A parent or legal guardian usually files the claim for an injured child in Maryland, and that is the part a school, daycare, landlord, or insurer hopes you do not realize because a child's own deadline is often paused for years while some notice rules are not.

The main rule is straightforward: a minor cannot usually settle or litigate a personal injury claim alone. In Rockville, that typically means a parent or court-appointed guardian handles the claim, signs paperwork, and deals with the insurer.

The complications are where families get trapped:

• The child's statute of limitations is usually tolled until age 18. For most Maryland personal injury claims, the child then has 3 years after turning 18, which often means until age 21.
• The parents' related claim is different. A parent's claim for the child's medical bills or other out-of-pocket losses is usually not tolled. That deadline is often the normal 3 years from the injury date.
• Settlements for minors often need court approval. In Montgomery County, a significant settlement for an injured child is commonly reviewed by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, and the money may have to go into a restricted account, trust, or structured settlement until the child turns 18.
• Government cases have fast notice deadlines. If the injury happened at a Montgomery County public school, park, sidewalk, or other local-government property, written notice under the Local Government Tort Claims Act may be due within 1 year. If a state agency is involved, notice under the Maryland Tort Claims Act can also be due within 1 year.
• Federal property is different. If the injury happened at NIH in Bethesda, Fort Meade, or another federal site, the Federal Tort Claims Act usually requires an administrative claim within 2 years.
• Daycare cases add licensing issues. For a daycare injury, parents should also report it to the Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care, because staffing, supervision, and safety-rule violations can matter.

If the injury involved a hot-water scald, bleacher collapse, garage door sensor failure, or unsafe equipment, keep photos, incident reports, names of witnesses, and every bill from the start.