Legislative Wrap-up:
More of the Same - A Need for Change by Robert J. Zarbin
Robert J. Zarbin (Jaklitsch Law Group) received his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law. He is a member of the President’s Club as a Founder and serves as the Chair of the Legislative Committee. Mr. Zarbin is the past Chair of MTLA’s Workers’ Compensation Section. He is a member of the Bar Association of Baltimore City, the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Prince George’s County Bar Associa- tion, the District of Columbia Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Mr. Zarbin has been a guest lecturer at MTLA conferences and ATLA conferences. His practice concentrates in personal injury, product liability, and workers’ compensation.
This year’s legislative session began with
some unfinished business from last year. Despite its passage by an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly, House Bill 1162 was vetoed by the Governor. As you may recall, HB 1162 was sponsored by Delegate Darryl Kelley at the request of the MTLA. HB 1162 establishes the burden of proof applicable in uninsured motorist cases. Months before the session, the Legislative team began lobbying the General Assembly in hopes to override the veto. Through the leadership of Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Mike Busch, the override was achieved and HB 1162 became law. This override set the tone for the legislative session. (For
details see Eric Schloss’s article on page 26)
The greatest field of battle came in the
area of workers’ compensation. Thirty- five workers’ compensation bills were introduced by our opponents. The worst of these bills dealt with various attempts to limit or reduce the already modest benefits available to the injured worker. Among the bills were attempts to: (1) reverse Harris v. Board of Education, 375 Md. 21 (2003) decision; (2) severely limit temporary total disability benefits; (3) stay the payment of an award while a claim is pending on appeal; (4) preclude a retiree from reopening his or her claim for a worsening of condition; and (5)
deny undocumented immigrants benefits despite the monetary gain the employer receives from their toil. Fortunately, none of these proposals passed. Special thanks go to Delegates Carolyn Krysiak, Brian Moe, Brian McHale and Brian Feldman for their important role in killing the bad bills. On the affirmative front there were a number of bills proposed to help the in- jured worker. For example, HB 868 called for correcting the mandatory assignment of medical care provider contracts to a workers’ compensation provider panel. This bill corrects the unbridled attempt by the insurance industry to circumvent
(Continued on page 50)
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Trial Reporter
Summer 2006
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