Hagerstown, MD Work Injury Lawyer

If you are reading this article, chances are you or someone you know got injured while working. A work injury can be especially stressful to deal with. Not only do you have to worry about medical bills that could easily balloon into hundreds of thousands of dollars, but there is also the concern that you might not be able to go back to your job. You might be forced to take a job with lower pay or stay home from work again altogether.

Our experienced lawyers are here to help. We can deal with the worker’s compensation process to fight for the best possible outcome for you. If need be, we can take your case to court and sue for damages when possible. We are ready to fight for you in whatever way best suits your needs.

Call our work injury lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291 for a free case review.

When Should You File a Work Injury Lawsuit in Hagerstown, MD?

Workers’ compensation is often the “exclusive remedy” for work injuries in Maryland. This means that workers’ compensation is taking the place of a lawsuit against your employer to recover damages. Since you cannot sue your employer, you might want to discuss your situation with our work injury lawyers to see if there are any third parties that could be liable for your injuries and brought to court. Additionally, there are circumstances where you can maximize your chance of recovering damages by filing a lawsuit in addition to a workers’ compensation claim.

Independent Contractors

Independent contractors are not employees. Accordingly, they do not have access to workers’ compensation, as it only covers employees. If you were injured on a work site as an independent contractor, you should assess your options with our work injury lawyers and consider filing a lawsuit against whoever is in charge of the work site.

Intentional Injury

Workers’ compensation only covers negligent injuries that happen at work. Intentional injuries are not covered. If your employer intentionally injured you, you can sue them without having to rely on workers’ compensation as the only remedy.

The Statute of Limitations for a Work Injury Claim

While the statute of limitations for personal injuries in Maryland is generally three years, you have much less time to file a workers’ compensation claim.

You have ten days from your injury to notify your employer. Concurrently, you have 60 days from the injury to file a claim with the Maryland Workers’ compensation commission. For occupational diseases such as coal miners’ lung or cancer from exposure to chemicals, you have one year to notify the relevant employer and two years to file a claim.

You must meet the appropriate deadlines to be able to recover anything from your claim. Make certain you do not miss a deadline and prevent yourself from getting the recovery you deserve. Our work injury lawyers can work diligently to get your claims in on time.

Damages You Can Recover in a Hagerstown, MD Work Accident Lawsuit

If you are successful in your work injury lawsuit, you will be awarded damages based on your injuries. In personal injury lawsuits – including those for work injuries – plaintiffs are awarded damages in order to try and put them in a similar position to where they were prior to getting injured. Often, this is not literally possible, so financial compensation is awarded instead. In your initial filing, you also have to specify for what injuries you are seeking damages and how much you are seeking in damages. Our lawyers can assist you in coming up with an appropriate amount of damages to ask for in your particular situation.

Damages are divided into three types of damages: non-economic damages, economic damages, and punitive damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are based on things that do not have a set monetary value. Things that you could be awarded non-economic damages for in a work injury lawsuit include physical pain, mental anguish, and discomfort from the difficulty of doing basic tasks because of your injuries. Since all of these items do not have a price tag, you and our lawyers will have to come up with a reasonable value to ask for as damages in your lawsuit.

These damages can only be claimed in a work injury lawsuit; insurance claims usually block these damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages, on the other hand, are based on things with actual monetary value. The costs of medical treatments, like surgery or physical therapy, often make up a large portion of economic damages in a work injury lawsuit.

Additionally, you can be awarded economic damages for lost time at work or an inability to work because of your injuries. For example, if you had to miss several months of work to recover from your injuries, the court could award you economic damages based on what you would have earned if you were working during that time and not injured. Alternatively, if your injuries are such that you cannot return to your job, the court could award you damages based on what you would have earned doing that job for the rest of your career.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are a special kind of damages that are only awarded in some lawsuits. They are awarded when the defendant has done something particularly egregious, and the court wishes to convey in no uncertain terms that the defendant’s conduct is unacceptable. Courts rarely award punitive damages, so you will need a compelling argument if you are requesting them in your work injury lawsuit. For example, if there is evidence that your workplace was intentionally trying to injure employees, that might be a good reason to ask for punitive damages in your lawsuit.

These damages are also typically unavailable in insurance claims for work injuries.

Talk to Our Hagerstown, MD Lawyers Today

Rice, Murtha & Psoras has work injury lawyers ready to discuss your case at (410) 694-7291.