Statute of Limitations for State Tort Claims Act — Filing Deadline in Maryland

Overview

In Maryland, the deadline to file a tort claim against the state often turns on whether your case falls under Maryland’s general tort limitations rule. For most tort claims, Maryland applies a 3-year statute of limitations under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106.

This page focuses on that general/default rule—you generally use it unless a specific exception or special rule applies. DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator can help you translate the law into a concrete filing deadline date based on the facts you enter.

Limitation period

Default time window: 3 years from accrual

Maryland’s general tort statute provides:

• Period: 3 years
• Trigger: the claim accrues (commonly understood as when the injury occurs and the plaintiff has a basis to sue)

Under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106, the limitation period is not “any different” for a State Tort Claims Act filing deadline in the way some jurisdictions do. Instead, Maryland uses this general/default 3-year rule for tort claims unless an exception applies.

How to think about “accrual”

Accrual can be fact-sensitive. A practical approach is to identify the date when:

1. The injury happened (or is treated as having happened), and
2. You had enough information to initiate the lawsuit (or the law’s discovery principles begin to operate, if relevant).

If you’re unsure about the accrual date, run the calculator using the earliest reasonable date and, if appropriate, a later date. That comparison often shows how much timing risk exists.

Key exceptions

Maryland’s general rule is straightforward, but deadlines can shift due to exceptions and doctrines. While this page centers on the default 3-year rule, the following categories are commonly where timing disputes arise:

1) Discovery-related timing

Some claims allow the “clock” to be affected by when the injury was or should have been discovered. The exact application depends on the claim type and Maryland case law interpreting the statute.

2) Tolling (pauses to the clock)

Certain circumstances can toll (pause) the statute of limitations. Tolling may occur because of:

• legal disability,
• specific statutory tolling provisions, or
• other recognized Maryland doctrines.

Because tolling is highly fact-specific, DocketMath can help you model deadlines—but you should verify which tolling theory actually fits the situation.

3) Notice and procedural prerequisites

Some litigation against government entities involves procedural steps (for example, notice requirements or administrative prerequisites). Those steps may affect when the claim is considered “filed” for limitations purposes or when it accrues, depending on the statute and how Maryland courts interpret it.

4) Claim-type differences (don’t assume)

Your brief indicates that no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for the State Tort Claims Act context. That means you should treat § 5-106 as the default. Still, Maryland sometimes treats particular statutory causes of action differently from common-law torts.

Checklist to avoid surprises:

Statute citation

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106

• General statute of limitations (tort): 3 years
• Applies as the general/default period for qualifying tort claims, unless a separate exception or special timing rule applies.

Source for the statute text reference:
https://codes.findlaw.com/md/courts-and-judicial-proceedings/md-code-cts-and-jud-pro-sect-5-106/?utm_source=openai

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator turns the “3 years” rule into a specific deadline date. Use it to estimate the last day you can file under the default rule (subject to exceptions).

Inputs to enter

To get a useful output, you typically need:

• Accrual date (the date the claim started running under the law)
• Jurisdiction: Maryland (US-MD)
• Time period: 3 years (default from § 5-106)

If you’re modeling based on different possible accrual dates, you can run multiple scenarios.

How outputs change with different dates

Because Maryland’s baseline is 3 years, the deadline shifts in a predictable way:

• If your accrual date is earlier, the filing deadline is earlier.
• If your accrual date is later, the filing deadline is later.

A quick way to sanity-check:

• A change of 30 days in the accrual date usually shifts the SOL deadline by about 30 days as well (ignoring tolling and exception mechanics).

Run it now

Use DocketMath here: **/tools/statute-of-limitations

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — Tool comparison
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — How-to guide
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — Tool comparison