Workers' comp deadlines in Maryland: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in Maryland

Time limit

10 days

Counted from

The date of the accidental injury (30 days after a death; for an occupational disease, 1 year after you know or have reason to believe you have it)

In writing?

The law does not require writing

If you are late

Failure to give notice bars the claim unless the Commission excuses it. The Commission must excuse late notice if there was a sufficient reason or if the employer or insurer was not harmed by the delay; the employer or insurer has to prove it was harmed.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, give written notice within 1 year after you know or have reason to believe you have the disease. Notice is treated as given if your employer or supervisor actually knew of your exposure and your disease, or if the employer or insurer paid compensation for it.

Report the accident to your employer immediately. The law requires notice, spoken or written, within 10 days after an accidental injury. If you give written notice, include your name and address and the time, place, nature and cause of the injury, and sign it.

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 9-704, 9-705, 9-706

Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov

File your claim in Maryland

Time limit

60 days

Counted from

The date of the accidental injury

What to file

Employee Claim Form (C-1), filed with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission (online through CompHub, or on a paper claim form the Commission mails to you; the Commission does not accept claim forms by fax or e-mail). If a doctor you chose treated you, file that doctor's report too.

Claim form

Employee Claim Form

Who files it

You file the Employee Claim Form yourself with the Commission, online through CompHub or on an original paper form. You must sign the authorization to release health information, or the claim is returned. The Commission then mails a Notice of Claim to you, your employer and the insurer.

Source: photocopies and printed copies of the online form are not accepted

What your employer must do

Your employer must post an official notice at work that names its insurance company. If an accidental injury causes more than 3 days of disability, the employer must report it to the Commission within 10 days after learning of the disability. For an occupational disease, the employer must report promptly.

When the insurer decides

When your claim is received, the Commission gives it a claim number and a 'consideration date'. The employer or insurer has until that date to raise objections (issues) in writing with the Commission. If it contests the claim, the case is set for a hearing before a commissioner.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, file within 2 years (3 years for pulmonary dust disease) after the date of disablement or death, or after you first actually knew the disablement was caused by your work, whichever is later.

File your claim with the Commission within 60 days after the accident. The Commission may excuse a late claim if the employer or insurer was not harmed by the delay or there was another sufficient reason. But if no claim is filed within 2 years after the accident, the claim is completely barred.

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 9-709, 9-711

Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 9-707, 9-709

Source: wcc.state.md.us

Waiting period and first payment in Maryland

Waiting period

No wage benefits are paid for the first 3 calendar days of disability if it lasts 14 days or less. If you were not paid for the day you were hurt, that day counts as one of the 3 days. Medical care is paid from the start.

Paid back for the waiting days

If your disability lasts more than 14 days, you are paid from the first day.

First payment

If the employer or insurer does not start paying an award within 15 days after it is issued or due, without good cause, the Commission fines it up to 20% of the payment (up to 40% after 30 days), and the fine is paid to you.

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 9-620, 9-728

Source: wcc.state.md.us

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