Hurt at work in Maine? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Deadline helper

Benefit estimate calculator

This estimate uses the rule in Maine's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

Deadlines in Maine

Tell your employer

60 days

File your claim

2 years

Waiting period

Weekly compensation is not paid for the first 7 days of incapacity.

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Weekly benefit in Maine

What it pays

Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages

Maximum

$1,561.40 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)

Minimum rule

Maine has no minimum weekly benefit for total incapacity; you receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

Applies to

Payments made from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 for injuries on or after January 1, 2020

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 102(4), 211, 212(1-A)

Source: maine.gov

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Who is your doctor in Maine?

Who chooses

Your employer or its insurer chooses

Your employer has the right to choose the health care provider who treats you first. If your employer has chosen one, you must go to that provider for the first 10 days of treatment.

After 10 days of treatment, you may switch to a health care provider of your choice by telling your employer the provider's name and that you intend to treat there. Your employer can object by petition, which goes to mediation and, if needed, a hearing. After that first change, you may not change providers again without approval from your employer or the Board. Your provider can refer you to a specialist.

Law: 39-A M.R.S. § 206

Source: maine.gov

Who is covered in Maine

Size of employer

Every private employer in Maine, including an independent contractor who hires and pays employees, and the State and every county, city and town must carry workers' compensation insurance or self-insure for all employees.

Special rules

• Agricultural or aquacultural laborers: A farm or aquaculture employer with 6 or fewer laborers at a time (or more than 6 whose total hours never exceed 240 a week) does not have to carry workers' compensation if it keeps employer's liability insurance (at least $100,000 per full-time-equivalent laborer) and at least $5,000 of medical payment coverage. Seasonal or casual farm laborers are also exempt if the employer keeps at least $25,000 liability and $5,000 medical payment coverage.

Not covered

• Domestic service employees
• Seasonal or casual agricultural and aquacultural laborers, and small agricultural employers that carry the required liability and medical-payment insurance
• Federal employees, longshore workers, railroad workers and seamen are covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law

Contractors

An employer that misclassifies employees as independent contractors has not complied with the coverage law and can be penalized. The Board can issue a predetermination of independent contractor status on application.

Source: Form WCB-260

If your employer has no insurance

If a private employer that must carry workers' compensation has no coverage, you can either sue the employer in court (and the employer cannot use the usual workers' compensation defenses) or claim compensation from the employer through the Workers' Compensation Board. Uninsured employers are subject to penalties.

Check your employer's insurance

Law: 39-A M.R.S. § 401

Source: legislature.maine.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in Maine

First step

If your employer files a Notice of Controversy, a Board troubleshooter (Claims Resolution Specialist) will contact you and your employer to try to resolve it.

Form

Petition for Award of Compensation (WCB-140)

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Fired or punished for filing in Maine

Your employer may not discriminate against you in any way because you asserted a workers' compensation claim or testified in a workers' compensation case.

The law

39-A M.R.S. § 353

What you may get

If you win, the administrative law judge may order reinstatement to your previous job, back wages, restored employee benefits and reasonable attorney's fees.

Where to file

File a Petition to Remedy Discrimination (WCB-195) with the Workers' Compensation Board; it goes to a formal hearing before an administrative law judge who has not ruled on your claim before.

Law: 39-A M.R.S. § 353

Source: legislature.maine.gov

Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Maine

You may hire a lawyer, but for injuries on or after January 1, 1993 you are responsible for paying your attorney. If you qualify (injured on or after January 1, 1993, took part in troubleshooting, and have no private lawyer), a Board Worker Advocate can represent you at mediation and formal hearing for free.

Maine workers' compensation also pays medical care and mileage to treatment, partial incapacity benefits (two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury wages), specific loss benefits for losing a body part, permanent impairment benefits, vocational rehabilitation (the Board can pay for a recommended plan if your employer refuses), and death benefits to dependents.

Free help in Maine

State agency

Maine Workers' Compensation Board

Phone

1-800-400-6854

Address

442 Civic Center Drive, Suite 225, 156 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0156 (Augusta regional office)

Find an office

Free help

• WCB Worker Advocate Program (free legal representation for qualified injured workers) · 1-800-645-2266
• WCB Claims Resolution Specialists (troubleshooters) at regional offices · 1-800-400-6854
• Pine Tree Legal Assistance (free civil legal aid)
• LawHelp.org

Good to know in Maine

• The 60-day notice rule applies to injuries on or after January 1, 2020; it was 30 days for 2013-2019 injuries and 90 days before 2013.
• If the workers' compensation insurer denies your medical claim and has made no payments, your health insurer must pay the bills and can be repaid later if the injury is found work-related.
• If you return to work while receiving benefits, you must tell the Board and your employer within 7 days.

Changes in 2024–2026

The maximum weekly benefit for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 is adjusted every July 1: $1,430.84 (July 2024 - June 2025), $1,498.55 (July 2025 - June 2026) and $1,561.40 (July 2026 - June 2027), based on a state average weekly wage of $1,249.12 from July 1, 2026.

Source: WCB SAWW notice revised 8-14-26

Questions about workers' comp in Maine

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

Nearby states

Sources

• Maine WCB: Resources for Injured Employees
• Maine WCB: Facts About Maine's Workers' Compensation Laws (rev. Sept. 2023)
• Maine WCB: State Average Weekly Wage Notice effective 7-1-26 (rev. 8-14-26)
• Maine WCB: Calculating Compensation
• Maine WCB: Forms
• Maine WCB: Insurance Coverage Verification
• Maine WCB: Worker Advocate Program
• 39-A M.R.S. § 204 (waiting period)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 205 (benefit payment)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 206 (medical services, choice of provider)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 211 (maximum benefit)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 212 (total incapacity)
• 39-A M.R.S. §§ 301, 302
• 39-A M.R.S. § 303 (employer reports)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 306 (time for filing petitions)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 353 (discrimination)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 401 (liability of employer, exemptions)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 606 (occupational disease: date of incapacity)
• 39-A M.R.S. § 607