Commission's Annual Report Shows 6% Drop in Claims

The number of claims filed with the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission declined 5.9% in 2009, following a 3.5% drop in 2008, according to the commission's annual report, posted Tuesday on its website.The report said 22,622 claims were filed with the commission last year, compared to 24,054 in 2008 and 24,924 in 2007.Dislocations and sprains remained, by far, the most common type of injury, accounting for 81.9% of claims in 2009. Claims involving multiple injuries was a distant second, with 9.2%, followed by cuts, abrasions and punctures at 6.5%, fractures at 1.4% and burns at 1%...