Can I Re-open My Case If My Condition Worsens?
Maryland law permits you to re-open your claim for more money within five years of the last time you were paid compensation for your injury if you have not settled your case. Compensation does not include medical treatment, mileage reimbursement or prescription expenses. It generally only means payments for permanent disability or temporary total disability. Therefore, if your condition worsens, even just a little bit, it is extremely important to claim and receive an increased permanent disability award and/or temporary total benefits. By doing so, you will have an additional five years to claim more money from the date of that payment.
On the other hand, medical benefits are for life (assuming you have not settled your right to claim future benefits). There is no five year limitation, but the difficulty of proving the relationship of the treatment to the original injury increases with time - absent an increased award of permanent disability.
Frequently Asked Maryland Workers' Compensation Questions
- Is my injury covered under Maryland Worker's Compensation law?
- How long do I have to file a claim?
- How do I know if my claim was filed properly?
- Who are the people involved in a Workers' Compensation claim?
- Should I speak to the insurance company about my injury?
- What benefits are available to me under Maryland law?
- What do the forms I receive in the mail mean?
- How do my prior injuries affect my claim?
- Heart disease presumptions for public safety employees?
- Lung disease and cancer presumption for fire fighters.
- Lymes disease presumption for natural resource employees.
- How do hearing loss claims work?
- Retirement issues for State, County and Municipal employees.
- How will my claim proceed?
- Can I re-open my case if my condition gets worse?
- How does my attorney get paid?
- Can I be re-imbursed for my travel expenses?
- What are the payment rates for temporary total and permanent disability?
- What should I do when I am asked to see the insurance company's doctor?
- What if I am injured because of the negligence of someone other than my employer?