Maryland workplace injuries and financial suffering

Providing for a family or simply making ends meet for one’s self can be an overwhelming task in today’s economic climate. Hard work sometimes entails long hours, physically demanding labor or mentally intensive tasks. Regardless of the work Maryland residents perform, the risk for workplace injuries is still present. After many conflicting reports, a woman has been identified as one of the latest to suffer an on-the-job accident.

Dispatchers received a call around 8:30 p.m. requesting medical assistance at a meat-packing plant in another state. An employee had gotten her arm stuck in a conveyor belt. It took rescue crews over an hour to carefully untangle and release her arm. She was flown to a local hospital and treated for injuries not thought to be life-threatening.

At the time of the incident, information released was unclear and incorrect. Reports indicate that the plant where the woman works had received five calls for work-related injuries in the last five years. The woman’s accident is the first to be identified as an industrial accident.

The loss of income that sometimes follows workplace injuries can leave a family uncertain of how to meet current financial obligations. Maryland residents who are injured while working may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are available to help cover medical costs incurred and lost income, and are also available to surviving spouses and minor children should the employee be fatally injured. An attorney who has experience with workers’ compensation claims can assist those who have been injured on the job.

Source: daytondailynews.com, “Woman injured in West Chester workplace accident”, Eric Schwartzberg, July 28, 2017