Rights of drunk driving accident victims in Maryland

If a drunk driver hit you in Maryland, you're now inside a set of state rules that are, in a few spots, unusually hard on injured people. Knowing them early changes how you deal with the insurance company, the police report, and the clock. This guide sticks to what's specific to Maryland; the national guide this page belongs to covers the general concepts.

Impaired driving is a steady problem here. In Montgomery County alone, thatcarhitme.com counted 10,308 crashes in 2025, and 784 in April 2026.¹² Some share of those involved a driver who had been drinking, and every one of them left someone facing the questions below.

You have three years, and Maryland means it

A car accident injury claim in Maryland has to be filed within three years of the crash. That's the general limitations period for civil actions at law under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101.³ Miss it and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how clearly the other driver was drunk. The same three years covers your vehicle damage claim, since Maryland sets no separate, shorter deadline for property damage. If a government vehicle or employee caused the crash, much shorter notice deadlines apply, so those cases can't wait.

The contributory negligence trap

This is the Maryland rule that catches people off guard. Maryland is one of a handful of states that still follow pure contributory negligence. If you're found even one percent at fault for the crash, you recover nothing. The state's highest court reaffirmed the doctrine in Coleman v. Soccer Ass'n of Columbia, 432 Md. 679 (2013), turning down the chance to adopt the comparative-fault system most states use.⁴

For a drunk driving victim, this cuts deeper than it looks. The impaired driver's insurer will dig for any fault on your side: a few miles per hour over the limit, a rolling stop, a quick lane change. Even against a driver who blew well over the legal limit, a sliver of blame pinned on you can erase the claim. That's why the police report and a careful investigation carry so much weight.

Who actually pays

Maryland's minimum liability limits are low. A driver only has to carry 30/60/15: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage (Md. Code, Transportation § 17-103).⁵ A serious injury can pass $30,000 in one hospital stay, and plenty of impaired drivers carry nothing beyond the minimum.

Your own policy is the backstop. Maryland requires uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on every auto policy, and it has to match your bodily injury liability limits unless you signed a written waiver reducing it (Md. Code, Insurance §§ 19-509, 19-510).⁶ When the drunk driver has no coverage or not enough, your UM/UIM pays as if it were their policy. Pull your declarations page and check that number now; it's often the line between a covered claim and an unpaid one.

Maryland policies also include personal injury protection (PIP). Insurers must offer at least $2,500 in PIP, which pays medical bills, 85 percent of lost wages, and funeral costs regardless of fault, though the named insured can waive it in writing or reject it (Md. Code, Insurance §§ 19-505, 19-506.1).⁷ PIP is quick money: the insurer has 30 days from your proof of claim to pay (Md. Code, Insurance § 19-508).⁸ It's separate from your liability claim, and taking it doesn't cost you the right to go after the drunk driver.

Can you sue the bar that served the driver?

Usually not. Maryland is one of the few states with no dram shop liability. In Warr v. JMGM Group, LLC, 433 Md. 170 (2013), the Court of Appeals held that a tavern owes no legal duty to people later hurt by a patron it over-served, absent a special relationship.⁹ The bar that kept serving an obviously drunk customer generally can't be sued by the family he crashes into on the way home.

One exception has real teeth. Adults who furnish alcohol to someone under 21 can be held liable. In Kiriakos v. Phillips, 448 Md. 440 (2016), the court recognized a limited form of social host liability built on Maryland's criminal ban against knowingly allowing underage drinking, Md. Code, Criminal Law § 10-117.¹⁰ If the driver who hit you was under 21 and an adult knowingly supplied the alcohol, that adult may be on the hook.

Punitive damages and the cap on pain and suffering

Many people assume a drunk driver automatically owes extra punishment money. In Maryland, usually not. Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, an actual intent to injure, under Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Zenobia, 325 Md. 420 (1992).¹¹ Ordinary drunk driving, however reckless it feels, rarely clears that bar, so most cases come down to compensating your real losses.

Those losses run into one cap. Maryland limits noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life) to $965,000 for claims arising through September 30, 2026, rising to $980,000 on October 1, 2026 (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-108).¹²¹³ The figure climbs $15,000 every October 1 off a $500,000 base set in 1994.¹² In a wrongful death case with two or more eligible family members, the cap is 150 percent, which is $1,447,500 right now.¹² The cap leaves your economic damages alone: medical bills, lost earnings, and future care are recoverable in full. A 2026 bill to repeal the cap, HB 476, did not pass.¹³

The criminal case runs alongside yours

The state prosecutes the driver separately from your civil claim. Maryland treats a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more as driving "under the influence of alcohol per se" (Md. Code, Transportation § 11-174.1), and § 21-902 splits the offense into the more serious DUI and the lesser charge of driving while impaired.¹⁴¹⁵ Under Noah's Law, in force since 2016, drivers convicted of these offenses face a mandatory ignition interlock requirement, which the legislature widened in 2024 to close a probation-before-judgment loophole.¹⁶

The criminal case can also put money in your pocket. A judge can order the driver to pay restitution for your medical, funeral, and out-of-pocket losses as part of the sentence (Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 11-603).¹⁷ Restitution doesn't replace your civil case; you can still sue, and any civil award gets reduced by what you've already collected. Ask the prosecutor's office to fold your losses into the restitution request, and hold onto every bill.

Your car and the police report

Get the crash report early. It captures the officer's account, any citations, and whether a chemical test was run, all of which shape the criminal case and yours. How to request a Maryland crash report is covered on our Maryland crash reports page.

If your vehicle was totaled or badly damaged, its resale value drops even after a clean repair. In Maryland that lost value is its own claim; our page on diminished value in Maryland explains how to pursue it.

Where to go from here

Maryland's contributory negligence rule and its low insurance minimums make these claims easy to underestimate and hard to repair after the fact. If you're hurt, get the crash report, put your own insurer on notice for PIP and UM/UIM, and think twice before giving anyone a recorded statement. You can find a Maryland attorney through our legal directory.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Montgomery County, MD Crash Report, 2025, thatcarhitme.com. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/maryland/montgomery-county/2025-annual-report

2. Montgomery County, MD Crash Report, April 2026, thatcarhitme.com. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/maryland/montgomery-county/april-2026-report

3. Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=5-101&enactments=false

4. Coleman v. Soccer Ass'n of Columbia, 432 Md. 679 (2013), Maryland Judiciary. https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2013/9a12.pdf

5. Md. Code, Transportation § 17-103, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=17-103

6. Md. Code, Insurance §§ 19-509, 19-510, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gin&section=19-509&enactments=false

7. Md. Code, Insurance §§ 19-505, 19-506.1, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gin&section=19-505&enactments=false

8. Md. Code, Insurance § 19-508, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gin&section=19-508&enactments=false

9. Warr v. JMGM Group, LLC, 433 Md. 170 (2013), Maryland Judiciary. https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2013/57a12.pdf

10. Kiriakos v. Phillips, 448 Md. 440 (2016), Maryland Judiciary; Md. Code, Criminal Law § 10-117. https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2016/20a15.pdf

11. Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Zenobia, 325 Md. 420 (1992), CourtListener. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2188367/owens-illinois-inc-v-zenobia/

12. Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-108, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=11-108&enactments=false

13. Fiscal and Policy Note, HB 476 (2026 Session), Maryland Department of Legislative Services. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0006/hb0476.pdf

14. Md. Code, Transportation § 11-174.1, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=11-174.1&enactments=false

15. Md. Code, Transportation § 21-902, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=21-902&enactments=false

16. Md. Code, Transportation § 21-902.2 (Noah's Law); Maryland Department of Transportation MVA. https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/newsroomdetails.aspx?newsId=845&PageId=38

17. Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 11-603, Maryland General Assembly. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcp&section=11-603&enactments=false