Workforce Bulletin

In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 (“CVA”) to expand claimants’ ability to file and seek damages for alleged child sexual abuse cases, following the trend initiated by other states like New York  and New Jersey.  The CVA was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore on April 11, 2023, and became effective October 1, 2023. The law removed the statute of limitation for claims of sexual abuse that occurred while the alleged victim was a minor. The CVA also placed high caps on non-economic damages from private defendants and monetary damages from public defendants.

The June 1, 2025 Amendment Drastically Reduces the Damages Cap

On April 22, 2025,  Governor Moore signed an Amendment to the CVA that reduced damages for public and private defendants.  The Amendment, which took effect on June 1, 2025, lowers the cap on noneconomic damages for CVA cases filed on or after June 1, 2025 in the following ways:

On December 1, 2019, New Jersey’s Child Victim’s Act went into effect.  This new law opens a two-year “revival” period for individuals to assert civil claims of child abuse and to file claims against institutions and individuals, even if those claims had already expired and/or were dismissed because they were filed late.  Additionally, the new law also expands the statute of limitations for victims to bring claims of child sexual abuse to age 55 or until seven years from the time that an alleged victim became aware of his/her injury, whichever comes later.  Unlike other ...