A woman visiting her son’s grave at a Prince George’s County cemetery stepped into a ditch hidden by poor upkeep and was seriously hurt. A trial court threw out her negligence case, reasoning that Maryland’s Recreational Use Statute relieved the cemetery’s owner of any duty to her because she had entered without paying. The Appellate Court of Maryland reversed that ruling in a reported opinion filed July 30, 2026, holding that the trial court had applied the wrong legal test.

Free entry alone does not trigger the Maryland recreational use statute. The court has to look at the area where the injury happened, ask what the owner intended that area to be used for, and ask what the injured person was doing there, not why she was there. A claim can go forward where the area was meant for commercial purposes and the person’s activity fit those purposes, even if the same activity could also be described as recreational.

The post A Fall at a Cemetery and the Limits of Maryland’s Recreational Use Law appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

Birth injuries are often identified years after the delivery that caused them. A child misses developmental milestones, a school evaluation raises questions, and a records review eventually points back to what happened during labor. Maryland’s limitations statute for medical claims anticipates that delay, and it treats injuries to young children differently from injuries to adults.

The general rule for a claim against a health care provider is the earlier of five years from when the injury was committed or three years from when it was discovered. For a child who was under 11 when the injury occurred, those periods do not begin to run at all until the child turns 11. A delivery injury to a newborn therefore has a clock that starts on the child’s eleventh birthday rather than at birth.

Timing is the question families raise first about Maryland birth injury claims, and it is where Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers usually starts when a family calls about a delivery that went wrong.

The Rule That Applies to a Child Injured at Birth

Maryland’s medical limitations statute is Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109. Subsection (a) sets the general deadline at the earlier of five years from the injury or three years from discovery. Subsection (b) provides that where the claimant was under the age of 11 when the injury was committed, the subsection (a) periods commence when the claimant reaches 11.

The distinction worth holding onto is that subsection (b) postpones the start of the clock rather than lengthening the periods themselves. Both figures in subsection (a) still apply once the clock begins, and they still run against each other, so the operative deadline is whichever arrives first after the child’s eleventh birthday. A description of the rule as giving a child “until 21” or “extra years” states it incorrectly and can cost a family a claim.

Subsection (c) sets a parallel rule at age 16 rather than 11 for an injury to the reproductive system, or one caused by a foreign object negligently left in the body.

What Filing Actually Requires in Maryland

A Maryland medical negligence claim does not begin in circuit court. It begins with a filing in the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office under Title 3, Subtitle 2A of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article.

That filing carries a consequence families rarely know about and that occasionally saves a claim. Under § 5-109(d), filing with HCADRO counts as filing suit for limitations purposes, so a claim brought there within the deadline is timely even though nothing has yet been filed in court. The process also requires a certificate from a qualified expert, filed within a defined window after the claim, and that certificate requirement is a substantive obstacle rather than a formality.

Why Waiting Costs More Than Time

A later start on the clock is not the same as a reason to wait. Obstetric records, fetal monitoring strips, staffing assignments, and nursing notes are the evidence in these cases, and they become harder to obtain and harder to interpret as the years pass. Providers move, memories fade, and record retention schedules are not written with an eleven-year delay in mind.

The medical picture also matters to what a claim is worth. A child’s needs for therapy, equipment, and care become clearer with time, and a case brought years later can present those needs concretely. Both things can be true at once, which is why the practical answer is usually to preserve the records early. If your child was injured during delivery, requesting the complete obstetric file is worth doing now even if you are not ready to decide anything else. Claims involving injuries to minors and children frequently run on this longer arc.

We review delivery records with medical consultants before advising a family whether a claim exists, because the honest answer sometimes is that a difficult birth was not negligently managed. When the records do show a departure from the standard of care, we build the claim around what the documents show rather than around what anyone remembers. Our attorneys have handled medical negligence matters for Maryland families for many years, and no family should conclude a claim has expired without asking someone to check the dates.

Have the Deadlines in Your Child’s Case Checked

No family should decide a claim has expired without having the dates measured against § 5-109 first. Children and families from Baltimore City through Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties are represented by Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers. A free case evaluation is available at (800) 654-1949 or through the firm’s contact page. Birth injury claims are handled on contingency, so no fee is owed unless the firm recovers.

The post How Long a Maryland Family Has to Bring a Birth Injury Claim appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

A driver glancing at a phone for a few seconds at highway speed travels the length of a football field essentially blind. Maryland has treated that danger seriously enough to write a law around it. As the state’s Zero Deaths Maryland safety campaign documents, distracted driving remains a leading cause of crashes across the state, and the toll on Maryland roads has been climbing. “Jake’s Law” was the legislature’s answer to a gap in how the law punished it. Understanding what that law does, and what it does not do for an injured victim, helps explain the difference between a driver’s day in traffic court and a family’s path to recovery.

What Jake’s Law Actually Does

The post How Jake’s Law Treats Distracted Driving appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

The Mistakes Behind Most Maryland Boating Injuries

The same handful of failures show up again and again in serious boating crashes. Alcohol sits near the top of the list, and its effects are amplified on the water by sun, wind, and dehydration, which is why the Maryland Natural Resources Police run sobriety campaigns through the busy summer months. The state has also strengthened its response to impaired boating through Nick’s Law, which increased the penalties for operating a vessel while impaired. Beyond alcohol, boating injuries trace to operators going too fast for conditions, inexperienced drivers who do not understand right-of-way rules, reckless wakes thrown near smaller craft, and passengers without properly fitted life jackets. A collision, an ejection, or a fall overboard can put a person in the water in an instant, and drowning remains the leading cause of death in boating accidents.

What Maryland Law Expects on the Water

Maryland requires every recreational boat to carry a wearable life jacket for each person aboard, and children under 13 must wear an approved life jacket on smaller recreational vessels while underway. Operators are responsible for the safety of their passengers and for the wake their vessel throws, and they must follow the rules of navigation that keep boats from colliding. When an operator ignores those duties, drinks before taking the helm, or overloads a boat with too few life jackets, the law treats the resulting harm as something the operator may have to answer for.

When a Boating Injury Becomes a Legal Claim

A boating accident that injures or kills someone can give rise to a civil claim much like a crash on the road. An operator who caused harm through negligence, whether by drinking, speeding, or failing to provide adequate safety equipment, may be liable for the medical bills, lost income, and pain that follow. When a person drowns or dies from their injuries, surviving family members may be able to bring a wrongful death claim for their losses. These cases turn on details that fade quickly, from the conditions on the water to the sobriety of the operator to who was wearing a life jacket, so acting before that evidence disappears matters.

Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers helps Maryland families whose time on the water ended in tragedy because someone at the helm was careless. Boating cases carry their own challenges, from sorting out which operator was at fault to working with marine investigators and untangling insurance that differs from a car policy. Our attorneys take the time to understand what happened out on the Bay or the lake, and we pursue full accountability for injured boaters, passengers, and swimmers. We stand with grieving families who never imagined a summer day could cost them so much.

Speak With a Maryland Boating Accident Lawyer After a Day on the Water

A boating accident can leave you with serious injuries, or leave your family mourning a loss that should never have happened. If a careless or impaired operator caused harm on Maryland waters, Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers will review your case at no charge and explain your rights under Maryland law. Call us at (800) 654-1949 or reach out through our online contact form, and let our attorneys handle the legal side while you and your family find your footing again.

The post Before You Head Out on the Bay This Summer, Know the Risks of a Maryland Boating Accident appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

That changed on October 1, 2025. Amendments to Maryland Transportation Article § 21-809 replaced the flat fine with a tiered penalty structure that scales with how far over the speed limit a vehicle was traveling. Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County, and a number of municipalities have already updated their public guidance to reflect the new law. Recent reporting indicates Montgomery County is also expanding its automated speed enforcement program under its Vision Zero initiative, placing cameras in additional “high-risk corridors” — roads identified by data as having a higher frequency of serious crashes, injuries, or fatalities.

For drivers, the headline is straightforward: tickets at higher speeds will cost more. For people injured in Maryland crashes — and for the lawyers who represent them — the more interesting story is what the tiered system, and the data behind Vision Zero placement, can add to a civil case.

The post Maryland’s New Tiered Speed Camera Law and What It Can Add to a Pedestrian Injury Case appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

For injured people, that is a meaningful development. A transit crash can cause catastrophic injury, permanent disability, or death. When legislation proposes a hard ceiling on what a claimant may recover from a public transit agency, the discussion moves beyond transportation governance and into the real-world consequences for riders, pedestrians, workers, and families harmed in serious incidents.

Why a Damages Cap Matters So Much in a Serious Injury Case

The post Maryland’s Proposed MTA Liability Cap Could Change Transit Injury Cases appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

What Is Premises Liability in Maryland?

Premises liability is the legal principle that holds property owners and occupiers responsible for injuries caused by dangerous conditions on their property. In Maryland, the duty of care a property owner owes depends on the legal status of the person who was injured: invitee, licensee, or trespasser. Most slip and fall accident victims — customers in stores, visitors in office buildings, tenants in apartment complexes — are classified as invitees, to whom the property owner owes the highest duty of care.

The post Maryland Premises Liability Law and How to Pursue a Claim for Compensation appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

In Maryland, the practical questions start right away. People want to know who caused it, what insurance will cover, and whether a normal mistake gets treated like “your fault” in a way that blocks help with bills and missed pay. A steady look at how these claims usually work can make the next steps feel less confusing.

What This Type Of Crash Often Means For Injuries And Recovery

The post Leonardtown Crash With Tractor-Trailer Leaves Car Overturned And One Person Hospitalized appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

The question families usually ask early is whether the store should be responsible. Under Maryland law, the answer depends on what the store knew or should have known about the hazard and how it responded.

Why Grocery Store Falls Are So Common

The post When A Grocery Store Slip And Fall Becomes A Serious Injury In Maryland appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.

Families dealing with sudden loss or serious injuries often want to know how responsibility is determined and what steps protect their interests while the investigation unfolds. Understanding how Maryland handles multi-vehicle collisions helps you see which options may apply after a serious crash.

How Multi-Vehicle Collisions Unfold On Maryland Roads

The Baltimore County crash involved several vehicles and left behind a scene that required police, fire, and medical responders. Crashes like this frequently involve a primary impact that triggers additional collisions. A driver may stop short to avoid an obstacle, and a vehicle behind may not react quickly enough. Those secondary impacts can be as damaging as the initial crash, especially when traffic moves at higher speeds or sight lines are limited.

Investigators usually look for clues such as skid distances, vehicle damage patterns, roadway debris, and witness statements. These details help determine how the sequence developed and which driver’s actions created or worsened the danger.

When officers and insurers sort out these collisions, they typically examine:

• Speed for each driver involved,
• Following distances before the first impact,
• Any distractions, impairment, or fatigue, and
• Timing of braking and evasive movements.

These factors help determine whether a driver acted reasonably. If an injured person did nothing unsafe before the crash, Maryland law often allows a strong claim against the driver who initiated the sequence or made the situation worse.

Why Evidence Collection Matters After A Multi-Car Collision

Scenes involving several vehicles require quick preservation of evidence. Once cars move off the road, essential details disappear. Families dealing with injuries or loss benefit from requesting incident reports, speaking with witnesses, and identifying camera footage near the roadway.

Essential evidence often includes:

• Police diagrams and collision reports;
• Body-camera footage showing the immediate aftermath;
• Photographs of the roadway, tire marks, and guardrail damage; and
• Medical evaluations linking injuries to the crash.

These materials help create a timeline that shows exactly how the collision happened. A clear timeline supports claims for medical bills, lost wages, and long-term physical consequences.

How Insurance Coverage Works When Several Drivers Are Involved

Insurance carriers evaluate liability in stages. One driver may be responsible for the first crash, while another may be responsible for a later impact. Claims adjusters often look at each collision individually. A person injured in the Baltimore County crash may face separate insurance companies, depending on how many vehicles were involved.

Maryland requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage, yet serious crashes often exceed those limits. Multi-vehicle collisions sometimes involve:

• Multiple liability policies;
• Uninsured motorist coverage;
• Underinsured motorist coverage; and
• Additional coverage through household policies.

A careful review of insurance options helps ensure that an injured person does not miss opportunities for recovery.

How Wrongful Death Claims Arise In Multi-Vehicle Crashes

When a family loses someone in a crash like the one reported in Upperco, Maryland’s wrongful death laws come into play. Eligible family members may pursue claims for lost financial support, funeral costs, and the emotional impact of the death. Police investigations, medical examiner findings, and accident reconstruction reports all support these claims. Families often benefit from acting promptly so evidence is preserved before vehicles are repaired or destroyed.

What Families Can Do After A Serious Collision In Baltimore County

Early action protects your interests. Requesting records, documenting injuries, and seeking medical treatment right away helps create a clear record. Preserving damaged property and avoiding discussions with insurers until someone reviews the facts can also protect the claim. Each step strengthens the case and prevents insurers from minimizing what happened.

Talk With A Maryland Car Accident Lawyer After A Multi-Vehicle Crash

If your family suffered injuries or loss in a Baltimore County collision involving several vehicles, help is available. You can call Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers at (800) 654-1949 for a free consultation. The firm can examine the police findings, review the crash sequence, and help you pursue compensation while you focus on healing.

The post Maryland Multi-Vehicle Crashes And How Liability Works After A Deadly Collision In Baltimore County appeared first on Maryland Accident Law Blog.