Since the 1970s, the state of Maryland has been keeping track of injuries occurring in the workplace. That reporting process is called the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The latest SOII numbers are from 2011 and cover the approximately 2.3 million workers throughout the state. Here is some bullet points taken from those numbers that feature worker injuries:
-- There were a total of 65,000 nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses reported in the SOII.
-- That number works out to roughly 3.4 injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time workers.
-- In 2011, Maryland was a fairly safe state to work in. In fact, Maryland's rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in all industries was about 11 percent lower than the national average, and the fewest reported cases since the program began some 40 years earlier.
-- One interesting detail about these numbers is that construction related injuries are not the most common. In fact, construction accidents in the private sector averaged 3.9 for every 100 workers. That number is much less than the private transportation and warehouse sector where 5.8 out of every 100 workers experienced an accident.
Of course, these are only statistics. If you are a Maryland construction worker who has been injured at your job, these numbers do not reflect your pain and suffering. Accidents such as falls from ladders and scaffolding, heavy machinery mishaps, forklift collisions and electrical shocks mean more to you than just ink on paper.
That's why you should know that Maryland law has established legal avenues to provide you with a remedy. Through civil litigation regarding your construction worker injury accident, you may be able to recover compensation for your lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering as well as other losses.