Commonwealth of Maryland v. Cameron Cunningham

Baltimore, Maryland, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with violating his civil rights by providing medical care he received while in custody as a juvenile. Cunningham is appealing the Circuit Court for Baltimore City's dismissal of his suit for untimeliness under the Maryland Tort Claims Act.


Reported by Kent Morlan

On October 11, 2019, Baltimore County Police officers arrested Cunningham at his high school when he was sixteen years old. Cunningham, as he asserted in his complaint, suffered a severe injury to his left knee during the arrest. He was transported to a hospital for treatment immediately following the arrest, after which he was released into DJS custody with specific instructions for follow-up care from his medical providers. While in

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custody for over a year, Cunningham asserts the State, through its agencies, failed to provide him the necessary physician-ordered medical care for his knee.

Cunningham turned eighteen on November 15, 2021. On November 11, 2024, five years after he was injured in police custody, but less than three years after he turned eighteen, he sued the State, DJS, and DPSCS alleging negligence and gross negligence. The State moved to dismiss the complaint based on sovereign immunity,[2] which Cunningham opposed.

Motion for summary judgment granted.

Reversed - he tolling for minors under CJ § 5-201 applies to the MTCA's three year filing requirement.