Skip to content
MyClaimWorth
MD
★ US · Northeast

Personal injury in
Maryland.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder7 min read

Maryland applies pure contributory negligence, 1% claimant fault bars recovery, combined with a cap on non-economic damages of $965,000 for causes of action arising from October 2025 to September 2026.

Maryland is one of five US jurisdictions still applying pure contributory negligence. The Maryland Court of Appeals reaffirmed the rule in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia (2013), declining to abolish it judicially and leaving any change to the legislature, which has not acted.

Non-economic damages are capped under § 11-108 with an inflation-indexed schedule. For causes of action arising from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 it is $965,000 in personal injury cases. Medical-malpractice cases have a separate cap: $920,000 for causes of action arising in 2026. The PI statute of limitations is three years.

united states · sister site
In the US? See what your case could be worth.

FairSettlement runs a free case check in about two minutes. Real settlement ranges for your state, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

★ fault rule
Pure contributory negligence

Pure contributory negligence, 1% claimant fault bars all recovery. Maryland is one of only five US jurisdictions retaining this rule and confirmed it most recently in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia (2013).

★ MD · statutory caps

What caps recovery.

Caps and ceilings imposed by Maryland law that bear on settlement values.

★ MD · key facts

What makes Maryland different.

The handful of details that distinguish this jurisdiction from its neighbours.

★ MD · by injury

Claim values by injury type.

Reported decisions, the limitation clock, and how fault is apportioned for each injury type under Maryland law.

★ MD · court decisions

What Maryland courts have decided.

Reported Maryland decisions for each injury type, each with a link to the judgment and to the full injury guide.

★ MD · rules that decide claims

The rules in Maryland.

Statutes and rulings that come up again and again in Maryland injury claims, each with its source.

Driver fault in crash casesA jury that finds the injured driver contributed to the collision must return a verdict for the defense, even when the other driver was also negligent.Malik v. Tommy’s Auto Service (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2011)
Records behind the defense expertA defense medical expert’s reliance on your treatment records can allow those records to be shown to the jury if they are trustworthy, necessary to explain the testimony and not privileged.Maryland Rule 5-703(b), applied in Lamalfa v. Hearn (Md. 2018)
Seat belt useNot wearing a seat belt cannot diminish recovery, and counsel may not refer to it at trial.Md. Transp. Code § 22-412.3(h); see our seat belt table
Noneconomic damages cap$965,000 for causes of action arising from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026: a $500,000 base from 1994 plus $15,000 every 1 October since 1995. Wrongful death awards with two or more beneficiaries are capped at 150 percent of that figure.Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-108(b)
Appeals from the CommissionA worker can ask a circuit court jury to review a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision on causation, and the jury can reverse it.Electrical General Corp. v. Labonte (Md. App. 2016)
Deadline to sue“A civil action at law shall be filed within three years from the date it accrues” unless another statute sets a different period.Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101
Youth sports concussion informationYouth sports programs must make concussion information available to athletes and parents, but a claim based on that law still requires proof the failure caused the injury.Health-General § 14-501(b), as applied in Walton v. Premier Soccer Club (Md. App. 2024)
Fault ruleContributory negligence: if your own negligence contributed to your injury, you recover nothing. In 2013 the state’s highest court again refused to abandon the rule, leaving any change to the legislature.Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia (Md. 2013)
★ other US jurisdictions

Compare across United States.

How Maryland compares with its neighbours in the Northeast on fault rule and limitation period.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitation
Maryland· you are herePure contributory negligence3 years from date of injury
Connecticut (CT)Modified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury
Delaware (DE)Modified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury
District of Columbia (DC)Pure contributory negligence3 years from date of injury
Maine (ME)Modified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the US
Massachusetts (MA)Modified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injury
New Hampshire (NH)Modified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injury
New Jersey (NJ)Modified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury
New York (NY)Pure comparative negligence3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpractice
Pennsylvania (PA)Modified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury
Rhode Island (RI)Pure comparative negligence3 years from date of injury
Vermont (VT)Modified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injury

Every United States jurisdiction compared

★ MD · frequently asked

Common questions.

Common questions about personal injury claims in Maryland, answered with the relevant statutory references.

united states · sister site
Injured in Maryland? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ federal context
Back to United States

All injury bands, statutes, and procedural pathway at the US level.

★ the working
How we derive bands

Per-jurisdiction methodology, estimates, and known limits.

★ standing authority
Sources we cite

The statutes, guidelines and court sites the pages cite.

★ editorial note

This page summarises the Maryland statutory framework as of 2026-10-26. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, published verdicts move, and the position within any band depends on facts the page can't see. For representation, consult an attorney qualified in Maryland. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.