Articles Posted in Workers Compensation

Maryland and many other parts of the country are sweating under oppressive heat this summer, with Baltimore temperatures bumping up against 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the area heat index (a combination of heat and humidity) expected to reach as high as 110.

Extreme heat makes construction, landscaping, agriculture, and other outdoor work even more dangerous, as heat-related illness — which can lead to death — can overtake the body quickly. Maryland recently reported its first heat-related death of 2023; in last year’s extreme heat, our state saw five heat-related deaths.

As Maryland Workers’ Compensation lawyers, we’re concerned about the safety and well-being of all our state’s workers. Let’s take a look at what the Maryland Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) want employers and workers to know about avoiding heat illness this summer.

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According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), fatal occupational injuries rose to 5,190 in 2021 — an 8.9-percent increase from 4,764 in 2020 and the highest national increase since 2016. The 2021 rate of 3.6 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers is up from 3.4 in 2020 and 3.5 in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

As Maryland Workers Compensation attorneys, we’re well aware of the dangers inherent to certain job fields, including construction and transportation. The BLS breaks down its most recent report into some interesting statistics related to the rise in fatal work injuries in 2021….

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Last month, the Maryland legislature voted to override a veto by Governor Larry Hogan to enact the “Time to Care” Act — providing nearly all Maryland workers with up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid family and medical leave each year. Maryland becomes the latest state to join 9 others and Washington, DC to pass this legislation covering paid family and medical leave.

As longtime Workers’ Compensation attorneys in Maryland, we see this as a positive development for working families and individuals. The Time to Care Act of 2022 (S.B. 275) will provide for paid family and medical leave for private-sector workers statewide. The Act requires employers to offer up to 12 weeks of paid time off for any of the following circumstances…

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We’re happy to report that after two years of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things are moving forward for people seeking Maryland Workers’ Compensation (WCC) benefits. We can say firsthand that the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission is doing a good job processing backlogged claims, and we’ve been happy to help our clients expedite their work-related injury and illness claims through the state’s system (which includes using their electronic filing system).

The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission released its 2021 annual report (see link below), listing filed claims by industry, types of injuries, and other data. Can you guess which industries had the most Maryland Work Comp claims last year? The results might surprise you.

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We are now more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic. Little did we know last year at this time how all of our lives would be severely impacted. Our thoughts go out to anyone who has lost someone due to the virus. Nationally, while COVID-19 cases have been on the decline or leveling off in recent weeks, the virus is by no means done with us. Our Baltimore personal injury law firm continues to see clients whose lives have been turned upside by this deadly virus.

If you believe you were exposed to COVID-19 at work and became ill, you might assume you’d be covered by Maryland Workers’ Compensation — as is the case with other workplace illnesses and injuries. Unfortunately, COVID-19 work comp cases are far more complicated that you might think.

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The Workers Compensation Insurance Organizations (WCIO) now lists COVID-19 among its reporting codes for Occupational Disease or Cumulative Injury, describing it as “respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus.” The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) began accepting these codes on April 1, 2020, to be used for reporting any claim effective December 2019 or later.

Filing a successful Maryland Workers’ Compensation claim proving employer liability for injury or illness can be very challenging. Proving employer liability for a worker becoming ill in Maryland from COVID-19 — in the middle of a pandemic in a state with community spread — is not necessarily an open-and-shut case.

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Every day, Maryland’s hard-working first responders and law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public. Now, Maryland correctional officers now join our state’s police officers and firefighters in receiving better workplace injury compensation.

On May 15, 2018, Governor Larry Hogan signed Maryland House Bill 205 into law, providing for enhanced Maryland workers’ compensation benefits for state correctional officers who become injured or ill on the job. The bill, which was sponsored by Delegate Luke Clippinger from District 46, Baltimore City, adds correctional officers to the state definition of “public safety employees,” providing enhanced benefits for Maryland Workers’ Compensation claims submitted on or after October 1, 2018.

The Maryland General Assembly’s summary of Chapter 589 (House Bill 205) concerning Workers’ Compensation – Permanent Partial Disability – State Correctional Officers, reads as follows….

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Everyone looks forward to the long Labor Day weekend — which marks the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. Before we all take a break for our last cookouts, beach trips and family gatherings, let’s consider what the holiday really means.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the first municipal ordinances recognizing our nation’s labor force date back to 1885. The idea caught on, and more and more states got on board with a holiday dedicated to the working people who toiled and built this country. By 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. Labor Day “constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Labor Day seems an apropos time to consider workplace safety in Maryland. According to the Maryland Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) Program and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Maryland workplace fatalities have declined some in recent years. Of note…

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Last month, President Barack Obama declared April 28 Workers’ Memorial Day. OSHA (the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration) memorialized fallen workers across the country. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported its final numbers for worker fatalities in 2012. That year, 4,628 workers lost their lives on the job. This was a slight decrease in national workplace death statistics compared to 2011.

Baltimore, MD workers’ compensation lawyers like us know that any life lost on the job is a tragedy, both for the worker and his or her family. No one plans to go off to work and not come home that day. But accidents happen, sometimes due to negligence or recklessness on the part of employers, property owners, company owners and even coworkers. Construction accidents — particularly falls — remain one of the top causes of worker injury and death in the U.S.

The preliminary 2012 workplace fatality data for Baltimore / Towson, Maryland reflect national trends. But one of the top two causes of worker death in our region may not be what you’d expect. According to the BLS, 34 people died on the job or as a result of work-related injury in Baltimore – Towson in 2012. This was up from 28 worker deaths in 2011. Transportation accidents tied for the top cause of workplace fatality. The other top reason people die on the job in Baltimore – Towson might surprise you: Workplace violence.

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When an employee suffers an injury or work-related illness, their lives literally may be at stake. As Maryland Workers’ Compensation lawyers, we work with hurt and sick workers to obtain the compensation they need while they’re recovering from their work injury or illness. This means promptly filing a Maryland Work Comp claim and sometimes, taking the employer to court if they refuse to honor the claim in a timely manner.

One law that provides workers who become seriously ill with some protection is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which Congress passed 20 years ago under the Clinton administration. The Act ensures job security by providing workers *who meet certain requirements* (this is significant) with 12 weeks of unpaid leave, to care for a family member (including maternity/paternity care) or to care for themselves in the event of injury or illness. The law was designed to protect sick workers from losing their jobs or medical coverage.

Some employee rights advocates heralded the FMLA as the beginning of a “Workers’ First” attitude in the U.S. However, others have criticized the Act as not going far enough, as it does not require all employers to provide the unpaid-leave benefit for all employees (see link to terms of the law below) — and some people simply can’t afford to take 12 weeks off without pay. Considering how exorbitant medical expenses rack up quickly, this is significant for sick workers in Maryland and everywhere else.

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