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A serious dog attack in Maine can mean emergency surgery, permanent scarring, lost wages, and lasting trauma. Maine’s dog bite law is victim-friendly: under 7 M.R.S. § 3961, when a dog injures someone who is not on the owner’s property, the owner is held strictly liable — you do not have to prove the owner was careless or knew the dog was dangerous.
That protection is powerful, but insurers still fight hard to shift blame or limit payouts. At Dog Bite Laws, we hold negligent owners and their insurers accountable so Maine victims recover the full compensation the law allows — medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Economic damages are the direct, measurable financial losses caused by the attack. These include emergency room bills, hospitalization costs, surgery fees (including reconstructive or plastic surgery for scarring), follow-up medical appointments, prescribed medications, wound care, and physical therapy or rehabilitation. If injuries require ongoing treatment, future medical expenses are also recoverable.
Lost wages cover income you missed during recovery. If the injuries affect your ability to work long-term, for example, nerve damage to your hands, or PTSD that prevents you returning to your previous role, loss of future earning capacity can also be claimed. These figures are typically supported by employer records, tax returns, and expert testimony.
Non-economic damages cover the human cost of the attack. Pain and suffering accounts for the physical discomfort experienced during and after the injury. Emotional distress covers anxiety, depression, nightmares, and the lasting fear of dogs that many victims develop, particularly children. PTSD is common after dog attacks and has real, documentable medical value in a claim.
Permanent scarring or disfigurement carries significant weight, especially when it is visible on the face, neck, or hands. Loss of enjoyment covers activities the victim can no longer participate in due to physical or psychological limitations. Loss of consortium may be claimed by a spouse or family member when the attack meaningfully disrupts the victim’s relationships and family life.
If the victim is a minor, parents or legal guardians can file on their behalf for both economic and non-economic damages. Claims involving children often reach higher values due to the long-term duration of disfigurement and the psychological impact that can follow a child into adulthood.
With dog bite cases, punitive damages do not apply. They are reserved for situations where the dog owner’s conduct was especially reckless or malicious. For example, knowingly keeping a dog with a documented history of attacks without any precautions, or allowing an aggressive dog to roam free in a populated area after prior warnings. When punitive damages are available, they can significantly increase total recovery above compensatory amounts.
Several factors shape the final settlement value. The severity of the injury such as a deep facial wound requiring multiple surgeries, can settle for far more than a bite that heals cleanly. The visibility of scarring, the victim’s age, available insurance coverage, quality of medical documentation, and strength of the liability argument all play a role.
Our team has recovered over $1M in individual dog bite settlements. See real case results including a $505,000 settlement for a facial bite and a $295,000 recovery for a three-year-old victim. For a quick estimate of your own case value, use our dog bite settlement calculator.
The steps you take in the first 24 to 48 hours after a dog bite directly affect your ability to recover full compensation. Evidence disappears fast and early mistakes can be used against you.
Contact a Maine dog bite lawyer before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers typically undervalue long-term medical costs and non-economic damages. Once you accept, you generally cannot reopen the claim.
Maine gives dog bite victims six years from the date of the attack to file a personal injury lawsuit (14 M.R.S. § 752). For children injured by a dog, the deadline is generally extended, but you should never assume extra time applies to your case.
Six years is longer than most states allow, but it is not a reason to wait. Medical records must be gathered, insurance coverage identified, responsible parties confirmed, and witnesses located before memories fade and evidence disappears. Contacting an attorney early protects both your health and your claim.
Dog bite settlements are paid through the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance policy. Standard homeowners policies typically include personal liability coverage between $100,000 and $300,000, and that coverage applies to dog bite incidents even when the attack happens away from the insured property. If the bite occurred at a rental property, the landlord’s policy may also apply.
Insurance companies will work to minimize what they pay. They may claim the bite was provoked, challenge the severity of injuries, or dispute liability. Having a dog bite lawyer handle all communication with the insurer protects your claim from being undervalued before you fully understand the scope of your damages.
Maine’s dog bite statute, 7 M.R.S. § 3961, imposes strict liability on a dog’s owner or keeper when the dog injures a person who is not on the owner’s or keeper’s premises at the time of the injury. When the statute applies, the victim does not have to prove the owner was negligent or knew the dog had dangerous tendencies — the fact of the injury is enough to establish liability.
The statute reaches beyond the bite itself. A victim can recover for the full range of harm an attack causes, including injuries suffered while trying to escape. One key feature sets Maine apart: strict liability applies to off-premises attacks, while injuries that happen on the owner’s own property are handled under a negligence standard, explained below.
Maine’s strict-liability rule is written for injuries that occur off the owner’s property. When a dog injures someone who was on the owner’s or keeper’s premises, the victim generally must proceed under negligence — showing the owner failed to exercise reasonable care in controlling the dog and that this failure caused the injury.
Because the location of the attack can change which standard applies, the details matter enormously. Evidence of where the victim was standing, prior complaints, bite history, and how the dog was contained can all shape the value of your claim. Building that record early is one of the most important things a Maine dog bite attorney does.
For a full breakdown of the laws, liability rules, and reporting requirements, see our dedicated Maine dog bite laws guide.
When § 3961’s strict-liability rule does not squarely apply — for example, an injury on the owner’s own property — a Maine victim can still recover through a negligence claim. Negligence requires proving that the owner owed a duty to control the dog, breached that duty, and that the breach proximately caused the injuries.
A violation of a local leash law or animal-control ordinance can also support a claim of negligence per se, where the owner’s breaking of a safety law is treated as evidence of negligence itself. We investigate every available theory to maximize your recovery.
Maine’s statute expressly reaches both the owner and the keeper of the dog, so responsibility often extends beyond the person who legally owns the animal. A keeper or harborer who was caring for the dog, a landlord who knew a dangerous dog lived on the property and did nothing, or a parent of a minor owner may all share liability.
Identifying every responsible party matters because it can open additional insurance coverage — often the difference between a policy that fully covers your injuries and one that falls short.
Provocation is the defense insurers raise most often, claiming the victim triggered the attack. In Maine, ordinary reactions — flinching, walking past, or protecting a child — are not provocation, and we push back hard on inflated versions of events.
Maine follows a modified comparative negligence rule for dog injury claims. Under § 3961, any fault on the victim’s part does not reduce the damages recovered for physical injury unless the court finds the victim’s fault exceeded the owner’s or keeper’s fault — meaning a victim who is 50% or less at fault still recovers in full. Countering an insurer’s attempt to inflate your share of blame is exactly where experienced representation pays off.
Dog attacks are a serious and rising cost nationwide: U.S. insurers paid about $1.86 billion across 28,450 dog-related injury claims, an average of roughly $65,450 per claim, and more than 5,200 postal workers were attacked by dogs in 2025. Maine consistently reports among the fewest dog-bite insurance claims of any state, a reflection of its small, rural population — but a single serious attack can still cause life-changing injuries (Insurance Information Institute / State Farm, 2024).
Maine’s rural landscape and strong outdoor culture — hiking, running, and dog-friendly trails — put residents and visitors in frequent contact with dogs, and off-leash encounters are a common source of serious injuries.
Maine backs up its civil liability rule with a dangerous dog law. Under 7 M.R.S. § 3952-A, a court can declare a dog dangerous and order restrictions — or euthanasia in the most serious cases — and a prior dangerous-dog finding can be powerful evidence of the owner’s knowledge in your civil claim.
Dog Bite Laws is led by Michael Agruss, Managing Partner and personal injury attorney with a track record of results in dog bite cases. He is supported by Michael Bertucci, Taylor Kosla Unterberg, and Zara Saiyed, a team that handles dog bite cases across Maine and multiple other states.
The firm has recovered millions of dollars for dog bite victims. These results reflect the firm’s approach: identify every liable party, document every dollar of damages, and push for a full settlement before resorting to trial.
The team is available 24/7 and takes every case on a contingency basis. There are no upfront legal fees and no costs unless we win.
Read more client testimonials or contact us directly for a free, confidential case review.
Maine’s statute of limitations for personal injury is six years from the date of the bite under 14 M.R.S. § 752. Claims involving children may have more time, but missing the deadline generally ends your right to recover. See our full Maine dog bite laws guide for detail on how deadlines are calculated.
No. When a dog injures you off the owner’s property, Maine’s statute (7 M.R.S. § 3961) imposes strict liability — you do not have to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous or had bitten anyone before. If the injury happened on the owner’s own premises, the claim generally proceeds under negligence, where the owner’s knowledge and conduct become relevant.
Maine follows a modified comparative negligence rule for dog injuries. Under 7 M.R.S. § 3961, your damages for physical injury are not reduced at all unless the court finds your fault exceeded the owner’s or keeper’s fault. In practice, a victim who is 50% or less at fault can still recover in full, though insurers will try to push your share of blame higher.
Not automatically. Maine’s strict-liability rule under 7 M.R.S. § 3961 is written for injuries that happen when the victim is not on the owner’s or keeper’s premises. If you were bitten on the owner’s property, you generally must prove negligence — that the owner failed to use reasonable care in controlling the dog. Because the location determines which standard applies, the facts of where you were are critical.
Nothing up front. We handle Maine dog bite cases on contingency — you pay no fee unless we recover money for you. Your case review is free, and you can reach us by call, text, email, or chat 24/7.
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