Maryland Custodial Worker Injury Lawyer
In more ways than one, custodial workers are the unsung heroes of the American workplace. These employees bear various trauma injury and occupational disease risks in order to protect visitors and other employees from such injuries and illnesses. Considering the risks they take and the important role they perform, most custodial workers are vastly underpaid. Since they have such small financial reserves, when they are injured, they need to get back to work as quickly as possible.
The compassionate Maryland custodial worker injury lawyers at Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman understand the issues these injured victims face. Many people on our professional team know what it’s like to experience financial stress of this nature. So, we are committed to obtaining fair compensation as quickly as possible. Our passion fuels our purpose. We understand how important it is to work hard and work fast, so that’s what we do.
Kinds of Covered Injuries
A trauma injury, like a slip-and-fall on a wet floor, occurs suddenly and without warning. Maryland law speeds benefits to these victims.
Workers’ compensation provides no-fault benefits. So, trauma injury victims need not prove fault, negligence, or anything else in order to obtain these benefits. Job injury victims must simply show that the injury occurred at work.
Full benefits are usually available, even if a pre-existing condition increases the risk of injury or the severity of the injury. Our Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers must simply show that the pre-existing condition contributed to the trauma injury, as opposed to the other way around.
This same analysis applies in occupational disease claims. An insurance company cannot use victim vulnerabilities, like asthma or a family history of a certain illness, to reduce or deny needed compensation.
Breathing problems, mostly from inhaling toxic fumes, are quite common among injured custodial workers. So are repetitive stress injuries due to repeated bending, kneeling, reaching, or stooping.
Compensation Available
Regardless of the nature of their injuries, these victims are entitled to lost wage replacement, as follows:
- Temporary Total Disability: Victims who cannot work as they recover are usually entitled to two-thirds of their Average Weekly Wage. The AWW accounts for future lost compensation, such as missed overtime opportunities or performance bonuses.
- Temporary Partial Disability: After a few weeks of treatment, some TTD victims move to the TPD category. If they can do light duty work as they continue treatment, workers’ compensation usually pays two-thirds of the difference between their old and new salaries.
- Permanent Total Disability: Sometimes, the victim’s injury is either fatal or so severe that future work is impossible. In these situations, Maryland law usually dictates a lump-sum payment which covers future lost wages and medical bills.
- Permanent Partial Disability: Frequently, job injury victims never fully recover. Some loss of function, such as reduced range of motion in an injured shoulder, is common. Workers’ compensation usually offers a lump-sum payment in these cases as well, mainly depending on the extent and nature of the condition.
Furthermore, workers’ compensation benefits cover all reasonably necessary medical expenses. The “reasonably necessary” label is frequently a source of contention. For example, many insurance companies place arbitrary caps on the number of physical therapy visits they pay for. Our attorneys advocate for victims in these situations, so they get the medical treatment they need, and not just the treatment an adjusted is willing to approve.
Reach Out to a Compassionate Maryland Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Injured custodial workers could be entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in Maryland, contact The Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC. After hours appointments are available.
