Court Allows Negligence Suit Against Maryland Construction Contractor in Injury of State Trooper

The trial court awarded damages to a former Maryland state trooper in her negligence action against a contractor after she was struck by a car that had entered a construction site. She appealed the damage award in the Circuit Court, Baltimore County, and the contractor cross-appealed. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland ruled that (1) the trooper could not be barred from recovering damages from the contractor, (2) the contractor was not entitled to indemnification from the supervisor and/or the inspector, (3) the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury regarding the trooper’s wage-earning potential, and (4) the trooper was not entitled to punitive damages.