Last updated on October 14th, 2026 at 09:45 am
If you have ridden in Maine for any length of time, you know the trade. The rural stretches, coastal routes, and mountain roads offer some of the best riding in the country, and they are unforgiving when something goes wrong.
A motorcycle puts far less between you and the road than a car does. When a driver fails to yield, turns across your path, or drifts into your lane, a motorcycle accident produces injuries a car would have absorbed: traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, road rash, fractures, amputations.
The legal standard does not change because you were on a bike. But these claims are harder to run than car claims, for two reasons. They turn on details that rarely come up in a car case — sight lines, lane position, headlight use, braking, protective gear, the mechanics of how motorcycle crashes unfold. And they often begin with assumptions about riders that have nothing to do with what happened.
Understand the following before you deal with anyone’s insurance company.
Stereotypes are not evidence
A motorcycle claim frequently opens with a set of assumptions: that you were speeding, that you were hard to see, that you could have gotten out of the way, that you accepted the risk by getting on the bike.
None of that is evidence. Until it is backed by proof, it is not a defense either.
If a driver ran a red light and hit you, the evidence of that is what establishes fault, not what either of you was driving. Being on a motorcycle does not reduce the driver’s responsibility, and it does not by itself show that you share any. Liability depends on what each operator did and whether that conduct caused the crash.
That is why objective proof matters so much in these cases. When you and the driver give different accounts, the record decides between you: photographs, video, witness accounts, vehicle damage, electronic data from the vehicles, and scene measurements. The question is what happened in your collision, not whether motorcyclists in general ride safely.
Comparative fault, and how it is used against riders
You can share some of the blame and still have a claim. You cannot be equally at fault; if a jury finds that, you recover nothing (14 M.R.S. § 156). Below that line, the jury sets your damages and reduces them by what it considers just and equitable given your share. It is not a straight percentage cut, which is what most people picture. (We walk through that rule in our guide to what people get wrong about Maine injury law.)
Expect the argument anyway. Common allegations against riders include:
- Traveling too fast for the conditions
- Operating between lanes or adjacent rows of vehicles, which Maine law prohibits
- Riding with the required headlight off, or in a lane position that affected visibility
- Having an opportunity to brake or take evasive action
An insurer can argue any of these. Its position is not the final word; fault is resolved through negotiation or, if necessary, by a judge or jury.
What settles the argument is evidence, and your evidence has a short shelf life. Get someone looking early: witness accounts, nearby surveillance video, photographs, an inspection of both vehicles, electronic data, phone records, sometimes an accident reconstruction. You will not need all of it. You do need someone looking before it is gone.
Maine’s helmet law is narrower than most people think
Much of what is said about this law is wrong, so read carefully.
Maine does not require every motorcycle operator and passenger to wear protective headgear. It requires helmets for:
- Operators and passengers under 18
- Operators riding under a learner’s permit
- Operators within one year after passing the driving test
- Passengers riding with an operator who is required to wear headgear
A violation is a traffic infraction (29-A M.R.S. § 2083).
Helmet use can still come up when a rider claims a head injury. It does not determine who caused the crash; that question is untouched by what was on your head. Whether nonuse is legally relevant to a particular injury depends on the applicable law, the medical evidence, and whether a helmet would have made a difference to that specific injury.
If you were wearing a helmet, keep it. Do not discard or replace it yet, and photograph its condition. Impact marks on a helmet are evidence, and they are the kind that gets thrown out in the first week.
The insurance coverage gap
Maine generally requires proof of liability insurance, or another approved form of financial responsibility, before a motorcycle can be registered. A Maine motor vehicle liability policy must also include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The law does not require limits that match what a catastrophic injury costs.
When your injuries are serious, and on a bike they often are, the at-fault driver’s limits may not come close to covering them. Bills for a serious brain or spinal injury easily reach six figures, and lost income adds to that. That is where your own UM/UIM coverage matters, and where low limits hurt.
The declarations page on your motorcycle policy is where the analysis starts, not where it ends. Have someone read every policy that might apply, not just the bike’s, for available limits, exclusions, and coverage you did not know you had.
Serious injuries require a careful damages evaluation
A case involving minor injuries can settle quickly. A traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, or a series of surgeries is a different exercise. Injuries at that level change what you need medically, what you can earn, how independently you live, and what your ordinary days look like, sometimes permanently. Before you resolve anything, someone must account for future treatment, rehabilitation, any long-term care, reduced earning capacity, permanent limitations, pain, and what you have lost from your life outside of work.
An offer that arrives while you are still in the hospital cannot account for any of that, because no one knows it yet, including you.
So the rule has two parts. Do not sign a release until you know your prognosis and what insurance is available. At the same time, keep moving on evidence and deadlines. Being patient about settling and being prompt about preserving proof are not in conflict.
What to preserve after a motorcycle crash
Once your immediate medical and safety needs are handled:
- Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the roadway, debris, skid marks, traffic controls, and your visible injuries
- Keep your motorcycle, helmet, and riding gear; do not repair, clean, or discard anything until it has been inspected
- Get names for your witnesses, and note nearby businesses or homes that may have cameras
- Keep your insurance documents and every piece of correspondence you receive
- Follow your doctor’s recommendations and describe your symptoms accurately
- Do not sign a release until you know your injuries, your coverage, and your long-term prognosis
Frequently asked questions
Are motorcycle riders automatically assumed to be at fault in Maine?
No. Maine law does not presume you were at fault because of what you were riding. Fault depends on what you and the other driver did and the evidence of how the crash happened.
What if the other driver says they did not see me?
“I did not see the motorcycle” is one of the most common things you will hear, and it does not excuse the collision. It may support a claim that the driver failed to keep a proper lookout. Liability still turns on the surrounding facts: sight lines, lighting, traffic conditions, your headlight and lane position, and what each of you did.
Do I need a police report?
If the crash caused bodily injury, death, or at least $2,000 in apparent property damage, Maine law requires it to be reported immediately (29-A M.R.S. § 2251). Beyond the requirement, calling 911 gets the drivers, the witnesses, the insurance information, the vehicles, and the scene conditions documented while everyone is still there.
The report itself may be of limited use in court. The investigation behind it is another matter; it often turns up the witnesses, photographs, measurements, and video your claim later depends on.
What if my injuries do not seem serious at first?
Get evaluated anyway, particularly if you struck your head, lost consciousness, or develop pain, dizziness, confusion, weakness, or numbness. Some injuries take days to appear, and delay makes it harder to establish when an injury began and what caused it.
How long do I have to file a motorcycle accident claim in Maine?
Usually six years (14 M.R.S. § 752), but not always, and the exception matters more to riders than to most people. If part of what went wrong was the road itself, or a signal that was dark, you may be looking at a claim against a town or the state. Those require written notice within 365 days and suit within two years, and governmental immunity may bar the claim entirely. Work out who you might be making a claim against before you rely on any deadline.
The short version
- Assumptions about riders are not evidence. Objective proof — video, photographs, vehicle damage, electronic data — is what settles a disputed fault argument.
- Sharing some fault does not end your claim. Under 14 M.R.S. § 156, you can recover unless a jury finds you equally at fault.
- Maine’s helmet requirement applies to four categories of rider, not to everyone. Helmet use does not determine who caused a crash.
- Keep the helmet and the bike. Impact evidence is thrown away in the first week.
- Check every policy, not just the motorcycle’s. Serious injuries routinely exceed the limits on one policy.
- Do not settle before the prognosis is clear, but move quickly on evidence and deadlines.
Hardy, Wolf & Downing has represented injured Mainers since 1976, including riders seriously hurt in motorcycle crashes. We investigate fault, preserve crash evidence, and identify the insurance coverage that may be available. Offices in Portland and Lewiston. Free consultations. No fee unless we recover for you.
