Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission Annual Report Indicates Increase in Claims

At the end of each calendar year, the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission releases its annual report documenting trends and statistics from the fiscal year.

During the 2024 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, the amount of workers’ compensation claims that were filed was up from the previous two years. In 2024, 22,149 claims were filed. This is an increase from 2023, when 21,661 claims were filed. It is also an increase from 2022, when 22,075 claims were filed.

Of the total claims filed in 2024, 49.7 percent were filed by males, and 35.5 percent were filed by females. Gender was unspecified on the remaining 14.8 percent of claim forms. The highest percentage of claims were filed by males aged 30 to 39 years old at 12.4 percent of all claims. The second highest percentage of claims were filed by males 40 to 49 years old with 10.4 percent of claims. The third highest percentage of claims were filed by males 50 to 59 years old at 9.8 percent of claims.

While the total number of claims filed increased in 2024 compared to the prior two years, both the total number of hearings and the total number of permanent partial disability awards decreased. In 2024, there was a total of 37,680 hearings compared to 40,264 in 2023, and 43,188 in 2022. In 2024, 8,611 permanency awards were issued by the Commission. In 2023, 8,725 awards were issued. In 2022, the Commission issued 9,772 permanency awards.

We may see an increase in the amount of hearings and permanency awards in 2025 as many of the claims filed in 2024 may have not yet have reached the need for a hearing or the permanency stage of the claim. It will be interesting to see what 2025 brings.

Written by Christina A. Hayes, Esq.