If you were injured anywhere in Prince George’s County by a negligent driver, property owner, transit agency or government employee, Blank Kim Injury Law can represent you. We do not have an office in the county. Prince George’s County clients are served by our Silver Spring office, just across the Montgomery County line, and our Annapolis office is close to Bowie and the eastern side of the county.
Claims from here usually run through the Prince George’s County courts. What changes from one part of the county to another is who investigated, who may be responsible and which notice rules apply. A crash on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, a fall on a Metro platform and a collision with a county bus are three different kinds of claim, even a few miles apart. If you were hurt in College Park specifically, see our College Park injury page.
The roads behind most Prince George’s County crash claims
Prince George’s County wraps around the eastern side of Washington, D.C., and a large share of the region’s commuter traffic crosses it every day. The claims we see follow the major corridors:
- The Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495), where merges and stop-and-go congestion produce rear-end and multi-vehicle crashes, often involving trucks.
- US-50 (John Hanson Highway) through Cheverly, Landover and Bowie toward Annapolis, a heavy commuter route.
- Branch Avenue (MD-5) and Pennsylvania Avenue (MD-4) past Joint Base Andrews toward Clinton and Upper Marlboro, where signalized intersections meet highway speeds.
- Indian Head Highway (MD-210) from Oxon Hill through Fort Washington toward Accokeek, a divided highway with at-grade crossings where side-impact crashes can be severe.
- Local arterials such as Central Avenue (MD-214), Landover Road (MD-202), Annapolis Road and Route 1 through Laurel, where pedestrians cross wide roads.
Whatever the road, Maryland’s contributory negligence rule applies: if you are found even slightly at fault for the crash, you can be barred from recovering anything. Our car accident page and truck accident page explain how these claims are built.
Which police agency took the report?
The report you need depends on where the crash or injury happened:
- Prince George’s County Police cover most of the county.
- Municipal police departments in several cities and towns, including Hyattsville, Laurel, Greenbelt and Bowie, handle incidents inside their limits.
- Maryland-National Capital Park Police patrol county parkland and parks.
- U.S. Park Police patrol the federally run parkways, including the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Suitland Parkway.
- Maryland State Police often respond on the Beltway and other state highways.
- Metro Transit Police handle incidents on Metro trains, buses and station property.
Each agency releases reports its own way. If you do not know which one came, we find out.
Claims against Metro, county buses and the federal government
Many Prince George’s County injuries involve a public or federal defendant, and each has its own rules that run ahead of the ordinary three-year filing deadline.
Metro and Metrobus. The Blue, Orange, Silver and Green lines all run into the county. An injury on a train, platform, escalator or Metrobus is a claim against WMATA, which has its own notice rules. See Metro and Metrobus injury claims.
County buses. The county runs its own bus service, now called GoPGC and formerly TheBus. A crash with a county bus or other county vehicle is a claim against a local government, and claims against a government can require written notice much sooner, often within one year. See bus accident claims.
Joint Base Andrews and federal vehicles. When a federal employee causes an injury while doing their job, such as a military or postal vehicle crash, the claim runs under the Federal Tort Claims Act. It starts with an administrative claim to the agency, which must be presented within two years. Active-duty service members are generally barred from suing for injuries incident to service; family members and civilians are not barred in the same way. See our Federal Tort Claims Act page.
Visitors hurt at Northwest Stadium, National Harbor and other venues
Northwest Stadium in Landover, formerly FedExField, draws large crowds for football games and concerts, and National Harbor in Oxon Hill brings visitors from across the region. Event days bring heavy traffic, crowded parking lots and pedestrians walking to Metro and shuttles.
If you live in Virginia, D.C. or another state and were hurt here, Maryland law generally governs the claim, including contributory negligence. Injuries at a venue itself, such as a fall on stairs or in a parking garage, or an assault where security was inadequate, are claims against the property owner or operator. See slip and fall claims and negligent security claims.
Where Prince George’s County cases are heard and injuries are treated
Lawsuits for Prince George’s County injuries are filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro, the county seat. Smaller claims can be heard in the District Court, which sits in Upper Marlboro and Hyattsville. Most claims settle without a trial.
Seriously injured people in the county are often taken to UM Capital Region Medical Center in Largo, a Level II trauma center. Others are treated at community hospitals in the county or at hospitals in Washington, D.C.
Dog bites are reported to Prince George’s County Animal Services. See our dog bite page for how Maryland law treats the owner’s responsibility.
Communities across the county we cover
We represent people from across Prince George’s County, including Largo, Upper Marlboro, Bowie, Mitchellville, Glenn Dale, Lanham, Landover, Glenarden, Capitol Heights, District Heights, Forestville, Suitland, Camp Springs, Temple Hills, Clinton, Oxon Hill, Fort Washington, Hyattsville, Laurel and Beltsville. These are communities we cover, not office locations.
Our Silver Spring office handles Prince George’s County claims, and the Annapolis office is also nearby for Bowie and communities along US-50 and MD-4. Most of our paralegals speak Spanish; read more about our Spanish-speaking injury team.
