Maryland Injury Attorney Blog

March 28, 2012

Maryland Workers’ Compensation Fund Could Be Privatized, If State Bill Passes

Maryland lawmakers have moved forward with legislation that seeks to privatize the state-run Workers’ Compensation fund. S.B. 745 seeks to require the Maryland Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund (IWIF) to restructure into a private workers’ compensation insurance fund, to be known as the Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Co.

The bill was introduced to the Maryland State Senate on Feb. 3 by State Senator Thomas M. Middleton and is co-sponsored by State Senators Katherine Klausmeier and Delores G. Kelley. The bill passed with amendments in the Maryland State Senate in mid-March, and has moved to its first reading in the House (House Bill 1017).

Since 1914, the IWIF has been the Maryland workers’ compensation insurer of last resort — meaning it has written policies for employers who couldn’t otherwise find suitable insurance in the private marketplace. The Baltimore Business Journal reports that the IWIF has been Maryland’s largest workers’ comp insurer — providing insurance for some 21,000 Maryland businesses (more than 20 percent). That amounted to about $170 million in policies written in 2011.

March 5, 2012

Which Maryland Traffic Safety Laws Save the Most Lives?

by Jeff Butschky

If you grew up in my generation, going for a Sunday drive along Maryland back roads was a leisurely family pastime. We kids piled in the back of the sedan or station wagon, with dad at the wheel and mom riding shotgun. Life was a lot simpler in those days.

Looking back, it’s a wonder more of us weren’t injured or killed in Maryland car accidents. We had none of today’s driving laws or vehicle safety equipment in place. No child or infant car seats, no air bags, no anti-lock brakes, and no cell phones if you did run into trouble. The cars may have had seat belts, but we weren’t required by law to wear them. When it comes to traffic safety and preventing auto crashes in Maryland, we’ve come a long way since we were kids.

Thanks to adoption of traffic safety laws, public awareness campaigns, and vehicle improvements, national motor vehicle death rates are back down to the 1961 level. The U.S. Census reports that in 2009, a total 33,808 persons were killed in motor vehicle accidents in this country. That’s as low as it’s been since the early 1960s. Maryland had 547 traffic deaths in 2009. Still, every one of these Maryland traffic crash deaths means someone’s life was cut short. A family was left grieving.

February 15, 2012

University of Maryland Research : Pedestrians Wearing Headphones at Greater Risk for Traffic Accident Injury and Death

by Jeff Butschky

Have you noticed how the behavior of Maryland pedestrians has changed in recent years?

Used to be people walked down the street, looked around at the buildings and scenery, and thought about the day’s activities. They walked to and from work, school, and the store, pushed babies in carriages, and trotted their dogs on leashes. The main pedestrian activity in Md. was getting where you needed to go. The biggest distraction was the honking of car horns and of course navigating safely across busy Baltimore City and other Maryland streets.

Now the technological devices that bring a world of information and entertainment to our fingertips are in fact posing a risk to life and limb for not only Maryland distracted drivers — but for distracted pedestrians, too.

February 5, 2012

US Labor Dept. Sues Towson, Maryland Employer over Mishandling Workers’ Retirement Contributions

by Jeff Butschky

A Towson, Maryland rehabilitation center has been sued by the United States Department of Labor for allegedly mishandling employees’ retirement contributions. According to a news release, the U.S. Labor Dept. has filed a lawsuit against Towson Rehabilitation Center LLC and its CEO for failure to remit employees’ retirement contributions to the company’s 401K plan.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, seeks to restore all plan losses and “permanently bar the defendants from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any employee benefit plan…” covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

A case such as this suggests an alleged breakdown in trust between the employer and employees–in this case, with workers’ retirement contributions at stake. Trust can also break down when someone is injured at work, and the employer may not always do what is in the best interest of the injured employee.

January 31, 2012

Maryland Hybrid Drivers : Pedestrian Accident Injury Liability Claims Up, Insurance Report Says

by Jeff Butschky

Hybrid vehicles are rising in popularity in Maryland and across the U.S., as more people seek to save money on gas with an environmentally friendlier vehicle. However according to a recent insurance industry report, hybrids vehicles aren’t always as friendly to pedestrians. Liability claims for pedestrian accidents with hybrid vehicles are on the rise because people on foot — as well as bicyclists — may simply not hear them coming.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued a report late last fall stating that hybrids are actually safer than their non-hybrid equivalents when it comes to protecting motorists in car accidents. However the same cannot be said when pedestrians are struck by hybrids. The IIHS reported that hybrid vehicles are 20 percent more likely to be involved in traffic accidents with pedestrians.

A Baltimore County pedestrian accident injury lawyer works with individuals in cases where a person on foot has been struck and injured or killed by a motor vehicle. We’re hearing more about pedestrian traffic accidents involving hybrid cars, whose engines are very quiet when the vehicle is in electric only mode. Unlike conventional gas burners that rumble along the Maryland roadways, hybrids running on all electric current may approach almost silently — particularly for pedestrians who are wearing iPod headsets, and/or are texting or talking on their cell phones.

January 18, 2012

U.S. Highway Safety Group Green Lights Maryland Traffic Laws, While Noting Areas that Need Improvement

by Jeff Butschky

Though Baltimore County commuters might beg to differ, Maryland has recently been ranked as one of the safer states in the country for motorists. (See related Maryland Injury Attorney articles below.) Now a new study released by a national highway traffic safety advocacy group ranks Maryland among states given a “green light” for basic traffic laws on the books.

However many aspects of Maryland traffic laws and regulations could use improvement, as the study authors — and experienced Baltimore County car accident injury lawyers — would agree. Let’s take a brief look at the study findings and recommendations.

Maryland’s basic traffic laws were given “green light” passing grades by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. The group is comprised of consumer, insurance, health, safety, and law enforcement representatives and conducts a national survey of traffic laws by state every year. Its report titled 2012 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws looks at 15 basic traffic laws covering a range of safety areas, including use of motorcycle helmets and seat belts, texting while driving, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs, child safety seats, and ignition interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers.

January 10, 2012

Maryland Work Injury and Death Statistics Shed Light on Most Hazardous Occupations

by Jeff Butschky

Which are the most dangerous occupations in Maryland? What types of fatal work-related accidents occur most frequently? As we look ahead to 2012, it’s worth looking to the recent past to consider Maryland workplace safety, accidents that happen on the job, and trends.

The answers may be found in the most recent Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) survey results, which are available to the public (see link below). Some highlights from the 2008 Maryland Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries…

> Nonfatal work related injuries and illnesses in Maryland declined in 2008, numbering at 75,000. Maryland is statistically one of the safer states in which to work in the U.S., with a “TRC” (total recordable case) incidence rate that’s 12 percent below the national average. (Md.’s TRC rate was, for 2008, 3.7 injuries and illnesses per 100 equivalent full-time workers.)

January 1, 2012

Maryland Car Accident Death Rates Down, But Many Traffic Safety Challenges Remain

by Jeff Butschky

As a new year begins, it’s worth noting some traffic accident statistics and trends for the state of Maryland. There’s some encouraging news, but many Md. traffic safety and driving challenges remain.

A recent story reported by CBS Baltimore noted that Maryland traffic accident fatalities decreased by 10 percent last year. The report pointed to statistics for 2010 released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA’s findings, 493 motor vehicle crash deaths occurred in Maryland in 2010, compared with 549 in 2009.

A source from the Mid-Atlantic AAA reported that the decrease in Maryland car crash deaths can be credited to a number of factors. These include advances in automotive safety equipment such as air bags and anti-rollover technology, better road signage, as well as public safety campaigns targeting unsafe driving behaviors, including drunk driving in Maryland.

December 21, 2011

Should Maryland Laws Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving Get Even Tougher?

by Jeff Butschky

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a bold recommendation — one that urges states to take another look at their driving laws and has the driving public talking about individual rights versus public safety.

In the wake of several fatal distracted driving traffic accidents, the NTSB proposed an all-out, nationwide ban on talking and texting on cell phones while driving. That would mean no talking on either hand-held or hands-free cell phones and no texting, for any drivers of any age, except in the case of an emergency.

The NTSB recommendation came following examination of a 2010 case in Missouri, where a young man who had reportedly been texting for several minutes crashed his pickup truck into a commercial truck that had slowed down for road construction — setting in motion a chain reaction crash that involved two school buses. The pickup truck driver and a teenage passenger on one of the buses were killed, and close to 40 people were injured, some seriously.

December 5, 2011

Maryland Workers’ Compensation Cost of Living Rate Adjustments for 2012

by Jeff Butschky

What would happen to you and your family if you were hurt on the job and temporarily or permanently disabled? For construction workers, electricians, machinists, farmers, truck drivers, and others in high-risk occupations, surviving a Maryland work accident can be just the start of an uphill battle. Keeping up with day-to-day medical and living expenses, while recovering from a work-related accident, can be an enormous struggle for injured Md. workers and their families.

Harford County, Md. work comp injury lawyers know families may struggle just to get by in the wake of a work related accident. This is why we work hard to relieve injured Maryland workers and their families of the burden of dealing with their Maryland Workers’ Compensation claims and well as related legal claims and lawsuits.

How much money can a Maryland injured worker expect to receive when filing a Workers’ Comp claim on their own? The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission posted its Workers’ Compensation Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for the New Year. Let’s take a look at a few numbers and consider what that could mean for injured Md. workers and their families.