Claims Against Maryland State and Local Governments
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The general concept
A claim against a government may arise when a public entity or employee causes injury through negligence or another civil wrong—for example, a collision involving a public vehicle, an unsafe public walkway, or a failure to supervise. Government claims have special rules about who may be sued, advance notice, deadlines, available damages, and immunity. Identifying the right public body is often the first difficult step.
How Maryland applies it
Maryland uses different statutes for different defendants. The Maryland Tort Claims Act (MTCA) covers the State and its units. A claimant ordinarily must submit a written claim to the State Treasurer within one year after injury and sue within three years after the claim arises; the State’s timely actual or constructive notice and other statutory exceptions can affect the pre-suit claim requirement. The Local Government Tort Claims Act (LGTCA) covers counties, Baltimore City, municipalities, and a detailed list of other entities. Its notice ordinarily must be written, state the time, place, and cause of injury, and reach the legally designated recipient within one year. A court may excuse late notice for good cause if the government cannot show prejudice, and actual or constructive notice can also matter. These notice rules are separate from the lawsuit’s limitation period. Under the MTCA, the usual limit is $400,000 for one claimant’s injuries from one incident. Under the LGTCA, the usual limits are $400,000 per individual and $800,000 for claims from one occurrence, with statutory exceptions and higher limits for certain claims. Under the LGTCA, the local government generally must defend an employee and pay a covered judgment against the employee for conduct within the scope of employment, subject to the Act’s limits and preserved defenses. The LGTCA’s list includes some bodies that do not sound like a city or county: the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, certain libraries, community colleges, and the Baltimore City Police Department. Baltimore City Community College is expressly excluded from the LGTCA list. County boards of education use a separate statute, CJP § 5-518, rather than simply being treated as LGTCA local governments. The entity’s legal identity, the employee’s status and scope of work, the notice recipient, and any special statute must be checked before filing.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, State Government §§ 12-101–12-110 (Maryland Tort Claims Act).; Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §§ 5-301–5-304 (Local Government Tort Claims Act).; Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings § 5-518 (county boards of education).; Neal v. Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, 467 Md. 399 (2020).