Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog
A jury may find a county negligent for a motorcycle crash caused by a fleeing driver its officers were following, even though no police car touched anyone. The Appellate Court of Maryland reached that conclusion in an unreported opinion filed September 18, 2026. It reinstated a negligence claim against Prince George’s County brought by a rider who lost his leg below the knee when a stolen SUV crossed the center line and struck him. Unreported opinions are not binding precedent.
Two rules decide a Maryland motorcycle accident claim that grows out of a police chase or a police following. The officer is immune from an ordinary negligence claim and can be sued only for gross negligence or malice. The government that owns the police vehicle can be liable for ordinary negligence, although a statute may cap what it owes.
The jury had awarded the rider $2,352,541 against the fleeing driver and the County. The trial judge then set aside the County’s share. Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents riders in Maryland motorcycle accident claims, and for a rider hit by someone in a stolen vehicle, the County’s share may be the only part of a verdict that can be collected.
What Happened on the Road
On a July evening in 2018, officers were trailing a stolen SUV that was moving at 15 to 20 miles per hour on flat tires along a four-lane road. According to the opinion, a voice on the police radio confirmed that a pursuit had not been authorized. The officers were told to “just follow behind.” One officer then crossed the double yellow line at the crest of a hill, without lights or siren, into the lanes used by oncoming traffic. The SUV swerved across the line in front of him and hit a motorcycle traveling the other way.
The County argued that nothing its officers did caused the fleeing driver to cross over. The appellate court disagreed. Police video showed that the SUV stayed in its lane until the officer left his, and the court reasoned that a jury could infer officers know the danger of driving against oncoming traffic without lights or siren.
Who Pays After a Police Chase Motorcycle Accident
Md. Code, Transp. § 21-106 lets an officer pursuing a suspected violator disregard certain traffic rules while using lights and siren. It also preserves “the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.” Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-639 then divides responsibility between the operator, who is immune from suit personally for negligence in emergency service, and the vehicle’s owner, who is not.
Gross negligence, as the court described it, is an intentional failure to perform a manifest duty in reckless disregard of the consequences to another person’s life or property. Violating a department’s pursuit policy does not amount to gross negligence without more, the court held, so the claim against the officer failed.
For a self-insured jurisdiction, CJP § 5-639(d) limits the owner’s liability to the minimum coverage required by Transp. § 17-103, which is $30,000 for one injured person. The limit is higher only if the owner carries a basic vehicle liability policy with a higher limit. The cap applies to negligence in the performance of emergency service, a term Transp. § 19-103 defines to include pursuing a suspected violator. The County argued the cap applied. The rider answered that the County had spent the trial insisting its officers were not in a pursuit. The appellate court returned that question to the trial judge without deciding it.
What a Rider Should Do When Police Were Involved
If you were hit by a driver who was running from police, the crash report may describe only the two vehicles that collided. Ask for the incident number of the police activity as well. Radio recordings, dashboard and body camera video, and the department’s pursuit policy all bear on what the officers did and whether they were authorized to do it.
A claim against a county or city also has a notice requirement. Under CJP § 5-304, written notice stating the time, place, and cause of the injury must generally be given within one year after the injury. The statute names the official who must receive it in each county.
Your own policy belongs in the analysis too. Uninsured motorist coverage under Md. Code, Ins. § 19-509 is required in every motor vehicle liability policy issued in Maryland. Uninsured motorist claims can be the practical source of recovery when the at-fault driver was in a stolen vehicle. Maryland’s contributory negligence rule applies as well, so the defense will examine the rider’s own speed and lane position in the seconds before impact.
We represent motorcyclists and their families across Maryland, including riders hurt in Prince George’s County and the Baltimore area. When police activity is part of a crash, our attorneys request the radio traffic, camera footage, and pursuit records before they are purged. We give the required notice to the local government and look at every policy that might pay, including the rider’s own. We prepare each claim knowing that Maryland’s fault rules give an insurer every reason to blame the person on the motorcycle.
Talking Through a Motorcycle Crash That Involved Police
A claim against a government-owned vehicle follows different rules from a claim against another driver, and the agency involved holds the records that prove it. Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents injured riders throughout Maryland, from Prince George’s County to Baltimore. Call our office at (800) 654-1949 or contact us through our website, and we will go through your claim with you at no charge.