MARYLAND MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, PART 1: A Primer by Charles Jerome Ware

The national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware is a premier Maryland medical malpractice firm, which is: "Still working. Still committed. Still here to make a difference."

[see, Chapter Two, "Medical Malpractice", Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets, by Charles Jerome Ware, iUniverse (2011); "The Four Elements of Medical Malpractice", Yale University Medical Center: Issues in Risk Management, info.med.yale.edu (1997); "Changing the Malpractice System", by Clive E. Reinhardt, The New York Times, October 1, 2010; "The Facts About Medical Malpractice in Maryland", Public Citizen Congress Watch, Rev. January 2004; "Notes from the Chair of the Board", newsletter of the Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, October 2002; "28% Rise Sought to Insure Doctors", Greg Garland, Baltimore Sun, June 28, 2003; "Medical Reform Locked in Fight", Stephanie Desmon, Baltimore Sun, March 17, 2003]

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Generally, in Maryland any medical malpractice action must be filed either within five (5) years from the date when the injury was committed or three (3) years from the date when the injury was first discovered, whichever is earlier [Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109 (1995)]. Against a minor, the statute does not begin to run until a claimant has reached the age of eleven, and if the action involves a foreign object or injury to the reproductive system, the statute does not begin to run until the claimant is sixteen. Id. Maryland’s highest court has held that the five-year part of the statute is not measured from the date treatment ends and does not violate the state constitution [Hill v. Fitzgerald, 304 Md. 689, 501 A.2d 27 (1985)].

A wrongful death action brought by the decedent’s dependents must be filed within three years after death [Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-904 (1995)]. This statute applies to a wrongful death action brought on a medical malpractice theory, while § 5-109 applies to a survival action brought by the decedent’s estate [Geisz v. Greater Baltimore Medical Center, 313 Md. 301, 545 A.2d 658 (1988)].

CONTRIBUTORY OR COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE

Maryland is one of the few remaining states that recognizes the traditional common law doctrine of contributory negligence. [Harrison v. Montgomery County Bd. of Ed., 295 Md. 442, 456 A.2d 894 (1983)]. Thus, any negligence by a claimant may bar his recovery completely.

PART 2 of this blog will be forthcoming.