Police officers in Maryland understand that their job comes with a certain amount of danger. Interactions with civilians can quickly turn sour. No matter how prepared a first responder is, they can never have complete knowledge of the situation they’re walking into, so they may want to know if they are eligible for compensation should an injury occur on the job.
Firefighter’s law
Firefighter’s laws exist in most states, and Maryland is one of them. A firefighter’s law determines that police officers and firefighters can’t sue civilians who create the dangerous situations to which officers respond. On its face, the law does make sense. Without it, almost every emergency call would put someone at risk of being sued. Nobody would want to report even a small house fire if they ran the risk of a responder suing them.
The state itself might use firefighter’s laws as a defense when sued. For example, these laws might protect an emergency dispatcher who gives inaccurate information to a police officer.
Assumption of risk
Maryland law operates on the assumption that simply by taking a job in law enforcement, police officers accept the possibility of on-the-job injuries. However, in some cases, that assumption might not apply. Don’t resign yourself to the idea that a lawsuit would inevitably fail because a lawyer with experience in personal injury law might have a better idea of which situations would allow you to receive damages.
Other forms of compensation
Though police officers are usually unsuccessful when suing civilians for personal injuries, there are other ways you might be able to find aid after an on-the-job accident. Workers’ compensation might help with your injury-related expenses. Of course, seeking workers’ compensation has its own challenges.
What to do
If you’ve sustained injuries while working as a police officer, you have options. There might be significant roadblocks. However, it’s still worth finding out which avenues are available to you.
