Hardy, Wolf & Downing has represented injured Mainers since 1976. In a first phone call, we hear the same worries again and again: “I probably waited too long.” “It was partly my fault.” “The insurance company says I do not need a lawyer.” Some of those assumptions are incomplete, and some are wrong. Either way, they lead people to give up a valid claim or settle it for less than it is worth.
Here are the seven we hear most.
1. “I only have two or three years to file”
Many states have a two- or three-year deadline for injury lawsuits. Maine does not. The general deadline is six years from the date of the injury (14 M.R.S. § 752).
Six years is a real window: long enough to finish treating, understand what you are dealing with, and decide without being rushed. It is not unlimited, and two things shorten it.
The first is evidence. Witnesses move. Surveillance video is overwritten, often within days. Memories of a two-second event do not improve with time.
The second is that not every claim gets six years. A claim against a city, a town, a school district, or a state agency generally requires written notice within 365 days, and the lawsuit must be filed within two years. Medical malpractice and wrongful death claims have their own shorter deadlines. Other exceptions depend on who is responsible.
Do not assume the six-year deadline is the one that applies to you. Which deadline governs depends on who you are making the claim against, and it is safer to find out early than to calculate it yourself.
2. “I was partly at fault, so I have no case”
This one stops more people from calling than anything else on the list. They were in a crash, they think some of it was on them, and they conclude there is nothing to discuss.
Maine law does not work that way. You do not lose your claim just because you share some responsibility. Under 14 M.R.S. § 156, you can recover unless a jury finds you equally at fault. If you can recover, the jury reduces your damages by the amount it considers just and equitable, given your share of the blame.
Notice what that rule does not say. It does not require the jury to cut your award by a fixed percentage matching your share of fault. That is how most people assume it works, and how it does work in a number of other states, but it is not the Maine rule.
When an insurer builds a fault argument, it looks at your speed, your position on the road, where your attention was, and what you did in the last few seconds before impact. Small details carry weight. But the insurer’s view of fault is a position, not a finding, and it does not get the last word.
3. “The insurance company is handling it, so I do not need a lawyer”
Adjusters are usually prompt and polite, and they are often helpful on the mechanics: the rental car, the property damage, the paperwork. That is easy to mistake for someone looking after your interests.
The adjuster represents the insurer, not you. That is not a criticism of the adjuster; it is who they answer to. Their job is to evaluate the claim and resolve it on terms that work for the company, and they do it every day. You are doing it once, while injured.
Whether or not you hire a lawyer, you need to know three things before you accept a final number: what insurance is actually available, what your losses come to — including the ones still ahead of you — and whether the offer reasonably reflects both. No one on the other end of that phone call is responsible for making sure you know them.
4. “It was a small accident, so it must be a small injury”
Vehicle damage is a poor predictor of injury. A low-speed rear-end collision can herniate a disc. A crash that looks far worse in the photographs can leave everyone walking away.
What matters is how much force reached your body, how you were positioned, whether you saw it coming, and what your body was already carrying before that day. Two people in the same car can walk away with very different injuries.
Falls work the same way. A fall that seems minor at the time can turn out to be a fracture that shows up only on a second set of images.
Insurers know this, and they will still put photographs of the vehicles in front of you. The photographs are relevant. They are one piece of evidence alongside the medical records and the mechanics of the collision, and on their own they do not settle whether you were hurt. If something does not feel right, get evaluated. Let your symptoms and your doctor decide what care you need, not the photographs of your car.
5. “I will give a recorded statement. I have nothing to hide”
This comes from a good instinct, and honesty is not the problem. Timing is.
A recorded statement taken in the first few days comes before you know what happened to you. Your injuries have not fully declared themselves. You have not seen the police report or anyone else’s account. And you do not know why you are being asked the particular questions you are being asked.
An honest answer given then can still cause trouble later. “I’m feeling okay” may be true on day two and untrue on day twenty, but it is on the record as of day two. “It happened fast; I’m not sure exactly what I saw” is honest and reasonable, and it is also useful if you want the fault picture to look uncertain.
You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Your own policy is different: it likely requires you to cooperate, and ignoring a request can affect your coverage. Read what is actually being asked, and speak with a lawyer before you answer if you have any doubt.
6. “A property owner is only responsible if they invited me in”
Maine law has changed, and many people are still working from the old version.
A landowner in Maine generally owes anyone lawfully on the property a duty of reasonable care. The old line between an invited customer and a social guest does not ordinarily decide whether that duty exists. If you were shopping, visiting, attending, or delivering, the owner should have expected you.
The duty is reasonable care, not a guarantee. Getting hurt on someone’s property does not by itself make them responsible. A hazard an employee created, or one that sat there for three weeks, is a very different case from one that appeared seconds before you reached it and that no one could have found. Whether the owner is responsible turns on what the danger was, how it got there, how long it lasted, and what the owner knew or should have known.
Trespassers are treated differently under Maine law, with some exceptions.
7. “Settling fast is better. I just want it behind me”
This is understandable. The process sounds slow and expensive, and there is money on the table now.
What separates this decision from most others in your claim is that it cannot be undone. When you settle and sign a release, you almost always give up any claim for injuries that turn out to be worse than they looked, including the ones that have not appeared yet.
Injuries change. A shoulder that was “tweaked” becomes a rotator cuff repair. A sore wrist becomes a fracture that needs a second procedure. A headache the emergency room put down to stress becomes a diagnosed brain injury. The settlement you already cashed doesn’t grow to cover any of that.
None of this means holding out forever. Not every claim should stay open, and not every case belongs in litigation. But before you sign, you should know your diagnosis, your prognosis, and what treatment is still ahead of you. Until you have those three things, you are guessing at what the claim is worth.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether I have a case worth pursuing?
Two questions get you most of the way. Is there a person or a business who may be legally responsible for what happened? And did the injury cause you real losses — medical bills, missed work, lasting effects on how you live? A free consultation will tell you more, and it does not commit you to anything.
The accident was a few years ago. Is it too late?
Maybe not. The answer depends on when you were hurt, what kind of claim it is, and who is responsible; the exceptions in item 1 run considerably shorter than six years. Ask before you assume the answer.
I have heard these cases take forever. Do they?
Some do. Many do not. A claim with clear liability and a cooperative insurer can be finished in months. One with disputed fault, serious injuries, or a carrier that will not negotiate takes longer. Any lawyer you speak with should give you a timeline built on your facts, not a generic answer.
The short version
- Maine’s general deadline is six years, not the two or three most people assume. A claim against a city, town, or state agency generally needs written notice within 365 days, with suit filed within two years.
- Sharing some of the blame does not end your claim. Under 14 M.R.S. § 156, you can recover unless a jury finds you equally at fault, and the jury decides what reduction is fair.
- The adjuster represents the insurer. That is who they answer to.
- Vehicle damage does not predict injury. Get evaluated on your symptoms, not on the photographs.
- You are generally not required to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement. Your obligations to your own insurer are different.
- Maine landowners owe reasonable care to anyone lawfully on the property. You did not need a formal invitation.
- Once you sign a release, you generally cannot come back if the injury turns out to be worse.
Hardy, Wolf & Downing has practiced personal injury law in Maine since 1976, with offices in Portland and Lewiston. If you are not sure where you stand, call and ask. Consultations are free. No fee unless we recover for you.
