Maryland supplement

MARYLAND SUPPLEMENT

What Every Injured Worker Needs to Know About Workers' Compensation

Special Rules for Injured Workers in Maryland

Current through August 14, 2026 – always consult an attorney as laws may change

A Special Note to Maryland Readers

The main portion of this guide explains workers' compensation principles that apply generally throughout the United States.

Maryland, however, has its own Workers' Compensation Act, its own Workers' Compensation Commission, its own deadlines, and its own rules concerning benefits and medical treatment.

If you were injured while working in Maryland, this Supplement explains some of the most important Maryland-specific rules.

This Supplement is intended for consumer education. It is not legal advice concerning a particular case. Workers' compensation claims can turn on very specific facts, and exceptions may apply to many of the general rules discussed below.

One principle is worth remembering from the beginning:

Do not assume that reporting your injury to your employer automatically files your workers' compensation claim with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

Those are separate steps.

1. WHO IS GENERALLY COVERED BY MARYLAND WORKERS' COMPENSATION?

Maryland law requires an employer of a covered employee to provide workers' compensation for a compensable accidental personal injury.

Unlike Virginia, Maryland does not use a general rule requiring an employer to have at least three employees before coverage applies.

Instead, the question is whether the individual qualifies as a covered employee under Maryland law. Various occupations, relationships and circumstances have specific inclusion or exclusion provisions.

This means that you should not assume you are excluded simply because:

• you work for a very small business;
• you work part-time;
• you are paid in cash;
• your employer calls you an independent contractor;
• you work through a subcontractor; or
• you are unsure whether the employer purchased workers' compensation insurance.

Maryland also has special provisions involving principal contractors and subcontractors that can sometimes result in workers' compensation responsibility beyond the worker's immediate employer.

If coverage is uncertain, investigate before abandoning the claim.

2. WHAT TYPE OF INJURY IS COVERED?

Maryland defines an "accidental personal injury" to include an accidental injury that arises out of and in the course of employment.

The definition also includes certain injuries caused by the willful or negligent act of a third person directed against an employee in the course of employment and certain diseases or infections resulting from a work injury.

Maryland separately recognizes occupational diseases.

Whether an injury is compensable can involve questions such as:

• What caused the injury?
• What were you doing at the time?
• Were you performing employment duties?
• Did the injury arise from a risk connected with the employment?
• Was the condition caused by a single event or did it develop over time?
• Is the condition more properly treated as an occupational disease?

Simply being at work when something happens does not necessarily answer every compensability question.

3. REPORT YOUR ACCIDENT QUICKLY — MARYLAND'S GENERAL RULE IS 10 DAYS

This is a major difference from Virginia.

For an ordinary accidental personal injury, Maryland generally requires oral or written notice to the employer within 10 days after the accidental personal injury.

If the accident results in death, notice generally must be given within 30 days after the death.

If notice is written, Maryland law provides that it should identify the employee and state, in plain language, the time, place, nature and cause of the injury. The Commission may excuse a failure to comply with the notice requirement when there was a sufficient reason for the failure or the employer or insurer was not prejudiced.

But do not plan on needing an exception.

The safest practice:

Report the injury immediately.

And although oral notice may satisfy the statute, put the report in writing whenever possible.

An email or text confirming the report can provide valuable proof later.

4. REPORTING THE INJURY IS NOT THE SAME AS FILING YOUR CLAIM

Your employer may know about the accident.

Your supervisor may have witnessed it.

Your employer may report it to the insurance company.

An adjuster may contact you.

Medical treatment may even begin.

Those facts do not mean you should assume that your formal claim has been filed with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

Maryland provides a separate process for the injured employee to file a claim with the Commission through its CompHub system.

Think of this as two separate jobs:

JOB ONE: Notify your employer.

JOB TWO: File and protect your claim before the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

Do both.

5. MARYLAND'S 60-DAY CLAIM-FILING RULE

Maryland law provides that an employee suffering an accidental personal injury generally should file the claim application with the Workers' Compensation Commission within 60 days after the date of the injury.

This is much shorter than many injured workers expect.

The Commission may excuse a failure to file within 60 days if it finds that the employer or insurer was not prejudiced by the late filing or that another sufficient reason exists.

But there is also a broader limitation period.

Maryland law generally provides that if an accidental-injury claim is not filed within two years after the accident, the claim is barred, subject to other statutory provisions that can affect how the limitation period operates in particular circumstances.

Do not treat two years as your filing deadline.

The prudent rule is:

FILE WITHIN 60 DAYS.

Better yet:

FILE PROMPTLY.

6. AN EMPLOYER'S FAILURE TO REPORT AN ACCIDENT CAN MATTER

Maryland contains an important provision concerning the employer's accident report.

When the employer has received the required notice or has the specified knowledge of the employee's disability or death, Maryland law provides circumstances in which the claim- limitation period does not begin to run until the employer files the required report with the Commission.

That rule can become very important in a disputed late-filing case.

But an injured worker should never deliberately depend upon it.

Protect your own claim instead of relying on what the employer may or may not do.

7. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES HAVE DIFFERENT NOTICE AND FILING RULES

Maryland treats occupational diseases differently from ordinary accidental injuries.

For disability from an occupational disease, written notice generally must be given to the employer within one year after the employee knows or has reason to believe that the employee has the occupational disease.

For death due to occupational disease, notice generally must be given within one year after death. Statutory waiver and excuse provisions also exist.

The claim-filing period is also different.

A claim based on occupational disease generally must be filed with the Commission within two years, or three years in the case of pulmonary dust disease, measured from the statutory events involving disablement or death and actual knowledge that the disablement was caused by employment.

Occupational disease deadlines are sufficiently technical that an employee should not try to calculate them casually.

Get advice early.

8. MARYLAND AND YOUR CHOICE OF DOCTOR

Maryland's medical-treatment system differs significantly from Virginia's panel-of-three system.

The Maryland statutes repeatedly contemplate treatment by a physician chosen by the covered employee. For example, the claim-filing statute expressly addresses a physician chosen by the employee, and other provisions refer to a treating physician or health care provider chosen by the employee.

Maryland therefore does not impose the Virginia-style statutory requirement that an injured worker ordinarily select one doctor from an employer-provided panel of three.

However, disputes can still arise concerning whether particular treatment is:

• related to the work injury;
• reasonable;
• necessary;
• properly authorized or payable; or
• within the scope of the compensable claim.

The employer or insurer also has rights concerning medical evaluation and the Commission can require medical examinations in appropriate circumstances.

Practical advice:

Do not assume that every treatment recommended by every provider will automatically be paid. But do understand that Maryland gives injured workers materially greater freedom regarding their treating physician than Virginia's panel system does.

9. WHAT MEDICAL TREATMENT CAN BE PROVIDED?

For a compensable accidental injury, compensable hernia or occupational disease, Maryland requires the employer or insurer to provide, as the Commission may require:

• medical treatment;
• surgical treatment;
• other medical attendance or treatment;
• hospital services;
• nursing services;
• medicine;
• crutches and other apparatus; and
• specified prosthetic appliances.

The statute provides that medical services and treatment are to be supplied for the period required by the nature of the injury or occupational disease.

The medical portion of a Maryland workers' compensation case can therefore continue even when the wage-loss portion of the case has changed or ended.

10. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Maryland law permits the Commission to require an employee who is eligible for compensation to submit to a medical examination at a time and place reasonably convenient to the employee and in accordance with Commission regulations.

If the worker obstructs or refuses the examination, the right to compensation can be suspended until the examination occurs, and compensation is not payable for the period of suspension.

Therefore:

Never simply ignore a medical-examination notice.

If you believe the request is improper, overly burdensome or legally objectionable, deal with the issue through the proper procedure.

11. WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PAYCHECK?

If a covered employee is temporarily totally disabled because of a compensable accidental injury or occupational disease, Maryland generally pays compensation equal to two-thirds of the employee's average weekly wage, subject to the statutory maximum and minimum provisions.

The applicable maximum is tied to Maryland's State average weekly wage.

The precise dollar amounts can change, so the better long-term consumer rule is:

Understand the formula, and verify the current year's maximum and minimum when evaluating an actual claim.

12. MARYLAND'S THREE-DAY WAITING PERIOD

Maryland's waiting period is considerably shorter than Virginia's.

If temporary total disability lasts 14 days or less, Maryland generally does not allow wage- loss compensation for the first three calendar days after the disability begins.

Medical and certain other specified benefits are not subject to that waiting rule.

If the temporary total disability lasts for more than 14 days, compensation is allowed from the day the disability began.

Example

If you are disabled for ten days, the first three calendar days generally constitute the waiting period.

If the disability continues for more than fourteen days, the wage benefit generally relates back to the beginning of the disability.

13. PARTIAL DISABILITY

An injured employee may be able to return to work but still earn less because of the work injury.

Maryland separately provides benefits for qualifying temporary partial disability and permanent partial disability.

The amount and duration depend upon the type of disability and the statutory provisions applicable to the particular case.

Do not assume:

"I went back to work, so my workers' compensation claim is over."

Returning to work and ending entitlement to every benefit are not necessarily the same thing.

14. PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY IN MARYLAND

Maryland's permanent-partial-disability system is detailed and differs significantly from Virginia's. Maryland law establishes scheduled permanent disability benefits and separates awards into different levels based in part upon the number of compensable weeks.

For example, certain awards of at least 75 weeks but fewer than 250 weeks are paid at a statutory rate tied to two-thirds of the employee's average weekly wage, subject to a cap based upon the State average weekly wage. Serious disability awards of 250 weeks or more receive additional statutory treatment.

The Commission's permanent-impairment process considers medical evaluations addressing matters such as:

• atrophy;
• pain;
• weakness;
• loss of endurance;
• function; and
• range of motion.

A permanent impairment evaluation can therefore have major financial importance.

15. MAXIMUM MEDICAL IMPROVEMENT DOES NOT MEAN "CURED"

A treating physician may eventually conclude that you have reached maximum medical improvement.

That does not necessarily mean:

• that you are pain-free;
• that you have fully recovered;
• that you can return to your old job;
• that you have no permanent impairment; or
• that you will never require future medical treatment.

It generally means that the medical condition has reached the stage at which further substantial improvement may not reasonably be expected.

Permanent disability issues often become important at this stage.

16. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

Maryland has a formal vocational-rehabilitation system.

Maryland law provides for vocational assessment and rehabilitation services, and the employer or insurer is responsible for the expenses of qualifying vocational assessment and rehabilitation.

Depending upon the circumstances, rehabilitation may address whether the injured employee can:

• return to the former job;
• return with modification;
• obtain another job with the same employer;
• obtain new employment elsewhere; or
• receive appropriate retraining.

Maryland also regulates vocational-rehabilitation practitioners and procedures.

If vocational rehabilitation becomes part of your claim, participate seriously and keep records of every contact, job lead, application and instruction.

17. INTOXICATION, DRUGS, INTENTIONAL INJURY AND WILLFUL MISCONDUCT

Workers' compensation is generally a no-fault system, but that does not mean employee conduct can never defeat benefits.

Maryland law contains exclusions and defenses involving circumstances such as:

• intentional self-inflicted injury;
• an attempt to injure or kill another;
• certain drug-related causation;

intoxication; and

• willful misconduct.

The statute contains different causation standards for different circumstances and includes presumptions relevant to these defenses.

Therefore:

An accusation that drugs, alcohol or misconduct caused the accident should never be treated casually.

But an accusation is not the same thing as proof.

18. CAN YOU SUE YOUR EMPLOYER?

Maryland's Workers' Compensation Act generally makes the employer's liability under the Act exclusive.

That means a covered employee ordinarily receives workers' compensation instead of bringing an ordinary negligence lawsuit against the employer for the same covered workplace injury.

There are important statutory exceptions.

For example, Maryland provides different remedies when an employer fails to secure required workers' compensation coverage and when an employee is injured or killed as a result of the employer's deliberate intent to injure or kill the employee.

Those are exceptional situations.

For most ordinary workplace accidents:

Workers' compensation is the remedy against the employer.

19. SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOUR EMPLOYER MAY ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE

This is one of the most important sections in this Supplement.

Maryland expressly recognizes claims against third parties who are legally responsible for a worker's injury or death. When someone other than the employer is liable for the injury, the employee may have workers' compensation rights and also a potential damages action against the third party, subject to Maryland's statutory third-party procedures.

Example

You are driving during the course of your employment.

Another driver negligently causes a collision.

You may potentially have:

CLAIM ONE – WORKERS' COMPENSATION

for applicable medical treatment, disability benefits and other compensation.

AND

CLAIM TWO —A THIRD-PARTY PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

against the negligent driver.

Other examples may involve:

• defective machinery;
• defective products;
• negligent property owners;
• negligent contractors;
• negligent drivers; and
• other third parties legally responsible for the injury.

The personal injury claim may include categories of damages that workers' compensation does not ordinarily provide, such as pain and suffering.

20. WORKERS' COMPENSATION REIMBURSEMENT RIGHTS IN THIRD-PARTY CASES

The two claims cannot simply be treated as completely unrelated.

Maryland law provides reimbursement rights when workers' compensation has been paid and the injured worker later recovers damages from a responsible third party.

After specified litigation costs and expenses, the statute provides for reimbursement of compensation and medical or other covered payments, with the injured worker retaining the balance as provided by law.

Maryland also contains procedural rules governing which party may pursue the third-party action after a workers' compensation award.

The consumer rule:

Never settle a significant third-party personal injury case arising from a workplace injury without determining how the workers' compensation reimbursement rights will be handled.

21. WHAT IF THE INSURANCE COMPANY DENIES THE CLAIM?

An insurance company's denial is not the same thing as a final determination by the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

Disputes before the Commission can involve issues such as:

• whether an accidental personal injury occurred;
• whether the injury arose out of employment;
• whether it occurred in the course of employment;
• whether proper notice was given;
• whether the claim was timely filed;
• whether the medical condition was caused by the accident;
• whether treatment is reasonable and necessary;
• whether disability continues;
• average weekly wage;
• permanent impairment;
• vocational rehabilitation; and
• entitlement to additional benefits.

The Maryland Commission conducts hearings and enters orders resolving contested claims.

A denial letter is a position. It is not necessarily the end of the case.

22. MARYLAND HASA FIVE-YEAR REOPENING RULE

This is another important difference from Virginia.

The Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission has continuing jurisdiction over claims and may modify findings or orders when appropriate.

But, subject to statutory exceptions, an application to modify an award generally must be made within five years after the later of:

• the date of the accident;
• the date of disablement; or
• the last compensation payment.

This is an extremely important deadline.

An employee who has already received an award should not assume that the case can be reopened forever.

Remember:

Filing the original claim on time does not eliminate every later deadline.

23. SETTLEMENTS REQUIRE COMMISSION APPROVAL

Maryland permits an injured worker and the appropriate parties to enter into a final compromise and settlement of current or future workers' compensation claims.

But the settlement does not take effect unless it is approved by the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

Once approved, the settlement is binding on the parties.

Before settling, ask:

• Is my medical condition stable?
• Could I need surgery?
• Will future medical treatment remain available?
• Am I permanently impaired?
• Can I return to my former job?
• Do I have permanent restrictions?
• What benefits am I surrendering?
• Do Medicare issues apply?
• Is there also a third-party case?
• What reimbursement rights exist?
• Will the settlement resolve every aspect of the claim?

Do not judge a settlement only by the size of the check.

Ask what you must surrender to receive it.

24. ATTORNEY FEES REQUIRE COMMISSION APPROVAL

Maryland law provides that a person generally may not charge or collect a fee for legal services connected with a workers' compensation claim unless the fee is approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission.

An approved fee becomes a lien on the compensation award and is paid in the manner set by the Commission.

The Commission can also decide disputes concerning legal fees and can order excessive fees refunded.

Therefore, when hiring a workers' compensation attorney, ask:

how fees are calculated;

• when they are payable;
• whether expenses are separate; and
• how Commission approval works.

25. WORKPLACE DEATH CLAIMS

Maryland provides death benefits for qualifying dependents when a covered worker dies because of a compensable accidental injury or occupational disease. Maryland's dependency and death-benefit provisions are detailed, and the amount and duration can depend upon the circumstances of the surviving dependents.

For accidental injury deaths, Maryland generally requires dependents to file the death claim with the Commission within 18 months after the date of death, subject to statutory provisions addressing fraud, estoppel and special circumstances.

Maryland also provides separate filing rules for occupational-disease death claims.

A workplace death may also create a third-party wrongful-death claim when someone outside the protected employment relationship caused the death.

Families should obtain advice promptly.

26. THE TEN RULES EVERY INJURED MARYLAND WORKER SHOULD REMEMBER

RULE 1 – REPORT THE ACCIDENT IMMEDIATELY.

Maryland's ordinary accident-notice period is generally 10 days.

RULE 2 — PUT THE REPORT IN WRITING.

Oral notice may be permitted, but written proof is safer.

RULE 3 — FILE WITH THE MARYLAND WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION.

Do not assume someone else has protected your claim.

RULE 4 – REMEMBER THE 60-DAY FILING RULE.

Maryland generally expects the accidental-injury claim to be filed with the Commission within 60 days.

RULE 5 — DO NOT RELY ON THE TWO-YEAR OUTER LIMIT.

Exceptions may excuse some filings after 60 days, but waiting creates unnecessary risk.

RULE 6 – UNDERSTAND YOUR MEDICAL RIGHTS.

Maryland does not use Virginia's panel-of-three statutory system, and Maryland statutes repeatedly recognize physicians chosen by the employee.

RULE 7 — KEEP EVERY DOCUMENT.

Medical records.

Work notes.

Pay records.

Emails.

Texts.

Insurance correspondence.

Commission papers.

RULE 8 — FOLLOW MEDICAL RESTRICTIONS.

Do not damage your health or your claim by ignoring them.

RULE 9 — ALWAYS ASK WHETHER A THIRD PARTY CAUSED YOUR INJURY.

Maryland expressly preserves third-party remedies in appropriate cases.

RULE 10 – BEFORE SETTLING, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GIVING UP.

An approved Maryland workers' compensation settlement can be final and binding.

27. MARYLAND INJURED WORKER'S IMMEDIATE-ACTION CHECKLIST

• Obtain necessary medical attention.
• Report the accident to your employer immediately.
• Do not wait until Maryland's 10-day notice period is nearly over.
• Confirm the accident report in writing.
• Identify witnesses.
• Photograph the accident scene when appropriate.
• Preserve relevant evidence.
• Tell your medical provider exactly how the accident occurred.
• Identify every injured body part.
• Obtain written work restrictions.
• Keep your medical records.
• Keep your pay records.
• Keep all employer and insurance correspondence.
• File your claim with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission promptly.
• Aim to file within the statutory 60-day period.
• Do not assume the employer's report is your claim.
• Determine whether someone other than your employer caused the injury.
• Do not settle without understanding the effect on future benefits and medical care.

Obtain qualified advice when the claim is denied, serious or confusing.

• 28. FIVE MARYLAND TIME PERIODS WORTH REMEMBERING

10 DAYS

The general notice period to tell the employer about an accidental personal injury.

60 DAYS

The general period for filing the accidental-injury claim with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission.

2 YEARS

An important outer limitation for ordinary accidental-injury claims, subject to statutory rules and exceptions concerning how the limitation period operates.

3 DAYS / 14 DAYS

The ordinary temporary-total-disability waiting-period rule: three calendar days, with compensation relating back to the first day when disability lasts more than fourteen days.

5 YEARS

The general period governing modification of an award, measured under Maryland's statute from the later of the accident, disablement or last compensation payment.

These periods do not all address the same issue.

Some concern notice.

Some concern filing.

Some concern wage benefits.

Some concern reopening an existing case.

Do not try to substitute one deadline for another.

CONCLUSION — PROTECT YOUR HEALTH AND PROTECT YOUR CLAIM

Maryland workers' compensation can provide important protection after a workplace injury.

But those protections do not operate entirely by themselves.

The injured worker must take action.

Report the accident.

File the claim.

Obtain appropriate medical care.

Follow reasonable medical restrictions.

Keep records.

Watch the deadlines.

Tell the truth.

And determine whether another person or business may also be legally responsible for what happened.

You do not need to understand every section of Maryland workers' compensation law.

You do need to recognize when a decision could affect your medical care, your paycheck or your future.

When you are uncertain:

Ask before you act.

When you are offered a settlement:

Understand before you sign.

When another person may have caused your injury:

Investigate before you give up a potentially valuable claim.

Your first priority is getting better.

Your second is making sure that a workplace injury does not cause avoidable financial harm to you and your family.

Protect your health.

Protect your income.

Protect your rights.