“Statutes of Limitations” for Claims Belonging to Minors
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The general concept
Maryland generally pauses the limitations clock for a claim that accrues in favor of a minor. Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-201 generally gives the child the lesser of three years or the otherwise applicable limitations period after the disability of minority ends—usually age 18. That is a tolling rule, not a universal guarantee that every claim may wait until age 21.
How Maryland applies it
The underlying claim and defendant matter. Section 5-201 applies to ordinary civil claims within its text, including many personal-injury tort claims, but special statutes can set different rules. Medical-malpractice timing is governed by § 5-109 and its child-specific provisions; the Court of Appeals held in Piselli that the statute’s limitations periods do not begin running against a minor’s own claim before age 18. Government claims may also require earlier notice even when a filing deadline is tolled. A parent’s separate claim—for example, a claim for the parent’s own expenses—does not automatically receive the child’s tolling. Identify each claimant, cause of action, defendant, notice requirement, and accrual date separately; do not wait based only on the injured person’s age.
When the general tolling rule may end
For an ordinary negligence claim subject to a three-year period, the rule often means that the child has until age 21 to sue for an injury that occurred during minority. The statute does not simply add 18 years to every deadline. It gives the person the lesser of three years or the otherwise applicable limitations period after the disability is removed, and it does not apply when more than three years would remain under the underlying statute after that point. The accrual date, the type of claim, and any separate statutory deadline must therefore be identified before calculating the last day to file.
“Medical malpractice” and notice requirements
Medical-malpractice claims have a specific child-injury rule. If the claimant was younger than 11 when the injury occurred, the limitations periods generally begin when the child reaches 11. For injuries to the reproductive system or injuries caused by a foreign object negligently left in the body, a claimant who was younger than 16 generally receives a start date at age 16. The statute treats a timely filing with HCADRO as filing an action. Claims against government entities can involve separate notice rules, and a child’s age does not make it safe to ignore those requirements. The family should have each possible claim and deadline reviewed separately rather than assume one tolling rule governs the entire case.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 5-101, 5-201, 5-109; Piselli v. 75th Street Medical, 371 Md. 188, 807 A.2d 1136 (2002); Parker v. Hamilton, 453 Md. 127, 160 A.3d 421 (2017).