Maryland Workers' Compensation: Deadlines, Benefits and How to File

With few exceptions, every Maryland employer with one or more employees, full- or part-time, must provide workers' compensation coverage, through an authorized insurer, an approved self-insurance group, or approved self-insurance. Any individual working for an employer under a contract of hire, including a minor, is presumed to be a covered employee unless the employer shows the person is an independent contractor or specifically exempt. Exceptions include casual employees. Farm workers are covered only if the farmer has at least 3 full-time employees or an annual full-time payroll of at least $15,000. Partners are not covered unless the partnership elects coverage, and certain corporate officers and LLC members may elect to be exempt.

Oral or written notice of an accidental injury must be given to the employer within 10 days after the injury (within 30 days after a work-related death). Written notice should give the worker's name and address and the time, place, nature and cause of the injury, and be signed. Failure to give notice bars the claim unless the Commission excuses it because there was a sufficient reason or the employer or insurer was not prejudiced. The Commission advises reporting any accident to the employer immediately.

For an accidental injury, the worker must file a claim application form (Employee Claim, Form C-1) with the Commission within 60 days after the injury. The Commission may excuse a late filing if the employer or insurer was not prejudiced or for another sufficient reason, but a claim not filed within 2 years after the injury is completely barred. For an occupational disease, the claim must be filed within 2 years (3 years for pulmonary dust disease) after disablement or death, or after the worker or dependents first actually knew the disablement was caused by the employment.

If temporary total disability lasts 14 days or less, no wage benefits are paid for the first 3 calendar days (medical, hospital, medicine and funeral expenses are still paid). If the worker was not paid for the day of the injury, that day counts as one of the 3 days. If the disability lasts more than 14 days, benefits are paid from the first day of disability.

Temporary total disability benefits are two-thirds of the worker's average weekly wage, but not more than the state average weekly wage and not less than $50 a week (if the worker's average weekly wage is under $50, the benefit equals the worker's wage). Benefits are paid as long as the worker is temporarily totally disabled. Temporary partial disability benefits are 50% of the difference between the worker's average weekly wage and reduced earning capacity, up to 50% of the state average weekly wage.

For calendar year 2026, the Commission lists the maximum temporary total and permanent total disability benefit as $1,537.00 a week (100% of the state average weekly wage). The statutory minimum for temporary total disability is $50 a week. Permanent partial disability maximums for 2026 are lower: $257.00 a week for awards under 75 weeks, $513.00 for awards of 75 to under 250 weeks, and $1,153.00 for serious disability awards (250 weeks or more). Temporary partial disability is capped at $769.00.

Permanent partial disability is paid for a set number of weeks depending on the body part and severity (for example, thumb 100 weeks, hand or foot 250 weeks, arm or leg 300 weeks, eye 250 weeks); for other injuries the Commission sets a percentage of disability of the body, paid in proportion to 500 weeks. Weekly rates depend on the length of the award: one-third of the average weekly wage up to a low cap for awards under 75 weeks (scheduled losses and certain public safety employees get the higher rate), two-thirds up to one-third of the state average weekly wage for 75 to under 250 weeks, and for awards of 250 weeks or more the weeks are increased by one-third and paid at two-thirds up to 75% of the state average weekly wage. Permanent total disability (presumed for loss or loss of use of both arms, eyes, feet, hands or legs, or any two of these) is paid at two-thirds of the average weekly wage, up to the state average weekly wage and not less than $25, for as long as the worker is permanently totally disabled.

For most employers (deaths on or after October 1, 2011), dependents receive two-thirds of the worker's average weekly wage, up to the state average weekly wage, multiplied by the share of family income the worker earned. Benefits are paid for 144 months from death, for at least 5 years, and generally end on the date the worker would have turned 70; they continue longer for a dependent spouse or child who cannot support themselves because of a preexisting disability. A dependent child is paid until 18, or up to 5 more years while in accredited full-time school. A spouse's benefits end 2 years after remarriage. Dependents other than a spouse or child share a capped amount ($103,529 for 2026, per the Commission). The employer also pays reasonable funeral expenses up to $7,000. Different rules apply to certain county and municipal employees.

Report the injury to your employer, then file an Employee Claim (Form C-1) with the Workers' Compensation Commission online through the Commission's CompHub portal, or ask the Commission to mail you a paper form. If you were treated by a doctor you chose, the doctor's report is filed with the claim. After the claim is received, it gets a claim number and a 'consideration date' by which the employer or insurer must raise objections. If the claim is contested, or you are not receiving benefits you believe you are owed, a hearing before a Commissioner can be requested.

Contested claims are decided by a Commissioner after a hearing. Within 15 days after a decision, a party may ask the Commission for a rehearing, but only on grounds of legal error or newly discovered evidence. Any aggrieved party may appeal a Commission decision to the circuit court by filing a petition for judicial review within 30 days after the date the Commission mailed its order, and must mail copies to the Commission and every other party. If a rehearing motion was filed, the 30 days start from the mailing of the Commission's ruling on it.

An employer may not fire a covered employee solely because the employee filed a workers' compensation claim. Violating this is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 1 year in jail, or both.

Temporary total disability benefits are paid for the period the worker is temporarily totally disabled, and temporary partial disability benefits for the period the worker is temporarily partially disabled; the statutes set no fixed week limit on either (the limits are on the weekly amount). Permanent partial disability is paid for a set number of weeks: scheduled losses have fixed periods (for example, 250 weeks for a hand), and other permanent partial disabilities are paid in proportion to a 500-week scale based on the percentage of loss. Permanent total disability benefits are paid for as long as the worker remains permanently totally disabled.

Yes. A claim can be resolved by a compromise and settlement agreement, but the agreement does not take effect unless the Workers' Compensation Commission approves it, and it must contain the terms and conditions the Commission considers proper. Once approved, a final compromise and settlement agreement is binding on all parties to it, and unless the Commission orders otherwise, settling with the employer or insurer also bars a claim against the Subsequent Injury Fund on that claim.

Injured workers file an Employee Claim Form C-1 with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission, online through the Commission's CompHub or on paper; the Commission says a completed claim takes about 2 business days to process. Employers file the Employer's First Report of Injury online through the Commission's web forms. The Commission gives general information but not legal advice: General Information / automated claim information line (410) 864-5100; 10 East Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21202, Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Parties have 30 days from the mailing of an order to appeal.

No attorney fee may be charged or collected unless approved by the Workers' Compensation Commission, and an approved fee is a lien on the award. The Commission's fee schedule caps fees for permanent partial disability at 20% of the first $50,000, 15% of the next $50,000 and 5% above $100,000, with a total cap of 60 times the State average weekly wage (the same formula applies to settlements). Permanent total disability fees are generally capped at 25 times the State average weekly wage. No fee is generally allowed on temporary disability benefits except in contested cases (up to 10% of accrued compensation). Medical payments are excluded. The Commission may order refund of an excessive fee.

An employer's liability under Maryland's workers' compensation law is exclusive, and compensation replaces any right of action against any person, except as the law provides. Exceptions: if the employer failed to secure compensation, the worker (or personal representative) may claim compensation or sue for damages; and if the worker was injured or killed by the employer's deliberate intent to injure or kill, the worker or the surviving spouse, child or dependent may claim compensation or sue the employer for damages.

When someone other than the employer is liable, the worker may file a compensation claim or sue that person. If compensation is paid, the insurer, self-insured employer, Subsequent Injury Fund or Uninsured Employers' Fund may sue the third party; if it does not sue within 2 months after the Commission's award, the worker may, and the worker's limitations period against the third party does not start until 2 months after the first award. From a worker's recovery, the worker first deducts costs and expenses, then reimburses compensation and medical and other benefits paid, and keeps the balance.

If an employer fails to secure workers' compensation, the worker may either claim compensation or sue the employer for damages, and the employer cannot defend by blaming the worker's own negligence, assumption of risk or a co-worker. If an uninsured employer fails to pay an award within 30 days, the Commission notifies it of default and possible suspension of its business license or permit; if it neither pays nor objects within 30 days of that notice, the worker may apply to the Uninsured Employers' Fund for payment.

A worker must file a claim application with the Workers' Compensation Commission within 60 days after an accidental injury; the Commission may excuse late filing, but a claim not filed within 2 years is completely barred. A party aggrieved by a Commission decision may appeal by filing a petition for judicial review in circuit court within 30 days after the date the Commission's order was mailed, and must send copies to the Commission and the other parties.