Founding Partner
You must report a Maryland crash to the police yourself in two situations. The first is when someone is hurt or killed, or a vehicle or property with a person present is damaged, and no officer is at the scene and no one there can take your information. The second is when you hit and injure a dog or other domestic animal. If anyone is hurt or killed, each driver must also send the Motor Vehicle Administration a written report within 15 days, unless an officer investigated and filed a report. A Maryland car accident attorney can help protect your claim.
What You Have to Do in Each Situation
The first rule applies when no officer is at the scene and nobody involved in the crash can take your information. That includes the other driver, passengers, and anyone hurt. For example, everyone else involved may be unconscious. First, stop, stay at the scene, and help anyone who is hurt as far as you are able. Then report the crash right away to the nearest police office and give your name, address, and vehicle registration number.
The second rule applies when your vehicle hits and injures a dog or other domestic animal. Call the state or local police immediately. The police then contact the local agency that gives injured animals medical care.
Outside these two situations, Maryland’s accident-reporting statutes do not require you to call the police. That choice still affects your injury claim.
What Every Maryland Driver Must Do at the Scene
Maryland law sets out what each driver must do in the first minutes after a collision, before any report is filed. These rules apply on or off a highway. All but the insurance duty below also apply to a vehicle owner who is present at the crash, even when someone else was driving.
When a crash injures or kills someone, or damages another vehicle or property while a person is with it, each driver must:
- Stop as close to the scene as possible without blocking traffic more than necessary
- Stay at the scene, or return to it, until the remaining duties are done
- Give reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging a ride to a doctor or hospital when the person asks for treatment or clearly needs it
- Give a name, an address, and the vehicle’s registration number to anyone injured, to the other driver or occupants, and to anyone attending damaged property, and show a driver’s license on request if it is available
- Give the same people the name and address of your insurance company, plus your policy number and the name and address of your local insurance agent or office if you have them (a self-insured vehicle needs the MVA’s proof of self-insurance)
If a police officer comes to the scene or investigates later, you must give the officer the same information. A crash with a parked car or other unattended property carries a different duty. You must stop and try to find the owner. If you cannot, leave a written note in a secure, visible spot on the damaged vehicle or property with your name, your address, your registration number, the name and address of your vehicle’s owner, and your insurance information.
The 15-Day MVA Report After an Injury Crash
The MVA report is a separate filing. When a crash injures or kills anyone, each driver must send a written report to the Motor Vehicle Administration within 15 days. The report goes on the form the MVA requires, and it must include proof of liability insurance, or another form of security the MVA accepts in its place, with these details:
- The name and address of your insurance company or other security provider
- Your policy number or other identifying number
- The name and address of your local insurance agent (the law calls this person an insurance producer)
If the driver is physically unable to file, is unavailable, or refuses, the MVA can require the vehicle’s owner to file instead.
The MVA report is not required when a police officer investigated the crash and filed a report with the Maryland Department of State Police. A driver who is physically unable to make the report is also excused while that condition lasts. If you skip a required report or give the MVA incorrect information, the MVA has the power to suspend or revoke your driver’s license and the registration of every vehicle you own.
Why a Police Report Protects Your Injury Claim
Calling the police creates a record you cannot recreate later. An officer’s response helps your claim in four ways:
- It documents the crash on the day it happened, while the people involved still remember the details
- It gives the insurance adjuster an official record to check your account against
- It preserves details that disappear fast, such as where the vehicles came to rest and what the road looked like
- It gives an officer the chance to speak with witnesses while they are still at the scene
That record matters even more in Maryland. Maryland follows contributory negligence, a rule that can bar an injured person from recovering anything if that person’s carelessness helped cause the crash or the injury, however small that share of the blame. The other driver’s insurer knows this rule and looks for any fault it can assign to you. A report written at the scene records what happened on the day of the crash, before the insurer builds its fault argument.
The Maryland Department of State Police provides crash reports from the state’s central repository to people legally entitled to them, and you can request an official copy of a crash report there. Wait at least 10 days after the crash to allow time for processing. The request carries a $4 nonrefundable search fee payable by check or money order. For crashes in Baltimore City, contact the Baltimore Police Department.
What Happens If You Do Not Report a Crash
Maryland sets these penalties for a driver who skips a required step after a crash:
- Failing to help an injured person, share your name, address, and registration number, or make the police report required when no one can take your information can bring up to two months in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.
- Leaving a crash that injures someone can bring up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $3,000, or both. Leaving a fatal crash can bring up to five years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
- Leaving the scene is a felony, which carries a longer prison term, when the driver knew or should have known the crash might cause a serious injury or a death, and it did. A serious injury is one that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious, permanent or long-lasting disfigurement, loss of function of a body part, organ, or mental faculty, or impairment of the function of a body part or organ. The maximum is five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both for a serious injury, and 10 years, a $10,000 fine, or both for a death.
- Failing to file the 15-day MVA report is a misdemeanor that can bring a fine and points on your driving record, and it gives the MVA the power to suspend or revoke your license and registrations.
A missing report can also hurt your injury claim. Without an official record, the evidence of fault can be limited to your account and the other driver’s account. If the other driver drove off, a hit-and-run claim depends on whatever evidence exists, and a prompt police report becomes part of that evidence.
How a Maryland Car Accident Attorney Can Help
A lawyer can request the crash report, compare it with the photos and vehicle damage, and challenge errors. When no officer came, a lawyer can build the record from medical records, witness statements, and scene evidence. The lawyer can also prepare a response to the contributory negligence defense before an adjuster raises it.
Most Maryland injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the date the claim arises. Claims against a government, such as after a crash with a government vehicle, often require a written notice or claim sooner, usually within one year of the injury for the State of Maryland and Maryland local governments.Our Maryland personal injury attorneys handle that work from the first call.
Put McGowan & Cecil, LLC on Your Side
Since 2001, McGowan & Cecil, LLC has represented injured people across the Baltimore-Washington area, with more than 120 years of combined experience. We assign at least one attorney and one paralegal to every case: real people, with no AI assistants. We work on a contingency fee, and your first consultation is free. Se habla español. Contact us for a free case evaluation today.