Maine car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Maine#

Maine's general statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary for civil lawsuits is 6 years, and it covers most car-crash claims for injuries and property damage. Wrongful death and claims against government bodies have shorter limits.

Injured children. Under 14 M.R.S. § 853, if the injured person is a minor, the time limit is counted from when the child is no longer a minor, not from the crash. This is a form of tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary. Claims against government bodies have their own rule: within 2 years after the child turns 18.

Claims against government. The Maine Tort Claims Act requires a notice of claimNotice of claim. A written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months. Glossary: a written notice of claim with your name, the basis of the claim, the injuries and the amount claimed; for state claims it goes to the agency involved and the Attorney General. For a town, city or county, the notice goes to an official who could be served with a lawsuit. A late notice is allowed only if you show good cause why it could not reasonably have been filed in time. Damages are capped at $400,000 for all claims from one occurrence, and no punitive damages are allowed.

How fault is shared in Maine#

Under 14 M.R.S. § 156, Maine uses modified comparative faultModified comparative fault. Comparative negligence with a cut-off: once your share of blame reaches the state's bar (50% or 51%), you recover nothing. Glossary, with a twist. If you share the blame, the jury cuts your damages by whatever amount it finds 'just and equitable' (not a strict percentage), and you get nothing if found equally at fault. The law tells the jury to set the reduction "having regard to the claimant's share in the responsibility" for the damage.

Insurers make their own fault arguments in negotiations, so the details of the crash matter long before any jury sees them. Try the fault-rule explainer to compare Maine with other states.

Insurance in Maine#

Maine is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurer, pays for the losses. Maine's coverage rules:

Medical payments coverageMedical payments coverage (MedPay). Optional or required coverage on your own auto policy that pays medical bills after a crash, up to a set limit, whoever caused it. Unlike PIP, it usually does not pay lost income. Glossary pays medical bills up to its limit whoever caused the crash, which can help while a claim against the other driver is pending. The guide to who pays medical bills explains how it fits with health insurance. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 5.7% of Maine drivers were uninsured in 2023, compared with 15.4% nationally.

The Maine Bureau of Insurance answers consumer questions at 1-800-300-5000; (207) 624-8475.

After a crash in Maine#

Under 29-A M.R.S. § 2251, a crash must be reported immediately, by the quickest means, to a state police officer, the county sheriff's office or the local police department, after a crash that injures or kills someone or causes apparent property damage of $2,000 or more. The duty falls on the driver, someone acting for the driver, or, if the driver is unknown, an owner who knows of the crash.

The investigating officer must send the report to the Chief of the State Police within 5 days. You can get a copy on written request to the Chief of the State Police, who may provide a photocopy of the investigating officer's report at the requester's expense. The guide to the police report explains what to check in it, and what to do in the first 72 hours covers the steps right after a crash.

Special rules in Maine#

Wrongful death damages caps

In a Maine wrongful death case, damages for loss of comfort, society and companionship, including emotional distress, cannot exceed $1,000,000, adjusted for inflation. Punitive damages are capped at $500,000. These caps apply only to those two kinds of damages.

Drunk drivers and the bars that served them

Maine's dram shop lawDram shop law. A law that can make a bar or store liable for serving alcohol to someone who then causes a crash. Glossary, the Maine Liquor Liability Act, says a server who negligently serves liquor to a minor or a visibly intoxicated person is liable for damages caused by that person's drinking. Service counts as negligent if the server knew, or should have known, that the person was a minor or visibly intoxicated. Damages against a server are capped at $350,000 for all claims from one occurrence, but medical expenses are outside that cap.

Crashes on Maine roads#

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 177 people died in Maine crashes in 2024. That is 12.6 per 100,000 people, compared with 11.5 per 100,000 people nationally.

• 80% of the deaths happened on rural roads.
• 24% were speeding-related.
• An estimated 30% of passenger vehicle drivers killed had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher.

Finding a lawyer in Maine#

The Maine State Bar Association runs the MSBA Lawyer Referral Service. According to the Maine Judicial Branch, it charges a $35 administrative fee, and referred lawyers do not charge for the first half-hour of a consultation; standard fees may apply after that. The guide on lawyer referral services explains how these panels work.

Before you hire anyone, search the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar's attorney directory. The Board regulates lawyers' conduct for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and publishes its disciplinary decisions.