What does it mean to be hurt at work? When do you get Workers’ Compensation?
Maryland worker’s compensation law provides benefits for employees who sustain an accidental injury in the scope and course of their employment.
The scope and course of employment aspect is satisfied if the accident occurs while the person is working, or performing a task related to the work. [MPJA 30:6].
An accident is something unexpected, i.e an unanticipated injury caused by physical conditions, requirements, or exertion required of or by the job. The skilled personal injury lawyer in Baltimore Attorney Eric T. Kirk is also aware that, to entitle a worker to worker’s compensation benefits, the accident injury must ‘arise out of’ the work, in addition to occurring in the scope of the employment, In other words, there must be a causal connection between the work and the injury [although the work does not have to be the sole cause of the injury]. There are no benefits available for injuries resulting solely from the so-called ‘idiopathic’ condition, personal to the employee [e.g. a medical condition]. CAM v. Becchio, 608 A.2d 1264.
Of course, it comes as no surprise to those who litigate worker’s compensation claims that insurance companies frequently use these definitions and concepts to justify their denial of benefits to injured workers.
