How Does a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Get Paid?

By Jeffrey R. Butschky, Maryland Accident Injury Attorney

For more than 25 years, the Law Offices of Butschky & Butschky, LLC have assisted the hard-working people of Maryland when they suffer a work-related injury or disease. We have experience navigating the Maryland Workers’ Comp system, and it is our job to help injured workers file their claims correctly, deal with the legal ins and outs, and receive the most compensation possible.

“When will I get paid in my Maryland Work Comp Claim?” is a question we hear from just about all of our work accident injury clients. One of the other most frequently asked questions we Baltimore work accident attorneys hear is, “How will my workers’ compensation lawyer get paid?” We’d like to shed some light on this question and address injured workers’ concerns.

Accident injury lawyers in the state of Maryland are compensated differently depending on the type of case. In Maryland motor vehicle accident cases, attorneys representing injured parties typically charge a contingency fee that amounts to one-third of the recovery.

In simple terms — this means the attorney’s fee depends on whether they win the client’s auto accident injury case. If they do, the client agrees to pay his or her injury lawyer one-third of their settlement or verdict. If there is no recovery in the case, the attorney is typically paid nothing.

Maryland Workers’ Compensation claims are different from traffic accident cases.

Employers in the State of Maryland are required to carry Workers Compensation insurance, in the event an employee becomes injured, sick, or is killed in the course of doing their work. How much an injured or ill employee stands to recover in a Md Work Comp case depends on many factors, including their average weekly wages.

The amount a Maryland Workers’ Compensation lawyer can collect from his or her client is set by State statute. The most it can usually be is 20 percent of the overall permanency Award. Also, as the permanency award for Maryland Work Comp goes up, the lawyer’s fee declines.

There are quite a few lawyers out there who don’t handle a large volume of Maryland Workers’ Compensation cases, but who take them on nonetheless. These less-experienced attorneys want to charge clients one-third of their compensation, incorrectly believing that the Fee Schedule is identical to an auto accident.

We’ve said it before, and it’s worth repeating: If you’re injured in the course of your job in Maryland, consult an experienced work accident injury lawyer. Your ability to live comfortably, pay your bills, and provide for your family may depend on it. For a free consultation on your Maryland work injury case, please contact our offices in Baltimore at (410) 625-1121, in Sparks, MD, at (410) 472-3651, or toll free at (800) 722-6616. We look forward to working with you.