Maine Wrongful Death Laws (2026): Deadlines & Who Can Sue

When a person in Maine dies because of someone else's wrongful act, neglect, or default, the family can bring a wrongful death claim to recover for their loss. Maine's wrongful death law is set out in the Probate Code at 18-C M.R.S. section 2-807, which sets the deadline, who may sue, the damages available, and specific dollar limits on certain damages. Maine also recognizes a separate survival action that continues the claim the person who died could have brought. This guide explains how both work under current Maine law. It is general information and attorney advertising, not legal advice.

The deadline to file in Maine

Under 18-C M.R.S. section 2-807, a wrongful death action must be commenced within three years after the decedent's death. This is the key deadline, and missing it almost always ends the case. There is one extension: if the death was caused by a homicide, the action may be commenced within six years of the date the personal representative or special administrator discovers that there is a just cause of action against the person who caused the homicide.

The three-year period is recent, and that matters for older deaths. Public Law 2023, chapter 390 changed the period from two years to three, and the enacted chapter contains no retroactivity or applicability clause, so it took effect under Maine's general effective date rule later in 2023. A death that occurred before the amendment took effect is governed by the earlier two-year period. If the death was in 2023 or earlier, do not assume you have three years; confirm which period applies before relying on the longer one.

A separate, much shorter set of rules applies when the claim is against a governmental entity, because the Maine Tort Claims Act imposes its own notice requirements and limits. Because the deadline is firm and the facts control which rule applies, confirming your specific deadline early is essential.

Who can file in Maine

Maine channels the claim through the estate. Section 2-807 requires that every wrongful death action be brought by and in the name of the personal representative or special administrator of the deceased person. The personal representative does not recover for themselves; they bring the claim for the benefit of the people the statute protects.

The amount recovered for the family's losses is for the exclusive benefit of the deceased's heirs and is distributed to them, in the proportions provided under Maine's intestacy laws (18-C M.R.S. sections 2-101 to 2-113). In practice that means the surviving spouse and children are the primary beneficiaries, with other heirs taking when there is no spouse or child, following the intestacy order. A settlement on behalf of minor children is not valid unless the court approves it.

Wrongful death versus survival action

Maine recognizes two distinct claims. The wrongful death action under section 2-807 compensates the survivors for the losses the death caused them. The survival action, under 18-C M.R.S. section 3-817, is different: it provides that no personal cause of action is lost by death but survives for and against the personal representative, so the estate can pursue the claim the decedent could have brought.

Maine also addresses the decedent's pre-death harm directly inside the wrongful death statute. Section 2-807 allows a separate count for conscious suffering when death follows a period of conscious suffering, while making clear there is only one recovery for the same injury. The result is that pre-death pain and the survivors' losses can both be pursued in the same case, with safeguards against double recovery.

Damages you can recover

Maine's wrongful death statute allows several categories of damages. The jury may award fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the death, meaning the measurable financial losses the death caused. The statute does not itemize what counts as a pecuniary injury, and the 2023 amendment left that sentence untouched while it raised the caps and the filing deadline, so the scope of pecuniary injuries is shaped by Maine case law rather than by a list in the statute. Reasonable funeral expenses and the costs of recovery, including attorney fees, are paid first, and the estate can be reimbursed for reasonable medical, surgical, and hospital care and reasonable funeral expenses when the award or settlement specifically provides for it.

In addition, the jury may award damages for the loss of comfort, society, and companionship of the deceased, including emotional distress arising from the same facts, to the people for whose benefit the action is brought. This is the category that recognizes the human side of the loss, the relationship the survivors no longer have, and it is the part of a Maine wrongful death award that the statute specifically caps.

Damage caps and punitive damages

Maine is one of the states that caps certain wrongful death damages, and the figures were raised in recent years. Pecuniary (financial) losses are not capped. The loss of comfort, society, and companionship is capped at $1,000,000 as stated in the statute, adjusted for inflation under 18-C M.R.S. section 1-108 for deaths occurring after 2023. That adjustment is a fixed calculation rather than an estimate: the $1,000,000 base is increased by the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for the calendar year before the death exceeds the index for calendar year 2023, and the increase is rounded down to the next multiple of $100. For a death occurring in 2026, that produces a cap of $1,056,500. The figure moves with the year of death, so a death in a different year carries a different number.

Maine also allows punitive damages in a wrongful death case, but caps them at $500,000. Punitive damages require proof of malice by clear and convincing evidence under Maine law, so they are reserved for especially serious conduct.

How fault affects the claim

Maine applies modified comparative negligence under 14 M.R.S. section 156. If the person who died was partly at fault, the recovery is reduced to the extent the jury finds just and equitable given their share of responsibility. If the decedent is found to be equally at fault or more, recovery is barred. The decedent's fault is imputed to the wrongful death claim, so this rule directly affects what the family can recover.

How proceeds are distributed

After funeral expenses and the costs of recovery (including attorney fees) are paid, the wrongful death recovery passes directly to the decedent's heirs and does not become part of the probate estate, except where the statute provides otherwise, for example amounts the jury or settlement specifically allocates to the estate for medical and funeral costs. The heirs and their shares are determined by Maine's intestacy laws, which generally favor the surviving spouse and children before reaching more distant relatives. Survival action proceeds, by contrast, belong to the estate and are administered through it, which means they can be reached by the decedent's creditors before reaching the heirs. Any settlement involving minor children is not valid unless the court approves it, a safeguard built into the statute to protect children's interests.

How to evaluate your situation

After losing a family member to someone else's wrongful act, a few steps help protect the family's rights. Preserve key records, including the death certificate and any medical, accident, or police records, along with proof of the deceased person's earnings and the support they provided. Confirm who will serve as personal representative, since that person must bring the claim, and confirm which filing deadline applies to the date of death (and whether the homicide exception is in play) early. Most wrongful death attorneys offer a free consultation and work on a contingency basis, meaning no upfront fee and payment only out of any recovery. No attorney can promise a specific outcome. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.