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When a Maryland company claims your work injury was due to your negligence

Written by
ruxandra
June 17th, 2016

Getting hurt on the job is one of the most common accidents. If you suffered a work injury, it is important to understand that you have certain legal options. In most cases (but not all), workers' compensation could help you receive the support you need for your work-related injury. If you suffered a work injury due to negligence, contact a personal injury lawyer to assist you with your claim.

Workers' compensation

In a lot of cases, workers' comp is the only way to recover something for your work-related illness or injury. If you file for this type of compensation, you will not be able to initiate a civil lawsuit against your company. Instead, according to the work injury reporting procedure in Maryland, you will have to file a claim with the administrative workers' compensation agency. This can be done more easily with the help of an Annapolis injury lawyer that has the knowledge necessary to follow the work injury reporting procedure in Maryland.

The workers' compensation can be considered a tradeoff: the employee will forfeit their right to sue their employer for a work-related injury, and, in return, they will benefit from a work injury cash settlement in MD. This is known as a compensation bargain. In fact, most employers are obligated to pay insurance for their employees, thus adding into the workers' compensation system.

Who is liable?

Workers' comp is an exclusive remedy for an employee who was injured. This means that contributory negligence for the employee will not affect their rights to benefits. For example, if an employee suffers a work injury due to negligence while handling a machine improperly, their employee's workers' comp benefits will not be reduced. If your employer does not allow you file for a workers' compensation, you can contact your Annapolis injury lawyer that will help you persuade them.

There are some exceptions to this rule that can reduce or invalidate your workers' comp, including:

  • Intentional self-inflicted injuries will result in the reduction or cancel of your workers' comp. But if your injury was the result of work-related stress you might be able to receive some benefits.
  • Intoxication may also reduce your benefits or bar them entirely. If the employer proves that an employee was intoxicated at the time of their injury, the burden will shift to show that the intoxication did not contribute in any way to the accident. This can be done with the aid of an Annapolis injury attorney.
  • Violating a company safety policy (such as wearing a safety helmet to prevent the injury) could reduce or even cancel the compensation.

All these can be ruled out with the help of your Annapolis injury lawyer, and you will reach the work injury cash settlement in MD you need and deserve.

Contact the best personal injury lawyer from Maryland for a free consultation of your case and more information about work injuries at (443) 569-3950 or by email: chris@annapolisaccidentattorney.com.