Md. Code Regs. 12.05.01.06

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 8, April 19, 2024

Section 12.05.01.06 - Compensation

A. The schedule in this regulation is published as an adjunct to the criteria set forth in Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland. The schedule is not intended to limit the discretion of the Board and its application of the criteria set out in Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, but is intended as a guideline in setting evaluation for a particular injury.

B. Compensation provided for in Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland, shall be payable for injuries sustained by prisoners engaged in work under the following circumstances:

(1) The prisoner shall be housed in the Patuxent Institution or an institution under the Division of Correction.

(2) The prisoner shall sustain a "permanent partial disability" as provided by the Workers' Compensation Law, Article 101, Annotated Coded of Maryland.

(3) The injury shall incapacitate or materially reduce the prisoner's earning power in "extra-hazardous" work.

(4) The injury cannot be self-inflicted or result from activities other than work for which wages or a stipulated sum are paid by the institution.

(5) The Board shall arrive at the ordinary earning power of the claimant as set forth in Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland, by a consideration of the claimant's employment before incarceration, the nature of the skills involved in the institutional employment after release from the institution, or actual employment in the case of inmates already released. A consideration of "ordinary earning power" shall be limited to any adjustment the Board determines to be appropriate in a case when obtaining employment after incarceration at a given rate would be possible but for the reduction in earning power or incapacities resulting from the injury.

C. In cases when the claimant received inmate wages at the regular rate paid by the institution at the time of the injury, and the record is inconclusive as to prospective earning potential of claimant upon the claimant's release, the following flat rate schedule of awards shall be employed by the Board:

(1) Thumb-For loss --------------------------------------- $1,147

(2) Finger-For loss of:

(a) First or index finger --------------------------------- $918

(b) Second finger ----------------------------------------- $765

(c) Third finger ------------------------------------------ $612

(d) Fourth finger ----------------------------------------- $535

(e) A portion of a finger, claimant shall be compensated at same rate as loss of whole finger.

(3) Hand-For loss by amputation or 100 percent disability ------------------------------------------------- $6,885

(4) Arm-For loss ---------------------------------------- $8,415

(5) Foot-For loss ---------------------------------------- $5,355

(6) Toes-For loss of:

(a) Great toe --------------------------------------------- $765

(b) Other toes -------------------------------------------- $535

(7) Leg-For loss ----------------------------------------- $8,415

(8) Eye-For loss ----------------------------------------- $7,650

(9) Hearing:

(a) For total loss of hearing in one ear ------------------ $994

(b) For total loss of hearing --------------------------- $1,530

(10) Mutilation and disfigurement aesthetically causing reduction in earning power (at the discretion of Board), an award not to exceed ------------------------------------- $3,060

(11) Back:

(a) Short of paralysis, an award involving an injury to the back shall be computed on the basis of the percentage of loss of use to the back in relation to -------------- $12,240

(b) For an injury resulting in:

(i) Paraplegia -------------------------------------- $22,950; or

(ii) Quadriplegia ----------------------------------- $38,250

(c) For all other cases of permanent partial disability, short of total incapacity, the rate of compensation shall be the percentage that the loss of industrial use of the body bears to $18,360 at the discretion of the Board.

(12) Injuries to the head shall be compensated at a rate within the discretion of the Board depending upon the severity.

(13) Permanent loss of use of an appendage or eye shall be the equivalent of the loss of the appendage. It shall be in the Board's discretion to determine that an amputation or loss of an appendage or fractional part of it, or an eye, constitutes a total loss of the eye or appendage or fractional part of it if it is disputed.

D. Attorney's Fees.

(1) The attorney's fees shall be approved by the Board, which may require a written statement of services rendered or an affidavit of services rendered.

(2) When an award is made to a claimant represented by an attorney and a fee is requested, the Board shall approve a fee commensurate with the services rendered, and the fee shall be paid out of the award.

(3) Attorney's fees shall be awarded at the discretion of the Board, but a fee may not be greater than 20 percent of the total award.

(4) The Board and the Board alone shall set and determine the attorney's fees. In establishing the fee, the Board is not bound by any prior agreement between an attorney and client.

E. Medical Examination of the Claimant.

(1) When it is determined that a claimant is eligible, the Board may direct medical examination of the claimant by a physician designated for this purpose.

(2) The claimant shall present himself to the physician named at the time and place designated.

(3) A representative of the claimant or any other interested party may not be present at the examination.

(4) A written report of the examination in § E(3) shall be filed by the examining physician with the Board, and a copy mailed to the claimant or the claimant's attorney.

(5) The physician's fee shall be paid by the Board.

(6) Fees of private physicians shall be paid by the claimant.

Md. Code Regs. 12.05.01.06

Regulations .06 and new Regulation .06 adopted effective August 10, 1987 (14:16 Md. R. 1775)