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Your Lewiston Personal Injury Attorney
In Lewiston, Maine, the legal process after an injury caused by someone else’s negligence is shaped by rules specific to this state: a comparative-fault standard, a filing deadline that differs sharply depending on who’s being sued, and a damages framework with its own limits. How Maine actually divides fault, what deadline applies to a specific claim, and what can be recovered are all covered further down this page. None of these rules are unique to Lewiston; the same statutes apply across Maine, though which court hears a specific claim still depends on the county.
The 50% Rule: Maine's Approach to Shared Fault
Whether a claimant was partly responsible for how an injury happened is a real factor in Maine, but not necessarily a fatal one: 14 M.R.S. §156 still allows recovery, reduced by the claimant’s own fault share, as long as that share stays under 50%. The insurance company on the other side often raises comparative fault specifically to try to push a claimant’s share toward or past that line.
The Clock on a Lewiston Personal Injury Claim
Maine gives an injured person an unusually long window to file a personal injury lawsuit: 6 years from when the claim accrues, under 14 M.R.S. §752, one of the longest general civil statutes of limitations in the country. That length is easy to misjudge, though, since it doesn’t apply the same way to every defendant. A claim against the government runs on its own clock, separate from the 6-year general rule: 14 M.R.S. §8107 requires written notice to the governmental entity within 365 days, a deadline extended from the older 180-day rule for any claim accruing on or after January 1, 2020. That notice must be filed with a specific municipal officer, such as the city clerk, making Lewiston’s city government the right place to confirm where to send it. Missing that notice window can end a claim long before the 6-year SOL would otherwise be a concern. One more real wrinkle in Maine’s filing deadlines: under 14 M.R.S. §853, the clock doesn’t run at all while the injured person is under a legal disability, meaning a minor, someone mentally ill, imprisoned, or outside the United States when the injury happened. For a minor specifically, the 6-year clock doesn’t start until they turn 18, not from the date of the original injury.
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Economic, Non-Economic, and Punitive Damages in Maine
Maine doesn’t cap compensatory or non-economic damages in an ordinary personal injury claim against a private individual or company. A claim against the government is a different story: 14 M.R.S. §8105 limits the total recovery, costs included, to $400,000 for any and all claims arising from a single occurrence, regardless of how many claimants are involved. Meeting Maine’s punitive damages bar takes more than showing the defendant was careless: Tuttle v. Raymond requires clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, express or implied. A wrongful death claim adds its own separate caps under 18-C M.R.S. §2-807: punitive damages there are capped at $500,000, and loss-of-consortium damages at $1,000,000, adjusted annually for inflation from a 2023 baseline. Future medical care, not just past bills already incurred, is a recoverable economic damages category in Maine when the injury’s long-term effects can be established, typically through expert medical testimony on what ongoing treatment will actually cost.
Maine Is an At-Fault Insurance State
Maine is an at-fault insurance state, not a no-fault or PIP state: the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is generally responsible for the other party’s damages, and an injured person can pursue a claim directly against that driver rather than being limited to their own insurer first. Maine requires minimum liability coverage of 50/100/25 under 24-A M.R.S. §2159, meaning $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 per accident for property damage. Two separate legal theories cover an insurer that mishandles a Maine claim: the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (24-A M.R.S. §2436-A) creates a statutory right of action, 1.5% monthly interest included, for failing to settle fairly without just cause, while Linscott v. State Farm recognizes a contract-based implied duty of good faith separate from any tort claim, since Maine doesn’t allow a standalone bad-faith tort under Marquis v. Farm Family. Maine also allows a claimant to “stack” uninsured motorist coverage in a real, specific way: the UM policy covering the vehicle involved can be combined with the UM policies of relatives in the same household to reach the full amount of the loss, though a single policy covering multiple vehicles doesn’t have to stack on top of itself if the policy language says so.
Where a Lewiston Personal Injury Claim Actually Gets Heard
Maine’s Superior Court is the state’s trial court of general jurisdiction and the only court where a jury trial is available; Androscoggin County’s Superior Court sits in Auburn. Maine’s District Court has civil jurisdiction concurrent with the Superior Court for most claims that don’t seek equitable relief, but sits without a jury, and its small claims division is capped at $10,000, well below what a serious personal injury claim is typically worth. Rule 16B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure builds a mediation step into nearly every Superior Court civil case, requiring it within 120 days of the scheduling order, though a personal injury claim seeking less than $30,000 doesn’t have to go through it. Unlike states with a multi-tier appellate system, Maine sends a Superior Court appeal straight to its highest court: the Supreme Judicial Court, seven justices, hearing the case as the Law Court, with no intermediate Court of Appeals in between. Maine’s Superior Court justices rotate among the state’s counties rather than sitting permanently in one location, which is part of why a case’s actual trial date can depend on the court’s broader statewide calendar, not just the local docket.
Lewiston's Hospital Landscape Is Changing
Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, long one of the state’s trauma centers, let its trauma center certification lapse as of December 1, 2025, and the state’s approval of the hospital’s sale, completed in February 2026, was conditioned on it re-establishing Level III trauma center status by April 2, 2028. Maine currently has only two hospitals with active trauma center status, Maine Medical Center in Portland and Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, which can mean a longer transport for the most serious Lewiston-area injuries in the meantime.
Lewiston isn’t Androscoggin County’s court seat: a personal injury claim large enough for Superior Court is actually heard a few miles away at 2 Turner Street in neighboring Auburn, across the Androscoggin River, not at a courthouse inside Lewiston itself.
Closest service areas: Lisbon Falls personal injury attorneys, Mechanic Falls personal injury attorneys.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Maine’s comparative negligence rule apply the same way to every type of injury claim?
Yes, 14 M.R.S. §156’s comparative negligence framework applies broadly across Maine personal injury claims, whether the case involves a car accident, a slip and fall, or another type of negligence claim, not just one specific claim type.
Does the 6-year deadline ever get paused or extended in Maine?
Yes, tolling can apply in specific situations, such as when the injured person is a minor or legally incapacitated at the time of injury, which can pause the 6-year clock under 14 M.R.S. §752 until that condition ends.
Is there a cap on how much I can recover in a Maine personal injury claim?
Not against a private defendant, where compensatory and non-economic damages are uncapped; a claim against a governmental entity is capped at $400,000 per occurrence under 14 M.R.S. §8105.
What’s the minimum auto insurance coverage required in Maine?
50/100/25 under 24-A M.R.S. §2159, meaning $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident in bodily injury liability and $25,000 in property damage liability, plus mandatory uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and at least $2,000 in medical payments coverage.
Can a personal injury case move from District Court to Superior Court in Maine?
Yes, a case can be removed to Superior Court, most commonly to preserve or exercise the right to a jury trial that District Court doesn’t offer.
Does talking to an attorney before settling with an insurance company actually make a difference?
Often yes, since an insurer’s early settlement offer is negotiated using the same comparative-negligence and damages-cap rules an attorney would apply, and a quick offer is frequently lower than what the claim may actually be worth once fully evaluated.
Evidence Doesn't Wait for a Deadline
The insurance company on the other side typically starts building its own position early, while evidence is still fresh and witnesses still remember details clearly, the same window a claim benefits from moving on too. Reaching out now doesn’t obligate you to anything. A real attorney will hear out your situation and help you see what options are actually available, often the simplest way to keep from losing one you didn’t know was already narrowing.
Looking beyond Lewiston? Our statewide Maine personal injury page lists every city we cover.
