Maryland Accident Lawyer Blog

In Darby v. Marley Cooling, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals considered the question of whether an employee that prevailed before the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission may file an "intent to participate" in a Circuit Court appeal and raise objection to the rest of the Commission's decision or whether the employee is required to file a cross appeal.

This does not sound like a particularly serious workplace accident case although the Plaintiff was struck on the head by a 24' by 12" by 6" aluminum board used as a temporary work surface, which was dropped by a co-worker. He did not have significant head injuries and returned to work on the day of the accident. Plaintiff had tenderness at the C2 through C7 vertebra. Plaintiff took a trapezius bilateral test that was positive for pain, and x-rays showed a straightening and loss of the anterior cervical lordosis (a finding that is often insignificant).

Plaintiff prevailed before the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission and the employer appealed to the Baltimore County Circuit Court.

The Court found that Maryland Rule 7-203(b) requires a cross-appeal from Plaintiff for a portion of any administrative agency decision aggrieving a cross-appellant. The fact that Maryland workers' compensation claims are de novo does not confer interest on the injured worker requiring continuation of proceedings in order to permit challenge to portions of orders by which injured workers were not aggrieved.

You can read the full opinion here.

New Maryland Workers' Compensation rates were posted on line today.

On Thursday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided a workers' compensation case in Montgomery County, Maryland in Montgomery County v. Willis. This case involves an interpretation of the Maryland Workers' Compensation Act with respect to when an injured worker can appeal a decision from the Workers' Compensation Commission denying a request to have the Commission refer the case to the Insurance Fraud Division in the Maryland Insurance Administration, pursuant to Maryland Labor & Employment. Code Ann. § 9-310.2.

The facts of the case deal with an old friend of the Maryland accident lawyer: the subsequent injury. The Claimant was a police officer with the Montgomery County Police Department when she injured her knee at work on July 20, 2001. The Claimant then had another knee injury off the job. The Claimant played it straight and told her employer about both injuries. She got the idea for a workers' compensation claim from her supervisor and her employer did not contest the claim.

So far, so good. But five years later, the Montgomery County Self-Insured Fund who provided the workers' comp insurance for the Montgomery County Police, claimed it was not aware of the subsequent injury and requested a hearing for a referral to the Maryland Insurance Fraud Division.

A Maryland Workers' Compensation Commissioner, R. Karl Aumann, found no fraud. Montgomery County Self-Insured Fund filed a Circuit Court appeal. Montgomery County Judge Robert A. Greenberg found that Commissioner Aumann's order was not subject to appeal.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals found that when an employer seeks a fraud review of workers’ compensation benefits based on its belief that an employee wrongfully obtained those benefits, the Commission’s determination is subject to full review in Circuit Court. Accordingly, the Court of Special Appeals reversed and remanded the case to Montgomery County Circuit Court.

I'll bet you $10 the Circuit Court affirms the Workers' Compensation Commissioner in this case.

Every Maryland Workers' Compensation lawyer should read this case, which you can find here.

Many of our Maryland accident lawyers’ clients were injured in a car accident while on the job. This means the plaintiff has three accident claims under Maryland law: PIP, third party liability, and workers’ compensation.

Generally, a Maryland accident lawyer wants to present the PIP claim before the workers’ compensation claim in Maryland. Other states differ on the right of subrogation of PIP insurance. But Maryland law is clear that the PIP carrier has no right of subrogation against any third-party recovery, according to Maryland Code, Insurance Article §19-507(d). In other words, if the PIP claim is made first, the injury victim does not have to pay back the PIP benefits the victim receives (most attorneys don’t charge for PIP claims). In contrast, the workers' compensation carrier has subrogation rights (after attorneys’ fees) out of the third-party recovery for the workers' compensation benefits that it paid to the victim under Maryland Code, Labor and Employment Article §9-902(e) and §9-902 (f).

If a Maryland accident lawyer decides – either out of laziness or just getting it wrong – to put the workers’ compensation claim first, the lawyer might be barred from making a PIP claim. Under Maryland accident law, the PIP carrier receives a setoff for workers' compensation benefits that the accident victim has received under Maryland Code Insurance Article §19-513(e).

A new Maryland worker's compenation bill introduced to the Economic Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates did not make it to the floor. HB 345 would have established workers' compenation coverage in Maryland for sole proprietors under our workers' compensation law unless the sole proprietor specifically elects to be exempt from coverage (not unlike specifically waiving PIP coverage).

Click on the link for Maryland's monthly and weekly Maryland Workers’ Compensation schedules.

Our lawyers handle Maryland workers compensation cases where there is a significant injury or death with a potentially culpable third party.

The Maryland Retailers Association got $276,268 check from IWIF Workers' Compensation Insurance. Why is a workers' compensation insurance company - the largest provider of workers' compensation insurance in Maryland - paying this retailers association? The payment is group safety dividend check for controlling losses and preventing workplace injuries and accidents in 2007.

Certainly, it is a good idea to reward safe practices in the workplace so this sounds like a good plan.

Workers' Compensation Section of the Maryland Association for Justice (formerly the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association) will present a "beyond the basics" on Maryland's workers' compensation seminar on November 11, 2008 at 1:00p.m.-4:30p.m. at Sheraton City Center on 101 W. Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland.

The topics of this Maryland workers' compensation seminar are:

Creative Settlement Agreements
The New and Improved Workers’ Compensation Jury Instructions
A Few Ideas for Better Results in Maryland Workers Comp Cases
5 Things That Annoy Workers' Comp Insurance Commissioners and 5 Things They Appreciate