College Park Janitorial Worker Injury Attorney
Janitorial and custodial workers at the University of Maryland, office complexes along Route 1, and commercial facilities throughout College Park face physical demands that most people never think about. Wet floors, heavy equipment, chemical exposure, repetitive lifting, and overnight shifts in empty buildings create real injury risks every day. When one of those risks catches up with you, the workers’ compensation system is supposed to step in. In practice, getting what you’re actually owed often takes more than filing a form. A College Park janitorial worker injury attorney at Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP has spent 35 years helping Maryland’s working people cut through that process and get the benefits they need to recover and get back on their feet.
What Custodial Work in College Park Actually Looks Like From an Injury Standpoint
Janitorial work is physically unrelenting. The University of Maryland alone employs hundreds of facilities and custodial staff who work across a sprawling campus that never really shuts down. Add to that the shopping centers on Baltimore Avenue, the research parks off Kenilworth Avenue, and the apartment complexes that fill the area between campus and the Beltway, and you have a large concentration of workers doing exactly the kind of labor that leads to workers’ compensation claims.
Slips and falls are the most common injury type, and College Park’s climate makes them worse. Wet entranceways during rainstorms, icy walkways in winter, and freshly mopped floors without adequate warning signs all produce the same result: a worker who hits the ground hard and comes up with a fractured wrist, a torn knee ligament, or a herniated disc in their lower back. These injuries often require surgery and extended rehabilitation, meaning weeks or months away from work.
Repetitive motion injuries are less dramatic but often just as disabling. Workers who operate floor buffers and scrubbers, push heavy carts, or spend hours bent over mopping develop shoulder damage, rotator cuff tears, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic lower back conditions over time. These are not accidents in the traditional sense, but Maryland workers’ compensation law covers them as occupational diseases or cumulative trauma conditions when the work itself caused or significantly contributed to the condition.
Chemical exposure is another reality of custodial work that does not get enough attention. Cleaning products, disinfectants, and industrial solvents can cause respiratory problems, skin conditions, and in cases of prolonged exposure, more serious systemic effects. If a worker is exposed regularly to hazardous chemicals without proper protective equipment, any resulting health condition may qualify as a compensable occupational disease under Maryland law.
How Janitorial Workers’ Compensation Claims Actually Tend to Play Out
The path from injury to benefits looks straightforward on paper. You report the injury, the employer notifies the insurer, the insurer processes the claim, and benefits begin. That is the clean version. What tends to happen instead involves delays, requests for additional information, disputes about whether the injury is work-related, and sometimes a flat-out denial with a form letter that is hard to interpret.
For janitorial workers, a few specific issues come up repeatedly. First, there is the question of employer size and classification. Custodial staff at large institutions like the University of Maryland typically work for the state or for a private contractor. If you are a contractor’s employee rather than a direct university hire, understanding who your employer actually is and which insurance policy covers you matters enormously. The answer affects who you file against and what benefits apply.
Second, repetitive trauma claims get scrutinized harder than sudden-accident claims. An insurer may argue that your shoulder injury predates your employment, that it is degenerative and not work-related, or that the medical evidence does not clearly connect your condition to your specific job duties. This is where having a doctor who understands how to document occupational causation makes a real difference, and it is also where an attorney who has handled hundreds of these claims knows what questions to ask and what records to gather.
Third, light duty offers create complications. When an employer or insurer offers you a light duty position, accepting or refusing that offer has legal consequences for your wage replacement benefits. Workers in physically demanding jobs like custodial work sometimes find that the offered light duty tasks bear no resemblance to anything they actually know how to do. Understanding your rights when a light duty offer does not match your functional limitations is something an attorney can help you work through before you respond.
Benefits Available to Injured Janitorial Workers Under Maryland Law
Maryland’s workers’ compensation system provides several categories of benefits that apply depending on how severely you are injured and how long the effects last. Knowing what you can claim matters as much as knowing how to claim it.
Medical benefits cover treatment that is reasonable and necessary to treat your work injury. This includes emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, and ongoing treatment for chronic conditions. In Maryland, the insurer generally has the right to direct your medical care, which means they get to choose approved providers. If you disagree with the treatment you are receiving or the insurer is denying treatment your doctor has recommended, that dispute can go before the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Temporary total disability benefits replace a portion of your wages while you cannot work at all. Temporary partial disability covers the wage gap if you return to lighter or fewer hours before you fully recover. Permanent partial disability benefits compensate you for lasting functional loss after you reach maximum medical improvement, calculated according to rating schedules set by the Commission. For severe injuries, permanent total disability may apply.
Vocational rehabilitation is available in some cases, particularly when a permanent injury prevents a worker from returning to their prior job. For custodial workers whose work capacity depends heavily on physical ability, this benefit can be significant when the injury is severe enough to end their career in that field.
Questions Janitorial Workers in College Park Ask Us
I was hurt at work but I did not report it right away because I thought it would get better. Can I still file a claim?
You should report the injury to your employer as soon as possible. Maryland law has notice requirements, and while there are exceptions for situations where an injury was not immediately recognized as work-related, delay can create complications. Do not assume you have waited too long without speaking to an attorney first.
My injury developed slowly over years of mopping and floor work. Does workers’ comp cover that?
Yes. Maryland workers’ compensation covers occupational diseases and repetitive trauma conditions, not just sudden accidents. The key is establishing that your work activities caused or materially contributed to the condition. Medical documentation and job history are central to these claims.
The insurer sent me to a doctor who said I can return to full duty. My own doctor disagrees. What happens now?
Disputes between treating physicians and insurer-selected evaluators are common in workers’ compensation cases. The Workers’ Compensation Commission considers all medical evidence, and the opinion of an independent physician who has actually treated you often carries significant weight. This is a situation where having legal representation is particularly valuable.
I work for a cleaning contractor at a University of Maryland building. Who is my employer for workers’ comp purposes?
Your employer is the company that hired you, not the entity that contracted with that company. However, contractor arrangements sometimes involve complex insurance coverage questions, particularly if there are subcontractors in the chain. An attorney can help untangle who the responsible insurer is.
My employer offered me a light duty job, but it involves tasks I have never done and do not know how to do. Do I have to accept it?
Light duty offers must be within your physical restrictions and must represent genuine employment. If the offer is not suitable given your limitations or qualifications, refusing it may not automatically cut off your benefits. This is a nuanced area and the specific facts of your situation matter greatly.
How long do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim in Maryland?
The general deadline to file a claim with the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission is two years from the date of the accidental injury, or two years from when you knew or should have known that a disease or condition was work-related. Missing that deadline can bar your claim entirely, so acting promptly matters.
Can I also sue my employer or a third party for my injuries?
In most cases, workers’ compensation is your exclusive remedy against your employer. However, if a third party, such as a negligent contractor, a building owner who maintained a dangerous condition, or the manufacturer of defective cleaning equipment, contributed to your injury, a separate personal injury claim may be possible alongside your workers’ comp case.
Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP Represents Custodial and Janitorial Workers Throughout the College Park Area
Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP is the largest workers’ compensation law firm in Maryland representing injured workers, with offices in Lutherville, Baltimore, Gaithersburg, and Frederick. The firm has spent 35 years taking the kinds of cases that other attorneys pass on, including contested claims, appeals before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, jury trials, and cases that have gone all the way to Maryland’s highest courts. One of the firm’s founders wrote the definitive two-volume treatise on Maryland workers’ compensation law, the reference that practitioners across the state still rely on. That depth of knowledge is what a College Park janitorial worker deserves when an employer or insurer is pushing back on a legitimate claim. If your injury has been dismissed, your benefits have been delayed, or you are not sure what you are entitled to, Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP will evaluate your claim and give you a straight answer about where you stand.
Reach out to our office to speak with one of our Maryland workers’ compensation attorneys about your situation. Janitorial workers in College Park and across Prince George’s County have rights under Maryland law, and Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP is here to help you exercise them.
