Title 12 — Subtitle 05. Sundry Claims Board
Chapter 01. Procedural Regulations
Regulation .01 Filing Claims.LinkCopy Citation
In addition to all other statutory requisites, claims shall be filed on official forms with the Sundry Claims Board, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, 6776 Reisterstown Road, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21215-2341, in person or by mail.
Regulation .02 Investigations.LinkCopy Citation
The Board may not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence or by any technical or formal rules or procedure, other than as provided in these regulations, but may make investigations on those occasions and in a manner calculated to ascertain the substantial rights of the parties and to carry out Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Regulation .03 Notice of Hearing.LinkCopy Citation
If a hearing is held, the claimant, his or her attorney, and all material and necessary parties, shall be notified in writing of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing. The notice shall be mailed not less than 10 days before the date of hearing, unless waived by the claimant. In the discretion of the Board, any issue may be considered and determined if the administration of the Act will be substantially served.
Regulation .04 Conduct of Hearing.LinkCopy Citation
A.
The claimant shall be present at the hearing and shall be allowed to present testimony or cross-examine witnesses in person or by counsel.
B.
The claimant shall have the burden of proof. The parties or their representatives shall be allowed a reasonable time for presentation or oral argument, or for the filing of briefs or other statements or depositions as to the facts or the law.
C.
The Board may receive as evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that it finds in its discretion is relevant and of such a nature as to afford the parties a fair hearing. The Board also may accept hospital records and reports and physician's reports as proof of the injury sustained without requiring the presence of the attending physician at the hearing. However, the Board or the claimant may request the presence of any examining physician to be present at the hearing.
D.
The Board may direct medical examination of the claimant by a physician designated for this purpose. The claimant shall present himself to the physician named at the time and place designated. A representative of the claimant or any other interested party may not be present at the examination. A written report of the examination shall be filed by the examining physician with the Board and a copy mailed to the claimant or his attorney. The physician's fee shall be paid by the Board.
E.
All hearings shall be conducted in an orderly manner in order to ascertain the substantial rights of the parties. All witnesses shall testify under oath (or by affirmation) and a record of the proceedings shall be transcribed. The Board may examine the claimant and all witnesses.
F.
Hearings may be adjourned on motion of the Board or upon timely request of any interested party. The failure of the claimant to appear at the time of the hearing, in the discretion of the Board, upon good cause shown, may be excused and a new hearing scheduled. Otherwise, claim may be denied altogether by the Board.
G.
Hearings generally shall be open to the public.
H.
Before the decision by the Board, on application of the claimant or his attorney (submitted in affidavit form) or upon motion of the board member, the case may be reopened for further investigation or further testimony. The Board, on its own motion, may reinvestigate or reopen cases at any time, as the Board deems necessary.
I.
Hearings shall be held at the State Office Building or any other place designated by the Board.
Regulation .05 Representation of Claimant.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Claimants have the right to be represented before the Board at all stages of the proceeding by an attorney at law duly licensed to practice in the State.
B.
The attorney shall file a notice of appearance and, when appropriate, a notice of substitution, before or at his first appearance.
C.
If any party designates an attorney at law to represent him and the attorney has executed and filed with the Board a notice of appearance in the matter, in substantially the form annexed here, the notice shall remain in effect until:
(1)
The party represented files with the Board a written revocation of the attorney's authority;
(2)
The attorney files with the Board a written statement of his withdrawal from the case;
(3)
The attorney states on the record at a Board hearing that he is withdrawing from the case; or
(4)
The Board receives notice of the attorney's death or disqualification.
D.
After a filing of a notice of appearance in accordance with this regulation, and as long as the notice remains in effect, copies of all written communications or notices in the matter to the party shall be sent to the attorney rather than the party represented, or to both the party and his attorney. Service upon the attorney shall be deemed service on the party he represents.
Regulation .06 Compensation.LinkCopy Citation
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.
Regulation .07 Forms.LinkCopy Citation
The Board shall prepare and furnish free of cost blank forms and have them readily available on application or request of any interested party.
Regulation .08 Subpoenas.LinkCopy Citation
A.
The Board shall issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum, either on its own instance, or upon written application of any party made not less than 10 days before the hearing. Subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum shall comply wit the Maryland Rules of Practice and Procedure. A written request also shall designate the names and addresses of witnesses and the location of documents, books, payrolls, personnel records, correspondence, papers, or any other evidence relating to the claim being heard. The Board in its discretion may waive the 10 day provision.
B.
When a subpoena or a subpoena duces tecum is issued at the instance of the claimant or other necessary party, the cost of service and witnesses and mileage fees shall be borne by the party at whose request it is issued. When a subpoena or a subpoena duces tecum is issued at the instance of the Board, service and witnesses and mileage fees shall be borne by the Board.
C.
The Board, on its own motion or on the application of the claimant, shall, whenever necessary, and upon the terms and conditions that it or he may determine, take or cause to be taken affidavits and depositions of witnesses residing within or without the State. The requesting party shall bear the expense.
Regulation .09 Death of a Claimant.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Upon the death of a claimant, if the Board finds before his death that the claimant is entitled to benefits under this Act, the Board shall provide for payment of the award to the claimant's widow or dependents.
B.
If there are two or more persons entitled to benefits as a result of the death of a claimant, the Board, having before the death passed an award in favor of the claimant, shall apportion the award among the claimants in the proportion as it finds that the deceased inmate contributed to their support.
Regulation .10 Appeals.LinkCopy Citation
Appeals from this Board shall be governed by the Maryland Administrative Procedure Act.
Regulation .11 Availability of Regulations.LinkCopy Citation
The regulations of the Board shall be available to the public at the offices of the Attorney General, at such reasonable costs as the Board shall determine.
Regulation .12 Opinion of the Board.LinkCopy Citation
Two members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. When opinion is divided a majority shall prevail. When opinion is divided and only two members are present, the opinion of the member designated as chairman of the hearing shall prevail.
Regulation .13 Meetings of the Board.LinkCopy Citation
Meetings shall be held upon notice by the Chairman at the time and place that he shall direct.
Regulation .14 Injury While Engaged in Extra-hazardous Employment.LinkCopy Citation
When an inmate sustains an injury while engaged in extra-hazardous employment at any of the institutions under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Correction and Patuxent Institution, before release from these institutions, and files a claim with the Sundry Claims Board, the following procedures shall be adhered to:
A.
The Board may summons the base file and medical records of the inmate and, upon review, determine whether or not the injury is embraced within the provisions of Correctional Services Article, Title 10, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland.
B.
If the Board is satisfied that the claim falls within the purview of the act, it may refer the inmate to an appropriate medical specialist to determine the issue of permanent disability, if any, sustained by the inmate as a result of the alleged injury.
C.
Upon receipt of the specialist's report, the Board shall forward a copy of this report to the inmate, or his counsel, and provide for the inmate to file reports in controversy, if he so desires, within 30 days of receipt of
D.
Upon receipt of all reports, the Board shall make a determination of permanent disability. If a determination cannot be made, in the opinion of the Board, because of the nature of the injury, the Board may defer the determination under such conditions as it deems necessary.
E.
If the Board makes a determination of permanent disability, the inmate and his counsel shall be notified of this determination in accordance with the present regulations of the Board.