In an important update for legal professionals active in the workers’ compensation sphere, Maryland’s workers’ compensation law could see significant changes following the introduction of three new bills. With an emphasis on reconsidering the distribution of net recovery and redefining occupational diseases, these new legislative proposals will likely have a considerable impact on current and future workers’ compensation cases within the state.
The first bill, SB0071/HB0800, seeks to address child support arrearages. Specifically, the bill mandates that 25% of the net recovery by a claimant on a workers’ compensation claim will be subject to execution on a judgment for child support arrearage. For corporations and legal practitioners, this stipulation introduces a new layer of complexity in the management of workers’ compensation cases, particularly when ensuring the accurate distribution of claim amounts.
The second and third bills, HB0902/SB0839, promise to redefine the categorisation of occupational diseases. Significantly, the proposed legislation establishes that a hernia caused as a result of repetitive trauma may be considered an occupational disease and may be compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The consequences of such a redefinition could see a surge in relevant claims, demanding increased vigilance and capabilities for accurate case assessment from legal teams and corporations alike.
A detailed exegesis of the implication of these bills can be found here.
As these developments emerge, corporations and their legal teams would do well to arm themselves with comprehensive knowledge of these legislative changes. This shifting landscape calls for a re-evaluation of current practices, and an anticipation of what these bills might mean for the future of litigation and negotiation within Maryland’s workers’ compensation landscape.