Maryland workers’ compensation benefits cover medical treatment, wage replacement, permanent disability, vocational rehabilitation, and payments to survivors when a worker dies from a job-related injury or illness. For 2026, the maximum weekly wage benefit is $1,537. To collect, you generally have 10 days to tell your employer about the injury and 60 days to file a formal claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission, with a hard two-year outer limit.
Who Is Covered
Nearly every Maryland employer must carry workers’ compensation insurance or qualify as a self-insurer through the Commission.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-405 – Self-Insurance by Individual Employer If you are an employee rather than an independent contractor, you are covered. Maryland courts apply a five-factor test to decide which you are: who hired you, who pays your wages, who can fire you, who controls how you do the work, and whether the work is part of the employer’s regular business. Control carries the most weight. If the company dictates how and when you perform your tasks, you are likely an employee no matter what your contract calls you.p>
The injury or illness must arise out of and during the course of your employment. Maryland reads that requirement broadly. You do not need to be doing your core duties at the moment you are hurt. Injuries at employer-sponsored events, during work-related travel, or while doing something that benefits your employer can all qualify.
Reporting the Injury and Filing the Claim
Two deadlines run at the same time, and missing either one can end your claim.
Notify your employer within 10 days of the injury, orally or in writing. A written notice should include your name, address, and a description of when, where, and how the injury happened. Late notice bars the claim unless the Commission excuses it, which usually happens only when the employer already knew about the injury.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 9-704
File a formal claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission within 60 days of the injury. The absolute outer limit is two years.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 9-709 Do not treat that two-year window as a target. Filing early preserves evidence, speeds up benefits, and heads off disputes about whether your condition is really work-related. You can file online through the Commission’s website or on paper. Include the nature of the injury, the treatment you have received, and any lost wages.
Once the claim is filed, the Commission reviews it, looks at the medical evidence, and considers employer and witness statements. Uncontested claims produce an award laying out the benefits you will receive. Contested claims move into mediation and, if that fails, a hearing.
Medical Benefits
You are entitled to all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the work injury, with no co-pays or deductibles. The employer or its insurer pays the full cost of doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, prescriptions, and rehabilitation. You can choose your own treating physician, though the employer may request an independent medical examination to verify that the treatment is necessary.
Reasonable travel costs to authorized medical providers are also covered. If the insurer denies a treatment your doctor recommends, you can request a hearing and have a Commissioner decide.
Wage Replacement
Wage benefits do not start on day one. There is a three-calendar-day waiting period after your disability begins during which no wage benefits are paid.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-620 – Waiting Period for Compensation If you were not paid for the day of the injury, that day counts as one of the three. Medical benefits are available immediately; the waiting period applies only to wage replacement.
If your disability lasts more than 14 days, the waiting period is waived retroactively and you are paid from the first day of disability.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-620 – Waiting Period for Compensation Out for 12 days, you lose the first three. Out for 15, you get paid for all 15.
Temporary Total Disability
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits apply when you cannot work at all. The weekly benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at the state average weekly wage. The 2026 cap is $1,537 per week.5Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note for House Bill 346 TTD continues until you reach maximum medical improvement, return to work, or are reclassified as permanently disabled.
Temporary Partial Disability
If you can work in some capacity but earn less than before, temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits cover part of the gap at two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wage and your current earnings. TPD is common when an employer offers light-duty work at reduced pay.
Permanent Disability
When the injury leaves lasting impairment, Maryland pays permanent disability benefits in one of two categories.
Permanent Partial Disability
Permanent partial disability (PPD) compensates you for lasting loss of function to a specific body part using a statutory schedule that assigns a set number of weeks to each part:
- Arm: 300 weeks
- Hand: 250 weeks
- Leg: 300 weeks
- Foot: 250 weeks
- Eye: 250 weeks
- Thumb: 100 weeks
- Index finger: 40 weeks
- Hearing in both ears: 250 weeks
The actual benefit depends on the degree of impairment. If a doctor rates you at 30% loss of use of your hand, you receive 30% of 250 weeks, or 75 weeks, at the applicable weekly rate. Permanent loss of use is treated the same as actual loss of the body part.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 9-627
Permanent Total Disability
Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are awarded when your injuries prevent you from performing any substantial gainful work. PTD claims are less common and more heavily contested; expect the insurer to argue that some type of work remains available to you. The determination involves medical evaluations and usually a formal hearing. If approved, PTD is paid at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to the state maximum, for the duration of the disability.
Death and Survivor Benefits
When a workplace injury or occupational disease causes an employee’s death, Maryland pays benefits to surviving dependents. A surviving spouse and dependent children under 18 take priority. Benefits are paid at two-thirds of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage, capped at the state average weekly wage, for up to 144 months (12 years).7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-683.3
Death benefits must be paid for a minimum of five years. After that minimum, benefits end on the date that would have been the deceased worker’s 70th birthday.7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-683.3 If the deceased worker’s average weekly wage was below $100, the weekly death benefit matches that wage up to $100 per week. Reasonable funeral expenses are also covered.
Dependents must notify the employer within 30 days of the death and file a formal claim within 18 months. These deadlines are enforced strictly.
Vocational Rehabilitation
If the injury prevents you from returning to your previous job, vocational rehabilitation covers job training, education, and placement assistance. The employer or insurer pays the costs. Providers must be registered with the Commission to be paid.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-671 – Provider of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Registration Required Disagreements over what services are appropriate are resolved by the Commission.
Occupational Disease Claims
Repetitive stress injuries, chemical exposures, hearing loss from chronic noise, and other conditions that develop over time are also covered, but with different deadlines. You must notify your employer within one year of discovering, or having reason to believe, that the condition is work-related. The formal claim must be filed within two years of disablement or death from the disease.
The harder part is proving causation. For a disease that developed over months or years, you will need medical evidence linking the condition to your specific workplace exposures. Expert testimony from a treating physician or occupational medicine specialist is often the difference between an approved and a denied claim.
Third-Party Claims
Workers’ compensation is usually your only remedy against your employer. You cannot sue the employer in court for a workplace injury. If someone else caused or contributed to your injury, though, you can pursue a separate civil lawsuit against that third party while still collecting workers’ comp. Common examples include a defective product, a negligent subcontractor on a job site, or a careless driver who hits you during a work errand.
Maryland gives your employer or its insurer a subrogation right, meaning they can recover from your third-party settlement the workers’ compensation benefits they already paid you. You do not collect twice for the same losses.
What Happens If Your Claim Is Denied
Disputes over denials, the severity of an injury, the appropriateness of treatment, or benefit calculations are common. The first step is informal mediation through the Commission. A neutral mediator helps both sides talk through the dispute, and many cases resolve here.
If mediation fails, the case goes to a formal hearing before a Workers’ Compensation Commissioner. Both sides present medical records, doctor testimony, wage documentation, and witness statements. The Commissioner issues a written decision that binds both parties. Either side can appeal to the circuit court within 30 days, filed in the county where you live, where the employer is based, or where the injury occurred.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 9-738 – Venue
Attorney Fees
Maryland closely regulates what lawyers can charge in workers’ compensation cases. Fees are not negotiated freely; the Commission must approve them under a mandatory schedule. For permanent partial disability awards, the sliding scale is:
- First $50,000 of the award: up to 20%
- Next $50,000: up to 15%
- Amounts over $100,000: up to 5%
The total attorney fee for a PPD case cannot exceed 60 times the state average weekly wage. For PTD cases, the cap is 25 times the state average weekly wage. Amounts paid for medical services and prescriptions are excluded from the fee calculation entirely; the percentage applies only to indemnity benefits.10Legal Information Institute. COMAR 14.09.04.03 – Schedule of Attorneys Fees The Commission can approve fees above these limits only in exceptional circumstances.
Most workers’ compensation attorneys work on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront. The fee comes out of your award or settlement after the Commission approves it.
Taxes on Benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits are generally exempt from federal income tax. Payments for medical expenses, lost wages, and disability are not included in gross income and are not subject to income tax withholding.11IRS. 2026 Publication 15-B Employers Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits The exception: if you also receive Social Security disability benefits that are reduced because of your workers’ comp, the offset portion of Social Security may be taxable. Maryland also exempts workers’ compensation benefits from state income tax.