Maryland Workers Compensation Lawyers
Laws are designed to ensure that employees who are injured or disabled on the job are provided with fixed monetary awards, eliminating the need for litigation. These laws also provide benefits for dependents of those workers who are killed because of work-related accidents or illnesses. Some laws also protect employers and fellow employees by limiting the amount an injured employee can recover from an employer and by eliminating the liability of co-workers in most accidents. State Workers' Compensation statutes establish this framework for most employment. Federal Workers' Compensation statutes are limited to federal employees or those employed in some significant aspect of interstate commerce. Our lawyers are well versed in Maryland laws and can help you get the compensation you need.
Have you or someone you know been injured while on the job? If so, contact our Maryland Workers Compensation Lawyers today for a Free Case Evaluation.
The Federal Employees' Compensation Act
This act provides compensation for non-military and federal employees. Many of its provisions are typical of most compensation laws. Awards are limited to "disability or death" sustained while in the performance of the employee's duties but not caused willfully by the employee or by intoxication. The act covers medical expenses due to the disability and may require the employee to undergo job retraining. A disabled employee receives two thirds of his or her normal monthly salary during the disability and may receive more for permanent physical injuries, or if he or she has dependents. The act provides money for survivors of employees who are killed. Our lawyers can help ensure that your employer follows the compensation laws in Maryland and help you file a claim.
The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA)
While not a workers' compensation statute, FELA provides that railroads engaged in interstate commerce are liable for injuries to their employees if they have been negligent.
The Merchant Marine Act (the Jones Act) provides seamen with the same protection from employer negligence as FELA provides railroad employees.
Congress enacted the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) to provide payments to specified employees of private maritime employers.
The Black Lung Benefits Act awards miners suffering from "black lung" (pneumoconiosis). The Act requires liable mine operators to pay disability payments and establishes a fund administered by the Secretary of Labor providing disability payments to miners where the mine operator is unknown or unable to pay. Our lawyers can help you file for compensation if you have been diagnosed with "black lung."
In many states the laws are not compulsory but elective-that is, the employer may elect to be governed by the provisions of the act. An employer electing not to be so governed cannot assert as a defense to an action for damages that the employee's negligence was a contributory factor, or that the accident was due to the actions of a fellow employee, or that the accident was a normal risk of the business.
Compensation protection places a high charge on the operating costs of industry. Stringent safety programs instituted by the major corporations have nevertheless failed to stop the rise in industrial accident rates. In a recent year, it was estimated that industrial accidents cost U.S. manufacturers more than $11 billion annually. Let our lawyers help you file your claim for the personal injuries you have recieved.
Have you or someone you know been injured while on the job? If so, contact our Maryland Workers Compensation Lawyers today for a Free Case Evaluation. |
