In New Hampshire, the outside deadline for many injury lawsuits is usually 3 years. In Maine, the general deadline is often 6 years - but the dangerous wrong answer is: "I've got plenty of time, so I can wait until the insurers stop fighting."

That can cost you.

If your injury involved a Lewiston city or quasi-public bus, a road contractor, or another public entity, Maine may require a Tort Claims Act notice within 365 days. Miss that notice and a claim against the public side of the case can be lost long before the 6-year lawsuit deadline matters.

And if you were hurt on the job as a nurse, teacher, or healthcare worker, the workers' comp timeline is separate. In Maine, you generally must give your employer notice within 30 days of the injury, and workers' comp disputes go through the Maine Workers' Compensation Board. A comp claim does not stop the clock on a third-party injury claim.

Maine also does not let finger-pointing between defendants pause your case. Fault can be divided among multiple parties, and Maine uses modified comparative fault with a 50% bar. If you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. If two companies share blame - for example, a bus operator and a paving crew that left a frost-heave pothole hazard on a Lewiston route - the court can apportion fault between them instead of making you pick only one.

One more deadline problem at year-end: if MaineCare, your health insurer, or a workers' comp carrier paid bills, they may assert subrogation or a lien against any recovery. Their reimbursement fight does not extend your filing deadline either.

If this just dawned on you, the dates to check immediately are:

• Date of injury
• Whether any defendant is governmental or transit-related
• 30-day work-injury notice date
• 365-day Tort Claims Act notice deadline
• Any insurer or comp carrier claiming reimbursement