Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers — Felicetti Law Firm

Maryland keeps a fault rule that forty-five other states have abandoned, and everything about handling a Maryland injury claim follows from it. The Capital Beltway, I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway and US 50 to the Bay Bridge generate the volume; the state’s negligence doctrine determines how much of that volume ever becomes a paid claim.

One Percent of Blame Can End a Maryland Case

Maryland applies pure contributory negligence. If a jury finds the injured person even slightly responsible for what happened, recovery is barred completely. Not reduced — barred. Maryland is one of only a handful of jurisdictions left with this rule, alongside Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina and, for most cases, the District of Columbia.

The rule is judge-made rather than statutory, and Maryland’s highest court declined to replace it in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia in 2013, leaving any change to the legislature.

What that means in practice is that insurers here do not negotiate about percentages, because percentages are not the currency. They look for any thread of fault on the claimant’s side — a few miles per hour, a glance at a phone, a step off a kerb — because a thread is all the defense needs. That is why what a Maryland claimant says to an adjuster in the first week carries more weight than in almost any other state.

Last Clear Chance, and Why It Matters Here

Maryland preserves the last clear chance doctrine as a counterweight. Where a defendant had a final, real opportunity to avoid the collision despite the claimant’s own earlier negligence, recovery may still be possible.

It is a narrow doctrine and not a general safety net, but it is the reason a Maryland case that looks dead on first reading sometimes is not. Establishing it depends on sequence and timing evidence — signal phases, sight lines, skid and telemetry data — the kind of proof that degrades within days.

Three Years to Sue, One Year to Notify a Government

The general Maryland deadline for a civil action is three years from accrual (Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101), and wrongful death actions generally run three years from the date of death.

Government claims are different. Under the Maryland Tort Claims Act a written claim against the State must reach the State Treasurer within one year of the injury (State Government § 12-106). The Local Government Tort Claims Act requires written notice within one year to the particular official the statute designates for that county or municipality — the Baltimore City Solicitor, a County Executive, a County Attorney, or a council, depending on where the injury happened. Sending a correct notice to the wrong officer is a real way to lose a real case.

Reform Has Been Proposed Repeatedly, and Has Not Passed

Bills to move Maryland to comparative fault have been introduced and have failed — a 2024 measure proposing a study was withdrawn, and a 2025 bill modelled on the District’s vulnerable-user carve-out did not pass. Litigation seeking a judicial change has also been attempted.

The point for anyone injured today is simple: contributory negligence is still the law in Maryland. Material claiming the rule has already changed is wrong, and no claim should be planned on the assumption that it is about to.

Maryland Clients Are Served From Our Pennsylvania Avenue Office

The firm takes Maryland claims from Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Anne Arundel, Howard, Frederick, Harford and the Eastern Shore. Case types include car accidents, tractor-trailer collisions on the I-95 corridor, motorcycle claims, pedestrian and bicycle injuries, premises and fall cases, construction injuries, workers’ compensation and wrongful death.

Have a Maryland Claim Looked At Before You Concede Anything

Because any admitted share of blame is fatal here, the worst thing to do after a Maryland crash is to explain yourself to the other side’s adjuster. Call the Felicetti Law Firm at (800) 333-1988 first, or send the details online. The review is free and the firm is paid only out of a recovery.

Call (800) 333-1988 — Free Maryland Case Review

Other jurisdictions Felicetti covers: Washington, DC · New Jersey · North Carolina · New York

Maryland law is summarised here in general terms. This is not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship arises from reading it. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Maryland matters are handled by attorneys licensed in Maryland.