If you are reading this – you were probably hurt at work. You may be missing time from work now to heal. You may be worried about your medical bills. You may be worried about your future.
Work injuries create a lot of stress. If a work injury caused pain and suffering in your life – you owe it to yourself to find out if you deserve financial compensation.
The Maryland work injury lawyers at Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers can help you. We are will provide you with the support you need to get the compensation you deserve. Our lawyers will take everything related to your legal case off your plate. We only want you to focus on one thing – getting healthier.
If you haven’t reached out because you’re worried about the cost. You don’t have to worry about that. Our lawyers offer free legal consultations to answer all your questions. We also cover of all your upfront injury case expenses. We work on a contingency fee basis – which means our legal fees don’t get paid until the end of the case. You don’t owe us anything unless we win your case. Contact us to lean more.
It’s best to act quickly to protect your case. The insurance company is not your friend – regardless of how caring they sound on the phone. The insurance company is only calling you to find evidence to use against you later. They are trying to lower the amount of money they pay you. Let our Maryland work injury lawyers handle these calls for you to prevent making mistakes.
Contact us to learn how we can help you build a strong case. Call Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers at (301) 932-9997.
We Have The Experience, Resources, And Skills You Need
For many citizens of Maryland, the majority of their time during the weekdays is spent at work. In working long hours to provide for themselves as well as members of their family, employees never anticipate being injured in a work-related accident. This is mainly due to the fact that most workers trust that their employer has created a safe working environment that is free of any dangers or hazards that could cause them harm. Moreover, employees trust that they have been properly trained and instructed as to how to perform their duties and operate certain types of devices and machinery while on the job.
How Do Workplace Accidents Occur?
Depending on the type of work that a person does, whether it relates to performing tasks at a construction site, at a desk in an office, or on one’s feet as a teacher at a school, there may be different types of potential risks presented by job duties, building conditions, environmental toxins, machinery or objects being used, and various other factors. Work injuries are generally caused by some form of negligence either on the part of the employer, a third party (contractor, sub-contractor, manager, etc.) a fellow employee, or due to a defective product being used on the job.
Some common causes of work injuries include:
- Inadequate employee training
- Lack of proper signage warning of building, office, or site conditions
- Slip and fall accidents
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Exposure to toxic substances, gases, or chemicals
- Fires
- Defective or poorly maintained equipment
- Explosions
Injuries that take place at work range from simple bruises or scrapes to life-threatening and even fatal traumatic brain injuries, burns, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions. In Maryland, workers’ compensation insurance provides payments for medical bills, lost wages, vocational rehabilitation, and other costs caused by “personal accidental injury arising out of and in the course of employment.”
State Safety Regulations
The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) Act provides employees with specific rights and protections when it comes to workplace accidents. The MOSH Act monitors workplace safety and health by creating and implementing federal and state rules and regulations. Through enforcement, consultation strategies, and training, the MOSH Act works to ensure that employees in various professions do not suffer illness, injury, or death due to hazardous workplace conditions, practices, or operations. Under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Standards of Maryland, workers have rights as it relates to their field. These standards are contained under Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations and comprised of Part 1910 for General Industry; Part 1926 for Construction; and part 1928 for Agriculture. Aside from the federal standards, there are also many workplace regulations specific to Maryland.
A document called an “Employee’s Claim” may be filed with the Workers’ Compensation Commission by an employee who believes that they have suffered an injury covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act. There are various types of Maryland workers’ compensation benefits that an injured worker may be able to obtain. However, filing a work injury claim can be complex, and in some cases, the compensation designated to an injured worker may not be substantial enough to fully compensate them for their injuries.
Maryland Workplace Accident Statistics
Workplace deaths from injury have been decreasing in recent years, according to the Maryland Division of Labor and Industry Regulation. In 2008, the last year in which Maryland collected data, 60 people lost their lives in workplace accidents, down from 82 in 2007 and the lowest number of recorded deaths since Maryland began keeping track in 1992. The most common causes of workplace injuries leading to death were falls, homicide, electrocution, and motor vehicle accidents.
Workplace injuries have also decreased in recent years, but the number of injuries Maryland workers suffer in any year is still quite high, especially in the fields of construction, agriculture, and mining. In 2009, 129,200 people were injured in the workplace, according to the Maryland Department of Labor and Industry Regulation and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just under half of these injuries, around 67,400, forced the injured person to take time off work, change jobs, or both.
Common Maryland Workplaces for Accidents
Work injuries in Maryland in 2009 were most common in the public sector, but private sector jobs also added a significant number to the total. Construction workers alone suffered 5,900 injuries, including 3,300 that caused the injured person to miss work, seek another job, or both. Injuries were highest among workers doing building construction, especially those who worked on scaffolding or ladders and those who built foundations and structural elements. Roofing contractors and electricians also had high rates of workplace injuries.
Manufacturing also caused many workplace injuries in Maryland in recent years. Food manufacturing alone added 4,400 injuries to the 2009 total while workers in transportation, including commercial truck and bus drivers, suffered 15,500 workplace injuries in 2009. The agriculture sector added 200 injuries, but a full half of them caused lost work time or inability to do the job the worker had previously done – a higher disability rate than most other industries.
Workers’ Compensation Coverage Details
Workers’ compensation covers many of the related costs for workers who suffer injuries while on the job in Maryland. Medical bills are often covered in full by workers’ compensation, including bills for doctor’s visits, hospital stays, diagnostic testing, surgery, prescription medications, rehabilitative therapies, and medical equipment.
Workers whose injuries keep them off the job for more than three days may also be eligible for “temporary total disability” payments to help them pay the bills while they are unable to work. If the worker cannot go back to his or her previous job, workers’ compensation may also cover vocational rehabilitation to help the worker find a job that he or she can perform despite suffering a disability.
To ensure your rights are protected and you receive the compensation that you deserve for your work injury, you may want to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer. At Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers, our Maryland work injury attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation of your work injury to ensure that proper evidence is gathered to build a strong case on your behalf.
To learn more about your legal rights and options, contact our firm today. Call (301) 932-9997 for a free case evaluation.
