Jill Kolodner, Managing Attorney at WGK Personal Injury Lawyers

When your child is hurt, nothing else matters until they’re safe and healing. Then the bills start. The at-fault party’s insurance company calls and wants a statement.

A Baltimore child injury lawyer holds the party responsible for your child’s injury accountable. We recover money for your child’s medical bills, future care, and the harm they’ve suffered. WGK Personal Injury Lawyers has represented Maryland families for nearly 50 years, with nearly 100 years of combined attorney experience.

If your child was injured anywhere in the Baltimore area, call (410) 837-2144 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win.

Child injury cases follow special rules in Maryland. The deadline to sue is different, and a court handles the settlement money. Some defenses that would sink an adult’s claim don’t apply to a young child at all. We know those rules, and we use them for your family.

What WGK Does for Child Injury Cases

A child injury case is a personal injury claim brought on behalf of a minor who was hurt by someone else’s carelessness. We perform all the legal work so you can focus on your child’s recovery.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

  • Investigate and preserve evidence. We determine how the injury occurred and secure evidence before it disappears, including the crash report, scene photos, and any surveillance or dash-camera footage.
  • Gather the records. We collect the medical records, the bills, and the school records that show how the injury has affected your child.
  • Deal with the adjusters. We handle the insurance company directly, so you never have to.
  • Build the demand. We build your claim around your child’s full experience and injury and present it to the insurer.
  • File suit and try the case. When an insurer refuses to pay fair value, we file suit and take the case to trial.

A child’s injury can change how they grow, learn, and play. We document the long-term cost, not just the emergency room bill. Most of the work happens by phone, with documents signed remotely. An already-stretched family shouldn’t have to come into an office to move the case forward.

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When to Call a Child Injury Lawyer

Call a lawyer as soon as your child has been treated and is stable. An early call protects evidence. It also keeps you from saying something to an adjuster that gets used against your child later. Asking questions costs you nothing, and the consultation is free.

Call right away if:

  • Your child suffered a serious injury.
  • More than one party may be at fault.
  • A school, daycare, or government vehicle was involved.

Those cases carry short deadlines and extra rules that most parents have never heard of.

You should also call if an insurance company has already reached out. Adjusters sometimes offer a quick lump sum or ask for a recorded statement in the first days. An early small check can look generous. Then, later, you learn how much treatment a growing child may still need.

Common Causes of Child Injuries

Why You Need an Experienced Baltimore Child Injuries Lawyer

Children get hurt in predictable ways, and the cause shapes the case. Most of what we see falls into four patterns:

  • Motor vehicle crashes
  • Drowning
  • Dog bites
  • Injuries at school or daycare

Each one has its own evidence trail and its own Maryland rules.

Car crashes injure a large number of children every year. Nationwide, more than a hundred thousand children are hurt as passengers, and hundreds are killed every year. More than 40% of the children killed weren’t properly buckled in.3

Correctly installed car seats cut the risk of fatal injury by about 70% for infants and roughly half for toddlers.4 That’s why a restraint failure can be a powerful part of a claim.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States.1 More than 4,000 people drown by accident in this country each year.1 Pools are the most common setting for children drowning between ages 1 and 13. Bathtubs are the biggest risk for babies under 1.2

Dog bites are a frequent and frightening injury for young children. They’re bitten on the face and head far more often than adults. Maryland law treats these cases seriously, and very young children receive extra protection, as we explain below.

School and daycare injuries round out the list. A child can be hurt by poor supervision, an unsafe playground, a fall, or a transportation incident. These cases involve their own deadlines and their own defendants.

Types of Child Injury Cases We Handle

We handle the full range of child injury claims, from soft-tissue injuries through life-altering harm. The case type drives the strategy. Here are the ones we see most in the Baltimore area:

  • Car, bicycle, and pedestrian crashes. This is the largest category. A child can be hurt as a passenger, a young bicycle rider, or a pedestrian struck near a school or park. Baltimore City alone accounts for over a quarter of Maryland’s reported cyclist crashes each year.5
  • Premises injuries. These include pool drownings, falls, and unsafe property conditions, from broken sidewalks to apartment hazards like bed bug infestations.
  • Dog bites. These are a category of their own under Maryland’s strict-liability statute.
  • Catastrophic injuries. We handle the most serious harm a child can suffer, including traumatic brain injuries and burns.

Where an injury happened at or before birth, those claims run through our birth injury practice, which covers cerebral palsy and infant brain damage cases. Not sure which category fits? Call us, and we’ll tell you.

Who Can Be Held Liable

The person or company that caused your child’s injury can be held responsible. Often more than one party shares the blame. Identifying every liable party matters, because each one may carry separate insurance that adds to the amount your child can recover.

Depending on how your child was hurt, the responsible party may be:

  • The at-fault driver in a crash, and sometimes their employer if they were working.
  • The dog’s owner in a bite case, and sometimes a landlord who knew a dangerous dog was kept on the property.
  • A property owner who failed to fence a pool, even when the child wasn’t invited onto the property.
  • A school or daycare that failed to supervise or keep the space safe.

A Maryland county board of education can be sued. For most claims, the board can’t hide behind sovereign immunity for any claim of $400,000 or less.12 A daycare owes a duty to supervise children, keep the space safe, and follow state licensing rules. A signed liability waiver doesn’t eliminate a negligence claim when the daycare’s own carelessness harms a child, and we pursue these claims through our daycare injury practice.

Damages You Can Recover in a Child Injury Case

A child injury claim can recover two kinds of damages: economic and non-economic.

Economic damages cover the financial costs of the injury:

  • Emergency and ongoing medical bills
  • Future medical care and rehabilitation
  • Long-term therapy and assistive care your child will need
  • Lost earning capacity if a permanent injury limits future work

There’s no statutory limit on economic damages. For a permanent injury, the claim accounts for a lifetime of care and reduced earning capacity, measured against your child’s age and life expectancy.

Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering. In Maryland, that means both the physical pain and the limits the injury imposes on the child’s daily life. For a child, those limits often matter most:

  • A lost sports season
  • A year of missed school
  • A developmental setback
  • Being cut off from friends

Maryland does cap non-economic damages. For accidents on or after October 1, 2025, the cap is $965,000 per injured person. It rises to $1,447,500 in wrongful death cases with two or more beneficiaries. The cap applies to every personal injury case, not just medical malpractice claims, and the date of the accident determines which cap applies.13

Maryland Law: Deadlines, the Damages Cap, and Fault

Three Maryland rules decide most child injury cases: the filing deadline, the fault rule, and the damages cap. The deadline is where child cases differ most from adult cases.

Filing deadlines for children

Maryland’s general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is 3 years from the date of the injury. For a child, that clock is paused. Maryland tolls the deadline while the injured person is under 18, so the time to file doesn’t start until the child’s 18th birthday.8 In practice, most child injury claims can be filed up to the child’s 21st birthday.

There’s a major exception, and missing it can end a strong case. If the claim is against a Maryland local government, a county, or a public school, you must give written notice within one year of the injury under the Local Government Tort Claims Act.11 The minor’s tolling rule doesn’t save you here. Waiting the full three years on a school or county claim can bar recovery entirely.

Fault rules for children

Maryland follows pure contributory negligence. A plaintiff who is even 1% at fault is generally barred from any recovery. Maryland is one of a small group of jurisdictions that still applies this rule, alongside the District of Columbia and Virginia. We defeat that defense with tools like the last clear chance doctrine and by showing, as in cases like Myers v. Bright, that being careless isn’t the same as causing the crash.

For children, the fault rule is even more protective. Children under age 5 are conclusively presumed incapable of contributory negligence in Maryland. That removes defenses like provocation in a young child’s dog-bite case.

Maryland requires riders under 16 to wear helmets under Md. Code, Transp. § 21-1207.1, and enforcement is by warning only.7 The statute is silent on how helmet non-use may be used in a civil case.

Maryland’s damages cap

The damages cap applies to your child’s case too. Maryland caps non-economic damages at $965,000 per injured person for accidents on or after October 1, 2025, and the date of the accident sets which cap governs.13 There’s no cap on economic damages like medical bills.

Maryland’s Special Rules for Pools, Dog Bites, and Settlement Money

A few Maryland rules surprise almost every parent, and they decide whether a case can be won.

Pool injury claims

Maryland doesn’t recognize a general "attractive nuisance" doctrine. The fact that a pool drew a child onto a property isn’t, by itself, enough to win. The practical path is the local pool-fence code.

Maryland counties enforce residential pool-fencing codes. In Anne Arundel County, for example, a residential pool generally needs a fence at least 48 inches tall, gaps no wider than 4 inches, and a self-closing, self-latching gate with a lock.10 Requirements vary by county, and some counties require even more.

When a pool owner ignores those rules and a child is injured, that violation can open the door to a premises liability claim, even if the child wasn’t invited in.

Dog-bite claims

Under Maryland’s dog-bite statute, an owner is strictly liable when a dog running at large injures someone. The fact that a dog caused the injury creates a rebuttable presumption that the owner knew the dog was dangerous.9

The owner’s defenses are narrow: trespass, a crime against a person, or genuine provocation. Paired with the under-5 protection above, this makes a young child’s dog-bite case strong on liability.

Protecting a child’s settlement

A friendly suit is a court process that protects a child’s settlement. When a child’s net recovery passes the threshold set by Maryland Rule, the money can’t simply be handed to a parent.

It goes into a court-supervised restricted account or structured settlement, held for the child until age 18. This protects the funds for your child’s future, and we handle the court approval for you.

How Insurance Works After a Child Injury

Insurance is where most child injury claims are won or lost. The first benefit usually has nothing to do with who was at fault. PIP, or personal injury protection, is a no-fault benefit on a Maryland auto policy that pays up to $2,500 toward medical bills and lost wages, no matter who caused the crash.

Insurance companies must offer PIP with every Maryland auto policy, and it only drops out if it was waived in writing. PIP and Med-Pay aren’t subject to subrogation in Maryland, so your family keeps that benefit on top of any recovery from the at-fault driver.

The liability claim against the at-fault party is a separate fight. Some insurance companies deny liability even on clear-fault cases and undercut medical bills, which forces a lawsuit to reach fair value. Others make early lowball offers before treatment is complete, then raise them once a lawyer is involved and suit is on the table. That’s why we don’t let an adjuster set the value of your child’s case.

This is marketing material and is not legal advice. Every case is unique and laws change frequently. Please contact our office to speak with an attorney about your specific situation before making any legal decisions.

There’s also a timing point that costs families money. When initial treatment is delayed, insurance companies start discounting the claim, and a long treatment gap can put the claim itself at risk. Children sometimes hide pain or "seem fine," so get a pediatric evaluation even when the injury looks minor.

Where Your Child Will Be Treated in Baltimore

Getting your child the right care also builds the medical record your case depends on. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center sits on Orleans Street in Baltimore. It’s the only ACS-verified Level I pediatric trauma center in Maryland, and it handles the most severe injuries around the clock.14 Maryland’s emergency system generally treats a patient under age 15 as a pediatric trauma patient.16

For serious but non-catastrophic injuries, the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital is a major regional resource on the downtown campus. It cares for children and teens and has a dedicated pediatric intensive care unit.15 For minor injuries, a community ER or urgent care with pediatric coverage is often the fastest option. Whatever you choose, seek care promptly and keep every record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline to file a claim for my child in Maryland?

Most child cases can be filed up to the child’s 21st birthday. Maryland pauses the three-year clock while the injured person is under 18, so the deadline is tolled.8

But there’s a trap for claims against a public defendant. If Baltimore City Public Schools, a county board of education, or any Maryland local government is involved, you must give written notice within one year of the injury.11 Miss that window and even a strong case can be barred.

If my child was hurt at school, who do I sue?

You sue the Maryland county board of education. It can’t raise sovereign immunity for most claims of $400,000 or less per claim.12 A school employee acting within their job is usually covered by the board, so the board pays. Remember the one-year written notice deadline for any government claim.11

Can I sue my child’s daycare if I signed a liability waiver?

Yes. A parent-signed waiver doesn’t bar a claim when the daycare’s own negligence caused the injury. The daycare still owes a duty to supervise your child, keep the premises safe, and comply with state licensing rules. We pursue these claims through our daycare injury practice.

Does Maryland have a car seat law?

Yes, and the rules are layered by age:

  • Under age 2: rear-facing seat.
  • Under age 8: child safety seat, unless the child is at least 4 feet 9 inches tall.6
  • Under age 16: buckled in at minimum.

A restraint failure can strengthen a child’s injury claim.

Does Maryland have a bicycle helmet law for kids?

Yes. Maryland requires riders under age 16 to wear an approved helmet on public roads and paths, and enforcement is through warnings, not fines.7 The statute is silent on how helmet non-use may be used in a civil case. For a young child, the stronger shield is Maryland’s fault standard, as established in cases like Taylor v. Armiger: children under 5 are conclusively presumed incapable of contributory negligence.

If a dog bit my child, what do we have to prove?

For a young child, layered protection makes the case strong. The owner is strictly liable when a dog running at large injures someone.9 For any child under age 5, the conclusive bar on contributory-negligence defenses removes the owner’s usual provocation or fault arguments. That leaves an at-large dog’s owner very narrow ground to stand on.

My child was hurt at a neighbor’s pool. Does Maryland recognize attractive nuisance?

No, Maryland doesn’t recognize the attractive nuisance doctrine. The practical path for a neighbor-pool case is the fence code. A violation of the statewide residential pool rules is usually enough to open the door to a premises claim.10 Counties like Anne Arundel add stricter local requirements on top of the state floor.

What does it cost to hire WGK for my child’s case?

Nothing upfront. Our fee is 33.3% of the recovery if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, and 40% if we file suit. We advance the standard costs, so you pay nothing unless we win. If your child’s net recovery passes the threshold set by Maryland Rule, the court places the money in a protected account until your child turns 18.

Where will my child be treated if seriously hurt in Baltimore?

The most severe injuries are treated at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, the only ACS-verified Level I pediatric trauma center in Maryland.14 Serious but non-catastrophic injuries are handled at the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital downtown.15 Minor injuries are often treated fastest at a community ER or urgent care with pediatric coverage. Maryland EMS generally routes a patient under age 15 as a pediatric trauma patient.16

Where does the settlement money go if my child wins?

Into a court-protected account, not into your hands or theirs. The court places the funds in a restricted account, structured settlement, or guardianship account until your child turns 18. WGK handles every step of the court approval process to protect the money for your child’s future.

How quickly should we get our child to a doctor after an accident?

Within the first few days, if you can. Insurance companies start discounting a claim when initial care is delayed. The trap with a child is the "seems fine" problem, because young children minimize pain to avoid more doctor visits. A pediatric evaluation is worth doing even when the injury looks minor.

Schedule a Free Consultation With a Maryland Child Injury Lawyer

If your child was hurt by someone else’s carelessness in the Baltimore area, the next step is simple. Call WGK Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. We’ll tell you, honestly, whether you have a case. Our office is at 14 W. Madison Street, Baltimore.

WGK has recovered numerous six- and seven-figure settlements for injured Marylanders. What a case is worth depends on the injury, the long-term care a child will need, and the strength of the liability evidence. We build every claim to capture that full value for your child.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. This website is attorney advertising.

You pay nothing unless we win. We work on a contingency fee, we advance the costs, and we handle the court approval that protects your child’s money. With nearly 50 years serving Maryland families and nearly 100 years of combined attorney experience, we know how to build a child’s case. We know how to stand up to the insurance companies that try to underpay it.

Speak with a Baltimore Child Injury Lawyer today at (410) 837-2144, or send us a message through our contact form. Maryland’s deadlines are strict, especially on school and government claims, so reach out as soon as you can.

Sources

  1. CDC Drowning Prevention, 2024. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4; more than 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths occur in the U.S. Each year. https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/data-research/index.html
  2. CDC, NCHS Data Brief No. 413, 2021. Locations of unintentional drowning deaths by age (pools dominant for ages 1 to 13; bathtubs for infants under 1). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db413.htm
  3. NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Children, 2023 Data. More than 100,000 children ages 14 and younger are injured, and hundreds are killed as passenger-vehicle occupants annually; over 40% of children killed were unrestrained. https://www.nhtsa.gov/car-seats-and-booster-seats/child-passenger-safety-week
  4. NHTSA, 2023. Correctly installed car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4. https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats and https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/safety-topics/child-safety/car-seats-boosters-seat-belts
  5. Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, Bicycle/Pedalcycle Program Area Brief. Baltimore City accounts for over 25% of Maryland’s cyclist crashes. https://zerodeathsmd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/FFY22_Bicycle_ProgramAreaBrief-Data_Final.pdf
  6. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Transp. § 22-412.2. Child safety seat requirements (rear-facing under age 2; child safety seat under age 8 unless 4’9" or taller; seat belt required under age 16). https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=22-412.2
  7. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Transp. § 21-1207.1. Helmet required for bicycle riders under age 16; enforcement by warning. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=21-1207.1
  8. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-201. Tolling of the statute of limitations while a plaintiff is a minor. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=5-201
  9. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-1901. Strict liability for injury caused by a dog at large, with rebuttable presumption of the owner’s knowledge. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=3-1901
  10. Anne Arundel County Health Department, residential swimming pool requirements (implementing Maryland’s statewide residential pool code: fence at least 48 inches, picket spacing no greater than 4 inches, self-closing and self-latching gates). https://www.aahealth.org/environmental-health/public-swimming-pools-and-spas/residential-swimming-pools-requirements-permits
  11. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-304. Local Government Tort Claims Act notice required within one year of the injury. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=5-304
  12. Maryland Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-518. A county board of education cannot raise sovereign immunity on claims of $400,000 or less per individual. https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/courts-and-judicial-proceedings/title-5/subtitle-5/section-5-518/
  13. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-108. Non-economic damages cap ($965,000 per injured person for causes of action arising on or after October 1, 2025; $1,447,500 for wrongful death with two or more beneficiaries; cap set by accident date). https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=gcj&section=11-108
  14. Maryland TraumaNet (MIEMSS network). Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, is the only ACS-verified Level I pediatric trauma center in Maryland. https://www.maryland-traumanet.com/resources/trauma-centers/
  15. University of Maryland Medical Center / University of Maryland School of Medicine. University of Maryland Children’s Hospital pediatric services and pediatric intensive care, downtown Baltimore campus. https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/pediatrics/divisions/division-of-pediatric-critical-care/
  16. MIEMSS Pediatric Reference Card, 2024. Maryland defines pediatric trauma as a patient under age 15; designated pediatric trauma centers include Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. https://www.miemss.org/home/Portals/0/Docs/EMSC/EMSC-Pediatric_Reference_Card_Web-2024.pdf