Yes. Maryland workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. If you were hurt doing your job, you can file a claim even if the accident was your own fault: you misjudged a lift, skipped a step, lost your footing or made a mistake with a tool. Ordinary carelessness is not a defense to a comp claim.
The exceptions are narrow and written into the statute: an injury you caused yourself on purpose, an attempt to injure someone else, injuries caused by intoxication or by drugs not taken as prescribed, and willful misconduct. Each is explained below.
Why your own mistake does not bar a comp claim
Workers’ compensation is a trade. Employees give up the right to sue their employer, and in exchange they receive benefits without proving anyone was negligent. The same rule runs the other way: the employer’s insurer cannot deny the claim because you were careless.
That is a real advantage in Maryland. In an ordinary injury lawsuit, Maryland’s contributory negligence rule can bar recovery if you were even slightly at fault. Comp does not work that way.
When fault can defeat a Maryland comp claim
Maryland’s statute lists the situations where benefits are not paid:
- Intentional self-injury. An injury you inflicted on yourself on purpose.
- Attempting to injure or kill another person. An injury that results from your own attack on someone.
- Intoxication while on duty. Benefits are barred where intoxication was the sole cause of the injury. Where it was the primary cause, compensation is barred but medical benefits are still paid.
- Drugs not taken as prescribed. A similar rule applies to injuries caused by the effect of drugs or controlled substances that were not taken as a physician prescribed. A controlled substance taken as prescribed, and not excessively or abusively, does not bar the claim.
- Willful misconduct. An injury caused by the employee’s willful misconduct.
Ordinary mistakes, rushing, or breaking a minor workplace rule are not the same as willful misconduct, and insurers do not get to relabel carelessness to deny a claim. Whether particular conduct crosses that line depends on the facts.
The insurer has to prove the exception
The statute starts from presumptions in your favor. Absent substantial evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that the injury was not intentional and was not caused by intoxication or drugs. An insurer that wants to deny a claim on those grounds has to come forward with the evidence.
A positive test alone does not automatically settle the question, because the statute asks whether the substance caused the injury. If your claim was denied on one of these grounds, it can be contested before the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Our article on why Maryland comp claims are denied covers that process.
What to do if you think the accident was your fault
- Report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing. Do not hold back out of embarrassment.
- Describe what happened accurately. You do not need to assign blame in the report.
- Get medical care and tell the provider the injury happened at work.
- File your claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Also ask whether anyone else played a part, such as defective equipment or another contractor. That can support a separate injury claim, where fault does matter. Our case review is free, and there is no fee unless we recover money for you.
Common questions
Can my employer deny my claim because I broke a safety rule?
Not simply for that. Breaking a rule is usually ordinary carelessness, which does not bar a comp claim. Only conduct that amounts to willful misconduct is excluded, and whether conduct reaches that level depends on the facts.
What if I failed a drug test after the accident?
A test result is evidence, not an automatic denial. The statute asks whether the substance caused the injury, and it protects controlled substances taken as prescribed and not excessively or abusively. Where intoxication or drugs were the primary but not the only cause, medical benefits can still be paid.
Can I still get medical treatment if my claim is contested?
You can and should keep treating. If the claim is later found compensable, the insurer is responsible for the related treatment. Tell your providers the injury is a workers’ comp claim.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice about your situation.