Maryland Airline Employee Injury Lawyer
The Old Line State has some of the busiest and noisiest airports in the country, especially when Washington, D.C. is added to the mix. This traffic includes both passengers and cargo. The combination of noise and volume, along with the need for speedy processing, means that airline employees in Maryland risk serious injury every time they punch the clock. These victims need money to pay regular bills and medical expenses while they recover.
The compassionate Maryland airline employee injury lawyer at Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman understand the severe emotional distress that a job injury causes. Many of the people on our professional team have gone through the injury compensation system themselves. This experience gives us a unique perspective on these cases. This experience also fuels our willingness to go to the mat for you.
Types of Employees Covered
Even municipal airports are more like small cities than places of business. It takes many different workers doing many different jobs to make airports function efficiently. Workers’ compensation insurance covers all these workers and the injuries they often sustain, such as:
- Ramp Agents: Large airplanes are extremely loud, even when they are on the other side of a wall. So, hearing loss is often a problem for airport ramp agents. Long-term exposure to noises as low as 35 decibels, which is basically a chamber orchestra concert, could cause permanent hearing damage.
- Customer Service Workers: These individuals often stand for long periods of time, especially since many airports are operating with reduced staff in the coronavirus era. The ankles, knees, and other leg joints cannot naturally handle the added stress. In other words, as each minute ticks by, these workers get weaker joints.
- Baggage Handlers: Management often insists that baggage handlers and other outside airport workers wear ear protection. But these handlers often bend or stoop to lift heavy bags hour after hour. Such repetitive motion is very hard on the worker’s back. Even relatively minor spine problems are expensive to treat and difficult to correct.
- Maintenance Workers: These employees, who are largely invisible, might have the most hazardous airport job. Trauma injuries, like falls, and occupational diseases, like breathing problems due to toxic fume inhalation, are both serious problems.
Generally, these injured victims receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage for the duration of a temporary disability. Workers’ compensation benefits also take care of all reasonably necessary medical expenses.
Coverage Issues
Overlapping areas of responsibility is an issue in many airport worker injury cases. Frequently, victims are employed by one entity and hurt in another entity’s control area. For example, a food service worker might slip and fall while cleaning tables in a common area.
Furthermore, many employers are uninsured, although Maryland law requires most bosses to purchase workers’ compensation insurance.
Some companies make false statements on insurance forms, mostly regarding the number of employees or size of the payroll. In these situations, the insurance company might deny coverage.
Other companies simply ignore the requirement. They know the likelihood of being caught is low. Even if they do get caught, the penalty is normally a fine which barely exceeds the amount of money they illegally saved.
In non-coverage situations, or nonsubscriber claims in Legalese, our professional team might be able to obtain additional compensation for victims. These additional damages usually include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other noneconomic losses.
Reach Out to a Hard-Working Maryland Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Injured airport workers could be entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in Maryland, contact The Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.