Workers Compensation

July 31, 2024

Hot Jobs: Maryland Takes Lead on State Heat Stress Standards for Workers

Seems like summers in Maryland are getting hotter and hotter, and most of us can’t wait to escape into the comfort of air conditioning. However, many workers do not have that luxury. That includes a number of professions including emergency personnel (police officers, EMTs, and firefighters), construction workers and other contractors, utility workers, agricultural workers, transportation workers, housekeepers, and others laboring outdoors and in non-air-conditioned environments.

Heat-related illness can take a range of forms leading to work-related injury and death, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope (fainting and/or dizziness), and heat cramps. Fatigue and disorientation brought on by heat can lead to serious accidents on the job.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed federal workplace standards to protect workers in the heat, however those may take months to pass (and could be delayed depending on the election results). Only five states have heat-related regulations to protect workers, and none in our region.

May 16, 2024

Maryland Work-Related Fatalities Update

by Jeff Butschky

No one expects their loved one to leave for work one day and never come back, or to suffer injuries or illness on the job that lead to an early death. But sadly, this is the case for some 80 workers a year in Maryland who die due to work-related injuries.

As experienced Maryland Workers Compensation attorneys, we’re well aware of the risks inherent in certain occupations, including those in the construction and transportation industries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks down its most recent data on fatal occupational injuries for Maryland as follows:

July 31, 2023

Maryland Heat and Work-Related Injuries : Stay Safe This Summer

by Jeff Butschky

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.

December 30, 2022

Deadly Work Accidents and Violence: Fatal Occupational Injury Rate Up in 2021

by Jeff Butschky

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….

May 19, 2022

Maryland Passes “Time to Care” Act for Paid Family and Medical Leave

by Jeff Butschky

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…

March 31, 2022

Maryland Workers’ Compensation Update: Claims by Industry 2021

by Jeff Butschky

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.

March 29, 2021

3 Things You Need to Know About Maryland COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims

by Jeff Butschky

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.

October 29, 2020

Maryland Workers’ Compensation Claims and COVID-19

by Jeff Butschky

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.

January 11, 2019

Maryland Law Increases Workers’ Compensation Pay for Correctional Officers

by Jeff Butschky

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….

August 31, 2017

Maryland Fatal Work Injuries Down Slightly

by Jeff Butschky

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…