There are stark differences between Pennsylvania and Maryland in terms of the Workers Compensation systems. Vast differences. In the beginning of a Maryland claim, one term that injured workers see often is “consideration date’. There is no such thing in Pennsylvania. Sort of. So what is this ‘consideration date’?
Firs, in Maryland, once a claim is filed, the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) will schedule a hearing on your claim. The Commission sets its own hearing schedules. The rule of thumb though is that a hearing will be scheduled within three to four months from the date your claim is filed.
There is still this ‘consideration date’. So what is it?
Once you file a claim with the Commission, the Commission will send a Notice of Claim to your employer and its respective insurance carrier. On the of the Notice of Claim the ‘consideration date’ is listed at the bottom of the notice. Generally, the consideration date is one month from filing date of the your original claim.
The consideration date provides your employer and its respective insurance carrier a date by which they must either accept or contest your claim. This is similar to Pennsylvania, where an insurance carrier has 20 days to either accept or deny a claim by filing a Bureau document. If they choose to contest your claim, then they will proceed to file ‘Contesting Issues’ with the Commission. At that point, similar to Pennsylvania, your work injury is ‘denied’ and you present evidence of a work-related injury at the hearing. In terms of requesting a hearing before the Commission, an injured worker may not request a hearing until after the “consideration date,” has passed. .
So if the employer and its respective insurance carrier file ‘contesting issues’, what happens? Remember, if they file ‘contesting issues’ they have essentially denied your work injury. Naturally, you should immediately call Mooney Law for legal representation. You must prepare evidence to prove your case at the hearing the Commission will schedule.
If you have been injured at work in Maryland, call Mooney Law right away for a FREE PHONE consultation. Right now, due to COVID-19, we are only offering phone consultation to protect our clients and staff and comply with stay at home orders in both Pennsylvanbia and Maryland. Injuries are still occurring. You still deserve superior representation. Mooney Law remains there for you! Although our office are closed to the public, our law firm is fully functional and operational. Call today at 717-200-HELP or 717-632-4656. You can also email us at info@mooney4law.com to schedule a FREE PHONE consultation.
