first step to securing the benefits to which you are entitled.

Whether you call it a pile-up accident, a chain-reaction crash, or a multi-car collision, these names refer to a similar type of wreck involving multiple vehicles. While sorting out liability might seem fairly intuitive when two vehicles are involved in a crash, determining fault in a pile-up accident may seem far less straightforward.

Given the heavy congestion on Baltimore’s roadways, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our Belsky & Horowitz, LLC legal team handles our fair share of these complex car accident cases every year. Below, we’ll share why these collisions occur, how liability is sorted out, and how that impacts your rights in hopes that this insight can be helpful to you if you’ve had the misfortune of becoming involved in such a crash.

When you are injured at work, your first avenue for obtaining compensation is typically through a workers’ compensation claim. Almost every employer in the state of Maryland is required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ comp benefits help offset your lost wages and medical bills if you are hurt through the course of your employment.

Do all workers’ compensation cases end in a settlement? Some of them do, but not all. Whether your Maryland workers’ compensation case ultimately ends in a settlement depends heavily upon the unique circumstances of your case.

When a person’s death is the result of another individual’s negligent or reckless behavior, surviving family members have the right to take legal action in the form of a wrongful death lawsuit. For Maryland families, this type of lawsuit is often the best possible solution to financial losses associated with a sudden and unexpected death.

We know that legal action will not bring back your loved one or undo the harm your family has already suffered. However, we also know that stressors like the loss of financial support can make it difficult to fully grieve an unexpected death. If you recently lost a loved one and are struggling with the aftermath, you may be left wondering, “What qualifies as a wrongful death lawsuit?”

Baltimore is conveniently positioned within minutes of Washington, D.C. Its roadways are notoriously congested with motorists traveling into the area on business or through the city on a trip up north or down south. With the abundance of traffic that our Maryland city sees, it’s no wonder Baltimore sees its fair share of car accidents.

It can be quite inconvenient if a car accident in Baltimore leaves you with physical damage to your vehicle, rendering it non-operational. However, matters may be worse if you suffer from debilitating car crash injuries. This is especially the case if they’re of the life-altering variety, like a traumatic brain injury, amputation, or spinal cord injury.

Negligent security arises whenever security measures are nonexistent, broken, ineffective, or inadequate. When negligent security is an issue, visitors, guests, tenants, and residents of a property can become injured or killed by criminal activity. Crimes as serious as assault, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and rape can result due to poor security measures on the premises.

A property owner who fails to protect against foreseeable crimes may be held liable through legal action for the injuries their negligence caused.

Reporting a sexual assault is not easy, and many victims find that the process can often inflict additional trauma on top of what they’ve already suffered. Feelings of guilt and shame, apprehension around authorities, and a fear of not being believed can create seemingly impassable barriers to filing a report.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that, according to RAINN, fewer than one-third of sexual assaults are ever reported to the police. Out of every 1,000 acts of sexual assault, only 50 ever result in an arrest. Belsky & Horowitz, LLC wants to be part of the solution to improve these statistics.

When motorcycle accidents occur, there’s often a lot of contention regarding who’s at fault. Many passenger vehicle drivers believe that motorcyclists are the ones at fault. They claim they are reckless because they drive too quickly and often weave in and out of traffic, instead of staying in one lane.

On the opposing side, motorcyclists sometimes believe that car drivers are the reckless ones. They do not look for motorcyclists and have a harder time seeing them. Many car drivers drive while distracted, especially with their cell phones. As a result, motorcyclists can get rear-ended easily.