Children Bitten by Dogs in Maine: Tender Years Doctrine and Defense Limitations

Because toddlers and elementary-school children stand at eye level with medium and large dog breeds, pediatric dog attacks in Maine overwhelmingly target the face, lips, tear ducts, and scalp. Yet before a child's surgical sutures have even dissolved at Maine Medical Center in Portland or Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, insurance adjusters frequently try to slash the family's compensation by claiming the child hugged the dog too tightly or that the parents failed to supervise the interaction. Understanding the legal protections for children bitten by dogs in Maine-including the common-law tender years doctrine, strict statutory limits on insurer defenses, and mandatory court approval of minor settlements-ensures a child's future reconstructive care is fully protected.

The Tender Years Doctrine and Defense Limitations in Maine

When a dog owner's insurance company attempts to blame a bitten child under Maine's comparative negligence statute (14 M.R.S. § 156) or argues the bite was 'the fault of the person injured' under 7 M.R.S. § 3961, Maine's common-law rule of tender years provides a powerful legal shield.

• Infants and Toddlers Incapable of Legal Fault: Under long-standing Maine Supreme Judicial Court precedent-including Searles v. Ross, 134 Me. 77 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1935) and Desmond v. Wilson, 143 Me. 262 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1948)-children of extremely tender years lack the cognitive maturity and experience to appreciate risk. A toddler who toddles over to a resting dog, squeals playfully, or clumsily pats its back cannot be held guilty of contributory negligence or deliberate provocation as a matter of law.
• The Child-Specific Standard of Care for Older Minors: Even when a child is old enough for a jury to consider their conduct (such as a 7- or 10-year-old), Maine law strictly forbids judging a child by adult standards. In Orr v. First National Stores, Inc., 280 A.2d 785 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1971), the Maine Supreme Judicial Court reaffirmed that a child of tender years must be judged solely by 'what might be expected of ordinarily careful children of like age, capacity, and experience, as they would tend, naturally and expectably, to act under similar circumstances.'
• Off-Premises Strict Liability Under 7 M.R.S. § 3961(2): If a dog bites a child anywhere off the dog owner's or keeper's premises-such as on a neighborhood sidewalk, at a school bus stop, or in the child's own yard-7 M.R.S. § 3961(2) mandates that no fault on the child's part can reduce their physical injury damages unless the child's fault exceeded the fault of the adult dog owner.
• Tolling the Statute of Limitations Until Age 24 (14 M.R.S. § 853): While Maine's standard civil statute of limitations is 6 years under 14 M.R.S. § 752, 14 M.R.S. § 853 tolls (pauses) that clock for anyone who is a minor when the injury occurs. The 6-year window does not start running until the child's 18th birthday, giving a child bitten by a dog in Maine until age 24 to bring a lawsuit.

Micro-Niches: Pediatric Damages, Plastic Surgery Trusts, and Insurer Tactics

Litigating a child's dog bite injury requires specialized medical and financial planning that differs vastly from an adult personal injury claim.

Facial Scarring Damages and Psychological Trauma in Growing Children

The biggest mistake parents make is accepting a quick insurance settlement six months after a dog bite. Unlike healthy skin, pediatric scar tissue lacks elasticity and does not grow smoothly as a child's facial bones expand during childhood and adolescence. A laceration across the cheek, vermilion border of the lip, or nasal bridge on a 4-year-old in Lewiston or South Portland can cause painful tissue contracture, asymmetrical facial growth, and speech or tear-duct complications years later.

Because Maine imposes no statutory cap on non-economic damages in personal injury lawsuits (unlike the statutory cap applicable only to wrongful death actions under 18-C M.R.S. § 2-807), a child's claim must demand full compensation for permanent cosmetic disfigurement, peer teasing, pediatric post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep terrors, and lifelong cynophobia (fear of dogs).

Long-Term Plastic Surgery Trusts and Tax-Free Structured Settlements

Board-certified pediatric plastic surgeons frequently advise waiting until a child reaches skeletal maturity (between ages 15 and 18) before performing definitive Z-plasty scar revision surgery, tissue expansion, or serial pulsed-dye and CO2 laser treatments. To ensure money is protected and grows for those future procedures, Maine dog bite lawyers work with medical life-care planners and settlement planners to establish:

• Dedicated Medical Escrow or Minor Protective Accounts: Under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 17A and the protective conservatorship provisions of the Maine Uniform Probate Code (18-C M.R.S. § 5-401 and 18-C M.R.S. § 5-124), funds can be earmarked in restricted bank accounts where parents can petition the court to release funds specifically for staged plastic surgeries before age 18.
• Tax-Free Structured Settlement Annuities: Under 26 U.S.C. § 104(a)(2), placing a child's net settlement into a highly rated structured settlement annuity allows the principal and all compounded interest to grow 100% free of federal and state income taxes, paying out guaranteed lump sums at ages 18, 21, 25, and 30.

Parental Supervision Claims Raised by Homeowners Insurers

When insurance defense lawyers realize that a Maine jury will never blame a 3-year-old under the tender years doctrine, they routinely pivot to blaming the child's parents-claiming 'negligent parental supervision' and threatening to reduce the child's payout. Historically, insurers cited early Maine cases such as Day v. Cunningham, 125 Me. 328 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1926) and Orr v. First National Stores, Inc., 280 A.2d 785 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1971) regarding the imputation of a supervising parent's negligence.

Experienced Maine child injury attorneys dismantle this defense on three fronts. First, for any off-premises dog attack governed by 7 M.R.S. § 3961(2), the statute restricts fault comparisons strictly to 'the fault of the person injured' (the child alone), barring insurers from reducing the child's physical injury award based on a parent's actions. Second, under Morgan v. Marquis, 50 A.3d 1 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 2012) and Henry v. Brown, 495 A.2d 324 (ME Supreme Judicial Court 1985), a homeowner who invites a family with young children onto their property and allows an unrestrained dog to mingle with toddlers bears the primary duty of care to control their animal. Third, if an insurer threatens a counterclaim against a parent, the attorney can substitute an independent Next Friend or Guardian ad Litem to prosecute the child's standalone claim completely insulated from parental claims.

Step-by-Step Guide: Minor Settlement Approvals in Maine Courts

In Maine, a parent has no automatic legal authority to sign a binding settlement release of a minor child's personal injury claim without judicial oversight. Under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 17A, every dog bite settlement involving a minor under age 18 must be formally reviewed and approved by a Maine judge to prevent inadequate payouts or misuse of the child's funds.

Step 1: File a Rule 17A Application in Maine District or Superior Court

If a lawsuit is already pending in Superior Court-such as the Cumberland County Superior Court, Portland, Penobscot County Superior Court, Bangor, or Androscoggin County Superior Court, Auburn-the child's Next Friend files a Motion for Approval of Settlement in that court. If the claim settled with the insurance company before a lawsuit was filed, Rule 17A(a) allows the parent or Next Friend to file a standalone Application for Approval of Minor Settlement accompanied by Form CV-001, Maine, Judicial Branch, Civil Summary Sheet in the local Maine District Court, such as the Portland District Court, Portland, the Bangor District Court, Bangor, the Lewiston District Court, Lewiston, or the Augusta District Court, Augusta.

Step 2: Submit Mandatory Medical Records and Photos (Over $5,000 Rule)

Under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 17A(b), every application must include a verified affidavit detailing the settlement terms, attorney fees, and medical lien deductions. Whenever the proposed minor settlement exceeds $5,000-or whenever the settlement papers were drafted by an attorney hired by the insurance company-Rule 17A(b)(2) strictly requires attaching:

• Copies of all police reports and Animal Control incident reports (including quarantine reports filed with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Animal Welfare Program, Augusta);
• Complete emergency room records, operative notes, and the most recent plastic surgeon or pediatrician prognosis report;
• High-resolution color photographs showing the current condition of the child's facial or bodily scars; and
• A full accounting of health insurance or MaineCare subrogation liens and proposed net distribution to the minor.

Step 3: Deposit Funds into a Court-Restricted Account and File Form CV-060

At the Rule 17A review, the judge verifies that the settlement amount is fair and orders the net proceeds deposited into an FDIC-insured bank account in the minor's name where no withdrawals are permitted until the child turns 18 without a court order, or into a court-approved structured settlement annuity. Counsel must file a sworn confirmation of deposit within 30 days of the order. If the family needs to access funds prior to age 18 to pay for scar revision surgery or trauma therapy, the parent must submit Form CV-060, Maine, Judicial Branch, Request for Withdrawal of Funds from Minor's Settlement for the judge's signature.

Summary of Maine Pediatric Dog Bite Laws and Settlement Rules

Costs, Attorney Fees, and Timelines for Child Claims in Maine

• Court Filing Fees: Filing a Rule 17A Application for Approval of Minor Settlement or a civil complaint in Maine District or Superior Court carries a $175 filing fee (waivable for qualifying families via Form CV-067, Maine, Judicial Branch, Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees and Form CV-191, Maine, Judicial Branch, Supporting Affidavit for Fee Waiver).
• Judicial Scrutiny of Contingency Attorney Fees: Maine pediatric dog bite lawyers work on contingency, advancing all plastic surgery consultation and litigation costs. Under Rule 17A, the presiding judge must approve the attorney's fee-frequently approving 25% to 33.3% depending on the complexity and litigation stage of the case.
• Timelines: Wise families often wait 6 to 12 months post-injury so a plastic surgeon can evaluate how the child's scar matures before negotiating final numbers. Once a settlement is reached, obtaining Rule 17A judicial approval in Maine District or Superior Court typically takes 30 to 60 days.

If your child was bitten by a dog anywhere in Maine, never sign an insurance company's release or allow an adjuster to hire their own lawyer to rush a court approval. Consult our directory of experienced Maine dog bite attorneys to protect your child's future medical and financial security.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)