Minors: the clock waits for 18
A minor's own personal injury claim in Maryland doesn't begin running on the applicable statute of limitations until they turn 18. From that point, the full deadline that would otherwise apply — generally three years for a standard injury claim — begins running fresh.
A genuine point of confusion, resolved by the courts
This 18th-birthday rule has a real wrinkle when it comes to medical malpractice specifically. The statutory language in § 5-109 could, read on its own, suggest a different result for malpractice claims. Maryland courts have clarified that the rule that a person's 18th birthday begins the limitations period for injuries occurring before that time still applies to medical malpractice cases as well, despite that potentially confusing statutory language. In other words, a minor injured by medical malpractice still gets the benefit of waiting until they turn 18 before the clock starts.
The discovery rule for medical malpractice
Separate from the minors' rule, § 5-109 sets a genuinely distinctive deadline structure for medical malpractice: the lesser of five years from the date the injury was committed, or three years from the date the injury was discovered. Because the statute applies whichever period is shorter, this creates a real risk — an injury that isn't discovered until, say, four and a half years after it occurred would leave the claimant with only six months to file, since the five-year outer limit, not the three-year discovery period, would control.
What doesn't pause the clock
A genuinely common and costly misunderstanding: actively negotiating a settlement with an insurance company does not toll or pause Maryland's filing deadline. The clock keeps running the entire time talks are ongoing, regardless of how close the parties seem to a resolution.