Public safety employees—police officers and firefighters in particular—are some of the most indispensable members of our society.  Their jobs are uniquely perilous, as they are consistently subject to on the job hazards that other occupations simply never encounter.

For this reason, workers’ compensation disability benefits for certain public safety workers are paid at a higher rate than other employees in the State of Maryland—and rightfully so.  At Warnken LLC, we take great pride in representing the injured workers of the public safety sector.  In fact, our firm is general counsel to the Maryland Troopers Association and has been for years.

2015 Saw an Increase in Comp Benefits for Baltimore City Police

According to a recent BaltimoreBrew article, injury claims for members of the Baltimore City Police Department rose nearly $4 million from 2014 ($12.9 million) to 2015 ($16.6 million).  While part of the increase was due to the Freddie Gray unrest in April 2015, the total costs for 2015 were still around $2 million more than 2014 when considered without the 179 claims that were attributable to the unrest.  Moreover, the total numbers of claims for 2014 is more than the total number of claims for 2015 if those 179 claims are not considered, yet the total costs for 2015 was still significantly higher.  In total, the $16.6 million in costs for injury claims by members of the Baltimore City Police Department works out to an average of $14,614 per claim.

For more information on workers’ compensation benefits for public safety employees, click here.  For a free consultation to discuss your case with the Baltimore Comp Lawyer, click here.