Maryland Considers Bill to Increase Cap on Noneconomic Damages

If you’re filing a personal injury lawsuit to pursue compensation after you were hurt in an accident someone else caused in Maryland, you may not realize that you can get money for subjective losses like pain and suffering. These types of damages are called “noneconomic losses.” Another thing you may not know is that Maryland has put compensation caps on the amount of money you can recover for noneconomic losses. However, the specific limits could significantly increase under new legislation.

What Are Noneconomic Damages?

When pursuing compensation through a personal injury lawsuit, you can typically recover two forms of damages: economic and noneconomic. Economic damages are compensation for financial losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Noneconomic damages are different. Noneconomic damages compensate a person for quality-of-life losses like emotional distress, pain, and suffering. Calculating the value of noneconomic losses can be challenging because they are subjective.

Maryland caps the amount of money individuals can recover for their noneconomic losses. The cap increases annually and depending on the type of personal injury case. There are general, wrongful death, and medical malpractice caps.

Understanding the Maryland Bill on Noneconomic Damages

A new measure that is working its way through the Maryland legislature aims to dramatically increase the cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Under the proposed legislation, the cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury and wrongful death cases would increase from $950,000 to $1.75 million. The cap on wrongful death lawsuits involving two or more claimants would increase from $1.425 million to $2.625 million. The caps would also be subject to an annual increase of $20,000.

Medical malpractice cases are excluded from the new legislation as they are governed under a separate Maryland statute.

Potential Impact of Noneconomic Damages Legislation on Personal Injury Cases

If passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, the bill would mean that accident victims could recover more meaningful compensation for noneconomic losses related to significant accidents. Due to the subjective nature of noneconomic losses, there has always been confusion and contention over how much money individuals should be allowed to recover for these intangible losses following an accident.

However, accident victims who suffer irreversible and life-altering consequences of injuries like amputations, paralysis, and traumatic brain injuries argue that they deserve fair compensation for the dramatic changes to their lives.

Talk to an Experienced Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer

Has a careless individual injured you in a Maryland accident that was not your fault? Did you lose a family member to the reckless or careless actions of another person? You need to speak with an experienced Maryland personal injury attorney from the law firm of Cohen & Dwin, P.A., about your case. A personal injury attorney at our law office is ready to review your situation, outline your options for recovering maximum compensation, and calculate the fair value of your economic and noneconomic losses.

Contact our office today and request a free case review to get started.