If you were hurt in a Maine car crash, one of the first questions on your mind is probably whether the state puts a ceiling on what your case can be worth. For a typical crash, the answer is reassuring: Maine does not cap the compensatory damages an injured person can recover. The fuller answer matters, because several real limits still apply, and which one touches your case depends on who you are suing, whether someone died, and how much fault the jury assigns to you.
Here is what is actually true in Maine, section by section.
No cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary crash
Maine has no statute limiting compensatory damages in a standard negligence case, which is what most car accident claims are. A jury can award the full amount of your economic losses (medical bills, lost wages, future care) and your non-economic losses (pain, disability, loss of enjoyment of life) with no legislative ceiling. You generally have six years from the date of the crash to file that suit under 14 M.R.S. Section 752, one of the longest personal injury deadlines in the country.1
That absence of a cap is a deliberate choice, and Maine keeps it in places where many states do not. It is one of the minority of states with no statutory cap on non-economic damages in ordinary medical malpractice cases either.2 So the starting point is simple. In a run-of-the-mill injury case, the number is whatever the evidence supports.
Punitive damages have no dollar cap, but a hard legal gate
Maine does not put a dollar limit on punitive damages in an ordinary injury case. Instead it makes them very hard to win. Under the Law Court's decision in Tuttle v. Raymond, a plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with malice, meaning either express ill will toward the plaintiff or conduct so outrageous that malice can be implied.3 That case came out of a car crash where the driver was speeding through a 25 mph zone and ran a red light, and the court still vacated the punitive award, holding that reckless conduct by itself does not qualify.3
That standard is the real ceiling. Ordinary carelessness never supports punitive damages, and neither does recklessness on its own, which is why many drunk driving cases do not clear the bar without more. You have to show something closer to deliberate, malicious conduct. When a plaintiff does clear it, though, no statute caps the punitive figure in a standard suit.
Wrongful death is where the real caps live
The picture changes if the crash killed someone. Maine's wrongful death statute, 18-C M.R.S. Section 2-807, is the one place in ordinary tort law where the legislature wrote explicit dollar caps.
Damages for the survivors' loss of comfort, society and companionship, including emotional distress, are capped at $1,000,000.4 Punitive damages in a wrongful death case are separately capped at $500,000.4 Both figures adjust every year for inflation under 18-C M.R.S. Section 1-108, which ties the amounts to the Consumer Price Index using 2023 as the base year, so a death occurring in 2026 carries a somewhat higher ceiling than the printed $1,000,000.5
Two details are worth understanding. First, these caps only limit the loss-of-companionship and punitive buckets. The estate's economic damages, such as medical care before death, lost financial support and burial costs, are not capped.4 Second, the deadline is shorter than a general injury claim. A wrongful death action must be brought within three years of the death, extended to six years if the death was caused by a homicide.4
When the government is the defendant
If your crash involved a city truck, a county vehicle, a road crew or another public entity, the Maine Tort Claims Act changes the math entirely. Under 14 M.R.S. Section 8105, damages against a governmental entity or its employees may not exceed $400,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single occurrence.6 That $400,000 covers your damages and costs combined.
This is a true cap, and it can be harsh in a serious case. A catastrophic injury caused by a government driver is held to the same $400,000 as a minor one. Claims against public entities also carry their own strict notice deadlines, so these cases run on a faster clock than a private suit.
Over-served drivers and the dram-shop cap
Maine's Liquor Liability Act lets you pursue a bar, restaurant or other server that over-served a visibly intoxicated person who then caused your crash. That claim comes with its own cap. Under 28-A M.R.S. Section 2509, damages for all losses except expenses for medical care and treatment may not exceed $350,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single accident or occurrence.7 Medical expenses sit outside the cap and can be awarded on top of it.7
These claims are also on a short fuse. A liquor liability action must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, under 28-A M.R.S. Section 2514, which is four years tighter than the general six-year negligence deadline.8
The limits that quietly matter most
Two limits touch far more cases than any of the statutory caps above.
The first is comparative fault. Maine follows a modified comparative negligence rule under 14 M.R.S. Section 156. If you are found equally at fault, meaning 50 percent or more, you recover nothing.9 Below that line, the jury reduces your damages to the extent it considers just and equitable, and the statute instructs jurors to do the reduction in dollars and cents rather than as a flat percentage.9 A large verdict can shrink quickly if the defense pins meaningful fault on you.
The second is money that actually exists. No legal cap matters if the at-fault driver has few assets and a minimum policy. Maine requires only 50/100/25 in liability coverage, which is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage, under 29-A M.R.S. Section 1605.10 Above those limits the driver's personal assets are often the only source, and in many crashes there is not enough to satisfy a full verdict. That is why Maine also requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, matched to your liability limits unless you sign a written rejection, under 24-A M.R.S. Section 2902.11 In practice, your own UM/UIM coverage is frequently the real ceiling on what you collect, not any statute.
If you are weighing a claim, a lawyer who tries Maine injury cases can tell you which of these limits actually applies to your facts. You can find one through the thatcarhitme.com legal directory. It also helps to get your paperwork in order early. Your official Maine crash report documents the collision, and if your vehicle lost resale value after the repair you can pursue that separately as a diminished value claim.
This article is general information about Maine law, not legal advice.
Sources
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Maine Legislature, 14 M.R.S. Section 752 (limitation of actions). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec752.html
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American Medical Association, State Laws Chart I: Liability Reforms (noneconomic damage caps by state). https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/mlr-state-laws-chart-I.pdf
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Tuttle v. Raymond, 494 A.2d 1353 (Me. 1985). https://law.justia.com/cases/maine/supreme-court/1985/494-a-2d-1353-0.html
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Maine Legislature, 18-C M.R.S. Section 2-807 (wrongful death). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec2-807.html
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Maine Legislature, 18-C M.R.S. Section 1-108 (cost-of-living adjustment of dollar amounts). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec1-108.html
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Maine Legislature, 14 M.R.S. Section 8105 (Maine Tort Claims Act, limitation on damages). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec8105.html
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Maine Legislature, 28-A M.R.S. Section 2509 (Maine Liquor Liability Act, limitation of damages). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/28-a/title28-Asec2509.html
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Maine Legislature, 28-A M.R.S. Section 2514 (Maine Liquor Liability Act, statute of limitations). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/28-a/title28-Asec2514.html
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Maine Legislature, 14 M.R.S. Section 156 (comparative negligence). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec156.html
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Maine Legislature, 29-A M.R.S. Section 1605 (financial responsibility requirements). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1605.html
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Maine Legislature, 24-A M.R.S. Section 2902 (uninsured vehicle coverage). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/24-a/title24-Asec2902.html