Can I File a Claim Myself or Do I Need a Lawyer?
You can file a claim yourself, but a lawyer will likely be able to recover more than you are able to.
Workers’ Compensation lawyers in Maryland, unlike some other types of injury attorneys, are not outrageously expensive. In almost every case, the workers’ comp lawyer charges you nothing. Unlike other injury lawyers, the fees charged by workers’ comp lawyers are capped by law.
In a case where TTD benefits are not contested, the lawyer does not receive anything for the TTD work. TTD stands for temporary total disability and generally serves as the wages replacement. The lawyer will usually get 20% of the PPD award. PPD stands for permanent partial disability. This is in stark contrast to lawyers who get 33-40% for things like car accidents, slip and falls, or other injuries.
MD workers’ compensation law is complex. It is not rocket science to be able to file a claim, but that is only to replace lost wages. What about the lasting injury? What about when the employer or employer’s insurance company contests that the injury was work related? They don’t always do this immediately.
More than that, the insurance company wants to limit what you get. You should have someone working for you trying to maximize what you get.
So you can file a claim by yourself, but a Maryland workers’ compensation attorney is a much better way to go. The fees are reasonable, and will probably be paid for by what they can get for you that you couldn’t get for yourself. Use our MD workers’ compensation calculator to see how much recovery you might be entitled to. Although the estimate is rough, it will give you a general idea. Workers’ comp benefits are not something to be left to chance. Get a professional.
Here’s a specific example on why to get a workers’ comp lawyer for your Maryland comp case.
