In October 2023, Maryland removed the time limit for civil claims based on sexual abuse that happened while the survivor was a minor. The change works backward as well as forward, so claims that had expired under the old rules can now be brought.
This page explains what the Child Victims Act did, who it covers, the damages limits the legislature has since set, and what it leaves unchanged. It is general information rather than legal advice. How it applies to you depends on facts we would need to hear, in confidence.
What the Act changed
The Child Victims Act of 2023 (House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 686) took effect on October 1, 2023. The rule it created is in Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-117.
- No statute of limitations. A civil claim arising from sexual abuse that occurred while the victim was a minor can be filed at any time.
- Fully retroactive. The rule applies to claims arising before, on or after October 1, 2023.
- Revived claims. Claims that had already run out under the earlier deadlines were revived and can be filed now.
One exception. A claim that had already expired under the old deadlines is not revived if the survivor has died before the action is filed.
The Supreme Court of Maryland upheld the retroactive part of the law in 2025, rejecting the argument that reviving expired claims was unconstitutional. In Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Doe, decided on February 3, 2025, the court held that the old deadline was a statute of limitations rather than a statute of repose, so no defendant had a vested right to keep it.
Who can bring a claim
The Act covers anyone who was sexually abused as a minor, whatever their age today. A survivor in their sixties has the same access to the courts as one in their twenties, and delayed disclosure is the normal pattern rather than a weakness in a claim.
It does not cover abuse that happened when the person was already an adult. Those claims follow Maryland's ordinary limitation rules, which are far shorter, so an adult survivor, such as someone assaulted on a college campus, should ask about timing sooner rather than later.
Who a claim can be brought against
A claim can be brought against the person who committed the abuse, and against an organization whose negligence made it possible: a school, a church or religious order, a daycare, a summer camp, a youth program, a medical practice or a residential facility. Private organizations and public bodies, such as a county school system, can both be defendants.
In practice the institutional claim usually carries more weight. It asks what the organization knew or should have known, and what it did about it. The individual may have died, may have nothing to pay a judgment with, or may never have been charged; the organization's own records, and its insurance, often matter more.
Damages caps, and why the filing date matters
The Act lets old claims be filed, but the legislature also capped damages in the claims it revived, meaning claims that would have been time-barred before October 1, 2023. House Bill 1378 (2025, Chapter 104) lowered that cap from June 1, 2025. Against a private defendant, the cap depends on when the claim is filed:
- Filed on or after June 1, 2025: $700,000 in noneconomic damages per claimant, per defendant.
- Filed on or before May 31, 2025: $1.5 million in noneconomic damages per claimant, per defendant.
The cap applies per defendant. The abuser and each institution are separate defendants, each liable on its own basis, so each faces its own cap. Against any one defendant, the cap covers a survivor's claim or claims taken together, so several incidents of abuse do not multiply it.
The caps limit noneconomic damages only: the part of a claim that compensates for pain, suffering and emotional distress. They do not limit economic damages, such as the cost of treatment. Whether your claim was revived, or was still inside the old deadlines, is one of the first things we check, because the answer decides whether this cap applies.
Claims against the State or a local government are capped differently, as the next section explains.
Claims against public schools and other public bodies
The no-deadline rule covers claims against the State and local governments too. Section 5-117 allows a claim for sexual abuse of a minor to be filed at any time notwithstanding the Maryland Tort Claims Act and the Local Government Tort Claims Act, so a claim against a public body, such as a county school system or a state-run facility, is not barred merely because the abuse happened long ago.
The damages limit for those claims comes from the State and local-government cap provisions rather than the Act. For actions filed on or after June 1, 2025, noneconomic damages against the State or a local government are capped at $400,000 per claimant. Claims filed before that date were subject to the earlier limit of $890,000.
Claims against a public body still raise questions that claims against a private organization do not: governmental immunity, written notice requirements, whether immunity has been waived, and exactly which public entity is responsible. Those questions need analysis early, even though the underlying claim has no deadline.
If a public school, a public agency or a state facility was involved, raise it with us at the start. Our high school abuse page explains the written notice that claims against a school district require.
What the Act does not change
- A claim still has to be proven. Removing the deadline changes when you can file, not what the evidence must show.
- Evidence still ages. Records are discarded, witnesses move and organizations merge or close. The practical reason to act now is to preserve evidence, not to beat a deadline.
- The individual and the institution are separate defendants. The claims rest on different facts, and one can go forward where the other cannot.
- A civil claim is still separate from a criminal case. You do not need charges or a conviction, and you do not have to report to police to speak with a lawyer.
Confidentiality
Speaking with us is confidential and does not start a case. Courts have ways of protecting a survivor's identity in some circumstances, and we explain what is realistic in your situation before anything is filed. We do not name individuals on this website, and we do not publish clients' stories.
If you want to talk to someone who is not a lawyer, the national sexual assault hotline is 800-656-4673, available at any hour. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
How to start
- A confidential call or message. Say as much or as little as you want. The timing question can often be answered without details of the abuse.
- We check the rules that apply: whether the claim was revived, which caps govern it, and whether a public body is involved.
- We explain the options, including the option of doing nothing, and what each one would involve.
- You decide. Nothing is filed because you called.
You can speak with our team in English, Korean or Spanish.
