As an injured worker, you have a right to collect workers’ compensation benefits. In most cases, negligence is not a factor. The fact that the injury occurred while you were employed and completing your assigned duties is all that matters. The benefits you receive can cover medical and therapy bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and a portion of your lost wages.

Depending on how your accident happened, however, could impact your eligibility for benefits. Understanding the state laws and process for determining compensation is an important part of submitting a successful workers’ compensation claim. Our lawyers can explain the details to you, so you’re fully informed and know what to expect.

If you’ve been injured at work and your ability to make a living has been impacted, you can seek workers’ compensation benefits. They help you stay financially sound while recovering from your injuries. Depending on the severity, your doctor may instruct you to take a leave of absence from work or you may be able to return on a light-duty basis. Regardless of your physical limitations, benefits should be available to you. In some instances, however, your employer could try to reduce the compensation you’re receiving.

If you’re injured at work, it’s important to report the incident immediately. Depending on the severity, you may need to seek medical attention. You should also be prompted by your employer to fill out a detailed and comprehensive injury report.

If your employer neglects to have you report the injury, this might be a potential red flag. Having a paper trail for a workplace injury is crucial, especially when you try to seek workers’ compensation benefits.

While some injuries might not seem like a big deal, you could run into serious trouble if your injury worsens and you try to seek compensation at a later date. There are a number of reasons not all on-the-job injuries get reported, but not reporting the issue only makes things worse for the injured employee in the future.

A man in another state recently suffered injuries while working at a construction site. The accident occurred on a Monday afternoon. Fortunately, workers in Maryland and elsewhere may be able to take advantage of workers’ compensation to help them to address their injuries quickly and efficiently.

In the recent out-of-state case, a man was apparently doing sewer project work associated with a subdivision that was in the process of being built. However, while he was inside a deep excavation hole, a cylinder made from cement collapsed onto him. The cylinder fell after reportedly shifting somehow.

Do you spend any of your workday on a ladder, a scaffold or on some other surface that puts you several feet off the ground? If so, you more than likely already know that a fall is a significant hazard for you. A fall can cause any number of serious injuries that can change the course of your life, and when that fall happens at work, you may be entitled to Maryland workers’ compensation benefits.

Any injury to your pride after a fall is nowhere near as important as any physical injuries you may have suffered. Broken bones, neck and back injuries and hitting your head could all have substantial effects on your life. Even if doctors say you merely strained or sprained something in the fall, you could still find yourself in a lot of pain, out of work for a while and wondering how you will pay your bills.

When workplace injuries are mentioned, many people think of construction workers falling off scaffolds, industrial workers suffering electric shocks or warehouse workers involved in forklift accidents. Office workers and employees in the technology industry are not typically included in discussions about occupational hazards. However, the Maryland workers’ compensation program reports many claims filed by computer operators for repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Many of the on-the-job accidents that happen here in Maryland cause injuries from which an employee will more than likely recover. However, you may be one of the individuals who suffers such a severe injury that a full recovery is not possible. In that case, you may be wondering what type of workers’ compensation benefits you can receive to help with your financial situation since you may never be able to return to work, or at the very least, you may not be able to return to the work you did prior to the accident.

Over the last six months, our blog has dedicated a series of posts to examining how those employees who suffer an “accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment” are entitled to benefits under the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Act.

Specifically, we’ve been spent time exploring temporary partial disability benefits, temporary total disability benefits and permanent partial disability benefits. We’ll conclude this discussion in today’s post by taking a closer look at permanent total disability benefits.

There is no question that firefighting ranks as one of the single most dangerous occupations that a person can have. Indeed, this danger comes from the fact that firefighters are not only at a near-constant risk of suffering serious burn injuries or bodily harm while tending to fires and accidents, but also constantly exposed to dangerous chemicals and toxic fumes — many of which are carcinogenic.

In recognition of this latter reality, Maryland, along with the majority of the states, has long provided firefighters diagnosed with certain types of cancer with special legal presumptions when it comes to workers’ compensation benefits.

INJURED DURING A WORK BREAK? WHAT IF YOU WORK REMOTELY? 

Workers’ comp covers you for any work-related accident or injury. But what about injuries while getting coffee or snacks? What about your lunch hour? If you weren’t technically working, can you claim a work injury?

Maryland courts have recognized the “personal comfort doctrine” in workers’ compensation. When you are at work, there is a benefit — to you and the employer — in taking mental breaks, using the restroom and getting refreshments. But there are gray areas and untested scenarios relating to the allowance for personal comfort. Your employer may challenge a work injury claim that stems from a work break.