Car Accident Laws in Maryland: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

Short answer up front: Maryland is an at-fault (tort) state, not a no-fault state — the driver who caused the crash (or their insurer) is legally responsible for the damage. You generally have 3 years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or property damage lawsuit (Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings § 5-101). And Maryland uses a harsh pure contributory negligence rule: if you're found even 1% at fault, you can be barred from recovering anything from the other driver. Read on for the numbers and deadlines that matter, and confirm anything time-sensitive with the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) or Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) before you rely on it, since limits and rules can change.

1. Is Maryland a no-fault or at-fault state?

Maryland is a tort (at-fault) state for car accidents. Unlike true no-fault states, Maryland does not require drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) as their primary source of recovery. Instead, the at-fault driver's liability insurance is supposed to pay for the other driver's injuries and property damage, and an injured person can also sue the at-fault driver directly if insurance doesn't cover everything.

Maryland does require insurers to offer PIP coverage (minimum $2,500), which pays medical bills and some lost wages regardless of fault, but a driver can reject it in writing. Because PIP is optional in Maryland, don't assume you have it — check your own declarations page.

2. Minimum auto insurance required in Maryland

Under the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration's (MVA) insurance requirements, every registered vehicle must carry at least:

• Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $15,000 per accident

This is commonly written as "30/60/15." These are legal minimums — many drivers carry more, and a serious crash can easily exceed them.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is mandatory in Maryland, and by default it must match your liability limits ($30,000/$60,000/$15,000) unless you sign a form reducing it. This matters because Maryland has a meaningful number of uninsured drivers, and UM/UIM is often the coverage that actually pays an injured Marylander when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.

PIP (medical payments): insurers must offer at least $2,500 in PIP coverage covering medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault; you can waive it in writing. If you didn't affirmatively waive PIP, you may have it — check your policy.

Because insurance rules and dollar figures are periodically updated by the Maryland General Assembly, confirm current limits with the Maryland MVA or the Maryland Insurance Administration before assuming these numbers still apply.

3. Statute of limitations after a Maryland crash

Maryland's general civil statute of limitations, Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings § 5-101, gives you 3 years from the date the claim accrues (generally the date of the crash) to file a lawsuit. This 3-year window applies to both:

• Personal injury claims against the at-fault driver, and
• Property damage claims (vehicle repair/replacement costs).

A wrongful death claim also carries a 3-year limitation period, but the clock generally starts at the date of death rather than the date of the crash.

Important exception: if a government vehicle or government employee was involved, the effective deadline to preserve your claim is much shorter — see the government-claims section below. Insurance claims (as opposed to lawsuits) also have their own contractual and practical deadlines that are separate from this statute, so don't wait until year three to start the process.

4. Shared fault in Maryland: pure contributory negligence

Maryland is one of a small handful of jurisdictions (along with Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Washington, D.C.) that still follows pure contributory negligence rather than a comparative-fault rule. Under this doctrine, if you are found to be even minimally at fault for causing the crash — even 1% — you can be completely barred from recovering any damages from the other driver, no matter how much more at fault they were.

There is a narrow "last clear chance" exception that can sometimes allow recovery if the other driver had a final, real opportunity to avoid the crash and failed to take it, but it's fact-specific and not something to count on. Because contributory negligence is applied through Maryland case law (not a single statute), and insurance adjusters use it aggressively to deny or reduce claims, this is an area where getting the facts of your specific crash evaluated carefully matters more in Maryland than in most other states.

5. Crash reporting requirements

Maryland law and MVA guidance generally require a written crash report to the MVA if:

• the crash resulted in injury or death to any person, or
• property damage appears to reach a state-set dollar threshold (commonly cited as $1,500 or more, though you should confirm the current figure with the MVA, since thresholds can be adjusted).

The report is generally due within 15 days of the crash. If a police officer responds to the scene and completes an official crash report, you typically do not also need to file your own MVA report — the officer's report satisfies the requirement. Failing to report when required can lead to suspension of your license or registration, so if there's any doubt, report it or confirm with the MVA rather than skip it.

6. Damage caps and government-vehicle claims

If your crash involved a state or local government vehicle (a police cruiser, county truck, transit bus, school vehicle, etc.), special rules apply that are stricter and faster than an ordinary claim against a private driver:

• Notice deadline is much shorter. Under the Maryland Tort Claims Act (state vehicles/employees), you generally must send a written claim to the Treasurer's Office within 1 year of the injury. Under the Local Government Tort Claims Act (county/municipal vehicles/employees), written notice to the specific local government body also generally must be given within 1 year of the injury. Missing this notice can jeopardize your claim even though the underlying 3-year statute of limitations hasn't run yet.
• Damages are capped. Under the state Maryland Tort Claims Act, liability is generally capped at $400,000 per claimant for a single incident (with higher caps in narrow categories like certain law-enforcement or sexual-abuse claims). Under the Local Government Tort Claims Act, liability is generally capped at $400,000 per individual claim and $800,000 per occurrence. These figures and the notice rules are technical and have changed by legislation in recent years, so verify the current law and required recipient of notice with an official source or Maryland's courts before assuming a specific number applies to your situation.

What to do after a crash in Maryland

1. Check for injuries and move to safety if possible; call 911 for any injury, death, or significant damage.
2. Get a police response and report when officers are available — this creates an official record and can satisfy your MVA reporting duty.
3. Exchange information — name, address, phone, driver's license number, license plate, and insurance company/policy number for every driver involved.
4. Document the scene — photos of all vehicles, damage, license plates, road conditions, skid marks, traffic signs/signals, and any visible injuries.
5. Get witness contact information before people leave the scene.
6. Seek medical evaluation promptly, even if you feel okay — some injuries (especially soft-tissue and head injuries) show up later, and a documented timeline matters both for your health and any claim.
7. Notify your own insurer of the crash, and be cautious about giving a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company before you understand the contributory negligence risk described above.
8. File the MVA report within 15 days if injury/death occurred or damage may meet the reporting threshold, unless a responding officer already filed one.
9. If a government vehicle was involved, act quickly — identify the responsible government entity and send written notice well within the 1-year window, since this deadline is much shorter than the general 3-year statute of limitations.
10. Keep records of medical bills, repair estimates, lost wages, and correspondence with insurers in one place.
11. Talk to a Maryland attorney before accepting a settlement or making detailed statements, especially given how aggressively contributory negligence can be used to deny a claim.

This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice; confirm current details with the Maryland MVA, Maryland Insurance Administration, or a licensed Maryland attorney before making decisions about your claim.