Legal Question in Personal Injury in Maryland

Re: Statue of Limitations

The statute of limitations is a law which requires a person who believes that he/she has suffered damages as a result of the wrongful conduct of another to file a lawsuit within a prescribed period of time after the wrong was committed. The general rule in Maryland for most negligence cases is that the case must be filed within 3 years from the date of the wrongful act. There are instances where, because of the nature of the wrongdoing, the victim could not be expected to discover that the act was wrongful and that he suffered harm until sometime after the event. An example of this would be if you had surgery and the surgeon performed the procedure improperly, but you didn't experience any symptoms resulting from the poor performance until sometime later. Under these facts, you would have 3 years from the time you discovered the problem. However, in most "tort" cases, such as auto accidents, you know right away that the other motorist was at fault, and your 3 year time period runs from the date of the accident. I hope this answers your inquiry.

Re: Statue of Limitations

The three year statute of limitation is a general rule in Maryland with respect to

actions in tort. However, this is not an absolute rule since, for instance, defamation

carries a one year statute of limitation. The SoL runs from the date of discovery. Filing

a case within the SoL satisifies the requirement. There are other matters that may result in tolling, or

temporarily stopping the running to the time period.

When dealing with a personal injury matter, the assistance of an attorney is highly recommended. Insurance companies

have staff attorneys on call to represent their interest, you should have an attorney in your corner. Consider that an attorney's

contingency fee is a worthwhile cost as without the fee you would have received nothing as a remedy.