If you experienced an injury in Maine and you believe another party is legally liable for causing your injury, you might have a strong enough case to file a personal injury claim. Accidents such as product malfunctions, slips and falls, and motorcycle accidents represent three of the most common causes of personal injury claims in Maine.
Getting personal injury help may require you seeking assistance from a personal injury attorney how is licensed in Maine. You also need to make sure that you file a Maine personal injury claim before the statute of limitations expires.
How Do I File a Claim in Maine?
The first step in the claim filing process involves seeking medical treatment for your injuries. Your lawyer then organizes every one of your medical records, as well as interviews witnesses that corroborate your claim.
Since most personal injury lawsuits never see the light of a civil courtroom, you can expect your attorney may to try to negotiate a settlement before filing a lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. During the negotiations, both lawyers share information that includes medical evidence and witness accounts of the incident.
Maine law requires plaintiffs in personal injury cases to prove their cases “by a preponderance of the evidence.” This means you have to convince the judge presiding over your lawsuit that what you claimed happened is more likely to be true than not true. You can expect to present “clear and convincing evidence” for a judge to rule in your favor. The standard of proof for a civil case is not as strict as the standard of proof for a criminal case.
What is the Statute of Limitations in Maine?
If you expect to get personal injury help in Mane, you are going to have to file your claim before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Maine gives plaintiffs six years from the date of a personal injury incident to file a claim.
The six-year statute of limitations in Maine is the most years allowed by any other state to file a personal injury claim. Although you have plenty of time to file a civil lawsuit, you should act with a sense of urgency to ensure witness accounts remain accurate. The passing of time tends to diminish the credibility of witness accounts from a personal injury incident.
How Do I Prove Negligence in Maine?
Maine operates under a modified comparative fault model for assessing legal liability in personal injury cases. The comparative part of the model assigns blame to both parties if both parties are proven to have partially caused the incident in question.
However, the modified part of the negligence model means that if your portion of the blame exceeds 50 percent, then you no longer can receive just compensation to cover the costs associated with your injuries.
Proving negligence requires an abundance of credible evidence, which means for personal injury cases, you should submit a copy of the incident report. Police reports represent the most credible piece of evidence submitted for personal injury claims.
However, not all incidents require the presence of law enforcement. Let’s assume you slipped and fell at the local supermarket. The report you want is the incident report written up by the general manager of the supermarket.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in Maine?
Getting Maine personal injury help boils down to winning your civil lawsuit. If a judge rules in your favor, you have the right to request compensation to cover the costs associated with your injuries.
Medical expenses can run into the thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Expensive diagnostic tests, treatment sessions, and a prolonged rehabilitation program can drain your budget in a matter of just a few weeks. Throw in lost wages and property damages, and you can find yourself in a deep financial hole.
You also have the right to ask for monetary damages that cover pain and suffering. Maines does not limit the amount of money awarded in personal injury cases for pain and suffering. The state does place a cap of $500,000 for non-economic damages in wrongful death cases.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in Maine?
With a considerable amount of money on the line, working with a personal injury lawyer can boost your chances of winning a civil lawsuit. Your attorney can negotiate a favorable settlement that gets you the money you deserve.
It can help to contact a personal injury attorney to determine whether you have enough persuasive evidence to win your claim. Complete the Free Case Evaluation on this page to get in touch with an independent, participating attorney who subscribes to the website.
