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MD
Maryland · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Maryland.

By 6 min read

Maryland applies pure contributory negligence — 1% claimant fault bars recovery — combined with an inflation-indexed cap on non-economic damages currently around $935,000. For workplace claims specifically, the band is built from the state-by-state tort law · jury verdict reporters · statutory caps framework and then adjusted for Maryland's pure contributory negligence and any applicable statutory cap.

Maryland retains pure contributory negligence — one of only a handful of US jurisdictions that has not abolished the rule. For workplace claims, this means any percentage of claimant fault, however small, bars recovery entirely. The rule converts mixed-liability workplace cases into binary outcomes and gives defendants and their insurers substantial settlement leverage. Plaintiffs' counsel here typically focus heavily on framing the claimant's conduct as faultless before damages are even discussed.

Workplace injuries in Maryland run on a parallel track to general tort recovery: workers' compensation is the primary remedy against the employer, with third-party tort claims (against a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or non-employer driver) layered on top. Maryland's caps (non-economic damages cap (general), medical malpractice cap) apply to the third-party tort track only, and the workers' compensation insurer typically holds a subrogation right against any tort recovery.

band · US federal frame
Scheduled statutory benefits — no pain-and-suffering award
Workplace injury (workers compensation)
State workers-compensation schedules; value tracks the impairment rating, the wage rate and future medical, and most claims close by compromise-and-release rather than verdict.

The US band is the starting point. Maryland's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

MD · statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

MD · 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 · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a workplace settlement in Maryland.

workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Maryland's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
Maryland · you are herePure contributory negligence3 years from date of injury
MassachusettsModified comparative — 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMA · workplace
New HampshireModified comparative — 51% bar3 years from date of injuryNH · workplace
New JerseyModified comparative — 51% bar2 years from date of injuryNJ · workplace
New YorkPure comparative negligence3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpracticeNY · workplace
PennsylvaniaModified comparative — 51% bar2 years from date of injuryPA · workplace
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · workplace
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · workplace
VirginiaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryVA · workplace
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · workplace
District of ColumbiaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryDC · workplace
MichiganModified comparative — 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMI · workplace
MinnesotaModified comparative — 51% bar6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpracticeMN · workplace
MD · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for Maryland's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Maryland. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.