Elderly Injured at work – workers comp and personal injury attorney
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Representing the elderly injured at work or by the negligence of another
THIS WEBSITE IS THE PRODUCT OF A WORKERS COMPENSATION ATTORNEY AND IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURER. FURTHER IT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE STATE OF MARYLAND NOR ANY GOVERNMENT ENTITY WITHIN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. Information contained herein is provided for informational purposes and expresses opinions and information best known at the time it was written. This information and does not create an attorney to client representation.
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Work Injuries involving the elderly & Auto Accidents involving the elderly
Some of the most severe injuries are those suffered by elderly individuals or those in their later years of adulthood. The elderly often exercise extra precaution to avoid potential injury however accidents do continue to occur and, for the elderly worker often lead to debilitating injury. Fortunately Maryland law does offer potential increased benefits to the older worker that may go unnoticed or untapped in some circumstances. When the severity of an injury rises to a certain level in both workers compensation cases as well as auto accident cases increased benefits may be accessible to the injured elderly worker.
Workers Compensation for the elderly worker
Like all injured employees elderly employees are entitled to certain workers compensation benefits when hurt at work. These benefits have been drafted into Maryland law over the course of the last 100 years. Benefits include lost wages, compensation for permanent injuries, paid for medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation services, and more.
Lost wages
Lost wages are referred to as Temporary Total Disability benefits in Maryland workers compensation law. When an individual is injured and placed on an out of work status by the treating doctor they are entitled to weekly payments amounting to two thirds of their average weekly wage. All injured workers, including the elderly injured worker is entitled to this benefit.
See More on Temporary Total Disability benefits
Permanency compensation
Permanency compensation is paid to injured elderly workers if they sustain an injury that is permanent in nature. These benefits are referred to as Permanent Partial Disability benefits (PPD) or Permanent Total Disability benefits (PTD). Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD) are paid to the permanently disabled elderly worker on a weekly basis for a closed duration of time. Permanent Total Disability Benefits (PTD) are paid to the injured elderly worker for the duration of their life. These benefits can vary greatly depending on the severity of the injury. These benefits may also include payments from the Maryland Subsequent Injury Fund (see below).
See More on Permanent Partial Disability benefits
Medical treatment
Like all injured workers, Elderly workers injured on the job are entitled to have their related medical treatment paid for by the workers compensation insurer. As long as there is a doctor indicating the treatment is reasonable, necessary, and causally related to the accident the injured elderly worker is entitled to the treatment.
Vocational Rehabilitation
If a worker is injured on the job and not able to return to the same line of work because of the injury they may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation or voc rehab. Simply stated this is assistance finding work in another industry or profession. The worker would receive guidance and directive from a vocational counselor while looking for work. The injured worker would also receive weekly payments while searching for work as long as they are compliant with the counselors requests.While vocational rehabilitation is an option for the injured elderly worker it is not always used. This is because elderly workers who are injured at work often choose to retire.
More on Vocational Rehabilitation
In addition to the above listed workers compensation benefits the Elderly employee injured on the job may have an opportunity to recover from the Maryland Subsequent Injury Fund if the injury is severe enough.
Subsequent Injury Fund (SIF) or the “Elderly mans’ statute”
The Maryland Subsequent Injury Fund is a Fund that is created to compensate workers whose injuries are severe in nature but also have significant pre-existing medical conditions.
Elderly work injuries lead to involvement of the Subsequent Injury Fund more often than any other age bracket for a number of reasons. Often when an elderly is injured on the job the injury is of a severe nature. While the a serious work injury does not always result in the involvement of the fund it usually does for the elderly worker because there is an increased likelihood of pre-existing medical conditions. As people age they generally develop medical conditions such as arthritis, reduced vision, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and other conditions. The Subsequent Injury Fund may also be justifiably involved in a case if there are a number of previous injuries or accidents such as broken bones, torn ligaments, or other orthopedic injuries.
See more on the Subsequent Injury Fund
Auto accident while the elderly operating a vehicle
Uninsured Motorist or Under-insured Motorist (UIM)
For the same reason SIF is often involved in injured elderly employees workers comp cases UIM is often involved in auto accidents involving the elderly. With age comes vulnerability to severe injury.
UIM or Under Insured Motorist coverage is within ones own auto insurance policy that could be accessed if the policy of the at fault driver is not high enough to cover all the medical bills and compensation associated with the auto accident. For example 82 year old X was stopped at a stop sign when D collided with the rear of his car causing $20,000 worth of damage to his car and leading to $100,000 of medical costs. D has an auto insurance policy of $30,000 so there is not enough to cover all of X’s expenses and pain and suffering compensation. X would then have the ability to go after his own auto policy and seek money under the Under Insured Motorist portion of his policy.
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