Maryland has a cap on the amount of money that can get awarded in a personal injury lawsuit. This cap is known as the “damage cap.” The damage cap helps to protect individuals and businesses from frivolous lawsuits.
What is the cap on non-economic damages?
Non-economic damages refer to damages that are not easily quantified, such as pain and suffering or emotional distress, and wrongful death.
The damage cap in Maryland is $ $905,000 for non-economic damages. However, if there are multiple wrongful death claimants, each individual is capped at $1,380,000.
What is the cap on economic and punitive damages?
Punitive damages are usually awarded to punish the defendant for their egregious behavior. On the other hand, economic damages get awarded to compensate the plaintiff for quantifiable losses, such as lost wages or medical bills for the personal injury caused. Currently, there is no cap on punitive and economic damages in Maryland. This is because these damages are more easily quantifiable than non-economic damages.
This means that a court can award any amount of money they believe is appropriate, up to and including the full amount of the victim’s damages.
Your next steps
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of another, you may receive compensation. However, it’s important to understand the type of damage that you’ve faced. In some cases, people suffer more than one type of damage. For example, someone who’s paralyzed in a car accident may suffer from economic damages, such as lost wages and medical bills, as well as non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
Just remember that filing a personal injury lawsuit can be a long and complicated process, so it’s important that you understand all of the steps involved before taking action.
The bottom line is that if you or your loved one gets injured in Maryland, it’s important to understand the state’s damage caps. That can help you determine what you can expect to recover in a personal injury lawsuit.
