The Consequences of No Cap: New Bill Proposes Unlimited Noneconomic Damages
The Maryland General Assembly’s 447th Session is underway, and with it comes a host of new bills proposing changes to the State’s laws. One bill in particular, House Bill 113 (cross-filed with SB0584), could significantly impact future civil litigation and potentially Maryland’s economy if passed into law. The bill, introduced by Delegate Natalie Ziegler, proposes removing Maryland’s current statutory cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury and wrongful death actions.
In personal injury and wrongful death actions, a plaintiff may recover three (3) main types of damages: (1) Economic damages, (2) Noneconomic damages, and (3) Punitive damages. Economic damages are quantifiable, objective costs like medical expenses and lost wages that are meant to compensate a plaintiff for losses they sustain. Noneconomic damages are more subjective, allowing a plaintiff to recover for nonfinancial losses like pain and suffering. The third category of damages, punitive damages, are awarded to plaintiffs based on certain factors for public policy reasons. Punitive damages are not granted as a reward or to compensate a plaintiff but rather, they are granted as a form of punishment for the defendant to deter similar conduct in the future. There are no limits in Maryland on a plaintiff’s recovery for economic and punitive damages.
Currently, Maryland’s Courts & Judicial Proceedings § 11-108 provides a limit on plaintiff’s recovery of noneconomic damages. As of February 2025, a plaintiff cannot recover more than $950,000 for noneconomic damages in a personal injury or wrongful death action. That cap is set to increase annually by $15,000 every October 1st, meaning that the cap will increase to $965,000 by the end of the year.
House Bill 113 is not the first proposal challenging Maryland’s cap on noneconomic damages. In 2024, a bill was introduced that would have expanded the cap on noneconomic damages to $1.75 million and escalated the annual increase to $20,000. However, the 2024 bill was never passed into law. Rather than raising the cap on noneconomic damages, the House Bill 113 proposes doing away with the cap on noneconomic damages altogether.
Such a sudden, significant shift could have a negative and immediate impact on stakeholders in Maryland. The proposal would undoubtedly affect the trucking industry, as the potential for massive verdicts would increase the industry’s insurance costs. Nancy Egan, part of the Maryland Alliance for Fair Liability Laws, said a study concluded that commercial auto insurance costs would increase by 23-30% and personal auto insurance costs by 14-19% if the cap were raised to $1.75 million. With no cap at all, such increases would be even more significant.
Louis Campion, president and CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, notes that “[t]ruck insurance is getting harder and harder to find”(Round, 2025) in part due to the rise in nuclear verdicts across the country when it comes to trucking. A significant increase in the industry’s insurance cost could put some truckers in the state out of business. Not to mention, the likely increase in personal auto insurance could put a financial strain on the average Marylander. Under the current law, plaintiffs are still free to recover any amount of economic damages they sustain, and there is no limit to the amount of punitive damages that can be imposed. Removing the cap on noneconomic damages altogether would create inconsistent, wide-ranging verdicts. Given the impact such verdicts would have on stakeholders, House Bill 113 proposes a radical change with more negatives than positives.
The proposed bill is currently set for hearing in the House on February 19, 2025.
Written by attorney Henry F. Murphy.
Round, I., (2025, January 22). Bill to get rid of MD cap on noneconomic damages is reintroduced. Maryland Daily Record. https://thedailyrecord.com/2025/01/22/bill-to-get-rid-of-md-cap-on-noneconomic-damages-is-reintroduced/
