Is My Injury Covered Under Maryland Workers' Compensation Law?

Injuries occur because of an incident or over a period of time. You may receive benefits even if the injury aggravates a pre-existing condition. However, to be covered under Maryland law the cause of the injury must be one of the following:

• Accidental Injury - An unexpected injury caused by an incident
• Occupational Disease - A medical condition which occurs due to exposure to an employment hazard over a period of time (such as repetitive activity) and occurs frequently to employees in similar occupations; or
• Hernia - It does not matter what causes your injury as long as you report the injury within thirty days of it occurring.

Accidental Injury

Most injuries on the job occur because of a specific incident. The law requires that your injury must be the "unexpected result" of what you did. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeals has not yet defined what an "unexpected result" means. Therefore, it is important to report to your employer and your Doctor any unusual acts or occurrences that contributed to your injury. Some examples are:

• You packed the bag with too many food items causing it to be too heavy
• The customer moved the cart as you were putting the bag in it
• The bag ripped and jerked you forward
• Your foot slipped
• The bag started to slip from your hand jerking you forward
• You violated a safety rule (your employer may ot deny you benefits because you were at fault for the injury)
• The cart was too far back and that caused you to stretch to far

Occupational Diseases

An occupational disease is essentially the opposite of an accidental injury. The following list is an example of occupational diseases that are frequently found covered under Workers' Compensation law:

 
• Carpal tunnel syndrome:
•  Hearing loss;
•  Heart and hypertension related conditions for police, firefighters and sheriffs of specified Counties;
•  Lung problems and certain cancers for firefighters; or
•  Asbestosis

To have your occupational disease covered under Maryland Law you must prove the following:

• The disease or injury is due to your job because the same condition occurs frequently to other employees with similar jobs;
•  The condition is as a result of an exposure or repetitive activity over a period of time instead of a specific incident; and
•  You suffer a disablement.

To prove your claim it is important that your attorney and your doctor understand exactly what you do on your job. It is also important for your attorney to have experience representing other employees with the same condition who have performed similar jobs. This is because the insurance companies will often present unique defenses that are related to specific job classifications. It often requires a thorough knowledge of these defenses before your hearing in order to properly rebut them at a hearing. An example of this would be a supervisor testifying that you really do not type much on the job in defense of a carpal tunnel claim. The proper response may be that it is not the amount of the typing that you did which caused your problem, but the position of your hands at the work station while working and at rest.

A thorough knowledge of the doctors who will provide opinions in your case is also important. There are certain physicians whom the insurance companies use over and over again to render opinions against injured workers. We have extensive experience rebutting the positions of these doctors, including, but not limited to:

• Transcripts of prior testimony;
•  Multiple examples of prior reports;
•  Medical literature;
•  Expert physicians who are familiar with the opinions of the so called defense experts and are used to rebutting them!

The issue of disablement often traps the un-weary. Unlike an accidental injury claim, to have your medical condition accepted as an occupational disease, the condition must have had an effect on your ability to work. Usually, this is interpreted to mean that you have missed time from work (although a recent Court of Special Appeals case may call into question whether that alone is sufficient). However, we also have succeeded in winning claims for employees that have continued to work, but have suffered an impact on their ability to perform the full functions of their job. The definition of disablement is more of an art than a science. Your attorney must take into account many factors including:

• The amount of time you have missed from work;
•  The medications and treatment you are receiving
•  The type of work you are doing and the restrictions placed on you by your condition;
• Your ability to perform your job; and
• Last, but certainly not least, when is the best timing to declare a disablement taking into account time deadlines, benefit rates, your salary and successive employments with different employers and leisure activities.

The law involving Occupational diseases is rapidly changing. We take pride in our leadership role in expanding the coverage of occupational diseases for employees. Not only have we argued successfully on behalf of our clients before the Maryland Courts of Appeals, we have also testified before the Maryland legislature and been involved in the evolution and creation of new proposed legislation for the purpose of expanding occupational disease coverage. Diligence, persistence, knowledge and creativity are required to win an occupational disease claim. We believe that you will benefit from our experience!

Hernia

An employee must provide notice of suffering a hernia on the job within thirty days of its occurrence or be forever barred from making a claim. However, there is no requirement to meet the definition of an accidental injury or occupational disease. It does not matter how the injury occurred, as long as it was caused by your job. In addition, the employee must prove that either:

• There was no pre-existing hernia; or
•  The new injury has aggravated a prior hernia to the point that an immediate operation is required.