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.

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.

Work-related injuries sustained outside the tangible boundaries of what was once considered the traditional office has become an increasingly hot topic within workers’ compensation law. As kitchen tables, parking lots, and laundry rooms across the country have been transformed into working spaces, employees in Maryland have rightly begun to wonder what happens when you are injured while working remotely.

When you are injured on the job, your medical information becomes legal evidence. One of the most important aspects of your workers’ compensation case is making sure that your injury is clearly and accurately documented in your medical records. Workers’ compensation exists in order to provide much-needed benefit to employees who experience injuries or diseases directly related to their work. But if your medical records, a key component of your case, are not obtained or considered, you may suffer serious consequences. This may mean that you are not able to receive the best treatment options as recommended by your doctor, or that your claim may be denied.

Workers in Maryland are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in the event they’re injured on the job. There is a system in place that determines the benefits eligibility, which is based on factors like injury severity, wage losses, and job retraining. When injuries are severe and impact a person’s ability to work at all, they may be diagnosed as permanent. It’s important to understand how permanent impairment is calculated in workers’ compensation cases, so the injured party has an idea of what they’ll receive and how they’ll maintain their health in the future.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the scourges of the modern-day world is mold and the impact of exposure upon our health. In a recent court case, Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals decided that a doctor’s opinion that exposure to mold led to a raft of problems for workers in a water-damaged building was not scientifically valid under the standard presently used in the Maryland court system.

The lawsuit stemmed from complaints by several employees of the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church (BWCUMC) of an odor emanating from the walls. A maintenance crew investigated and discovered mold. As a result, several workers filed claims against BWCUMC and its insurer, Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company with the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission. The workers said they suffered from “sick building syndrome” as a result of the exposure. While some of the workers’ claims were disallowed, several were awarded partial compensation.