Law Firms in Baltimore, MD

Hiring a lawyer in Baltimore: what is different

Maryland still applies contributory negligence. In most of the country a share of the blame means a smaller recovery, but here a plaintiff who contributed to their own injury can recover nothing at all, however careless the other side was. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed it in Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia in 2013, leaving Maryland alongside Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and the District of Columbia. It changes how cases are defended: showing that the injured person shared the blame is not a discount for the other side, it is a complete win, so expect that argument to be made and ask a firm how it handles it.

Where a case is heard depends on what it is worth. The District Court of Maryland takes claims up to $30,000 and has that ground to itself below $5,000, while anything larger belongs in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Federal matters go to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, which sits downtown. A firm that is in those buildings every week knows the judges and the calendars, and that is worth more than an address near the harbour.

What lawyers cost in Baltimore

Personal injury work is done on contingency, ordinarily around a third of what is recovered, with nothing owed if the case is lost. Medical malpractice is the expensive exception: a claim has to go through the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office first and needs a certificate from a qualified expert, which is real cost before anything is filed. Maryland also caps damages for pain and suffering, and the cap rises by a set amount every year, so the year a claim arose changes what that part of it can be worth.

Few firms publish hourly rates for anything else. Where a firm does publish its fee terms we record them on its profile, and where it publishes nothing the profile says so rather than guessing.

Deadlines that catch Marylanders out

• Personal injury: three years from the date the claim accrues, under Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101.
• Claims against Baltimore City or any local government: written notice within one year of the injury, delivered in person or by certified mail, stating the time, place and cause. Nobody is obliged to remind you, and missing it ordinarily ends the claim.
• Medical malpractice: the earlier of five years from the injury or three years from the day it was discovered, under § 5-109.
• Assault, libel and slander: one year, not three.