Deadlines to File an Injury Lawsuit in Maryland

Three years from the date the claim accrues. This is Maryland's general deadline for civil actions unless another law sets a different period.

Three years under Maryland's general deadline for civil actions.

A claim against a health care provider must be filed within the earlier of five years from when the injury was committed or three years from when the injury was discovered. If the patient was under 11 when injured, the time starts at age 11 (age 16 for injuries to the reproductive system or from a foreign object left in the body). Filing a claim with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office counts as filing the action.

Within three years after the death. Special rules apply to deaths caused by occupational disease (within 10 years of death or 3 years from discovering the cause, whichever is shorter) and to homicides where the wrongdoer's identity was concealed.

Local governments: a written notice of claim stating the time, place and cause of injury must be given within 1 year after the injury, in person or by certified mail to the proper official (for example, the county commissioners or council, or the City Solicitor for Baltimore City), unless the government already had actual or constructive notice or the court excuses it for good cause. Local government liability is capped at $400,000 per individual claim and $800,000 per occurrence. State: a written claim must be submitted to the State Treasurer within 1 year after the injury, the Treasurer must finally deny it, and the lawsuit must be filed within 3 years after the claim arises; state liability is capped at $400,000 per claimant per incident. Higher limits ($890,000) apply to certain law-enforcement and child sexual abuse claims.