Catastrophic Injuries

December 14, 2010

Seatbelt safety and usage

For many years, Maine law has required anyone in a vehicle that is required to have seatbelts, to wear a setbelt. (29-A M.R. .A §2081)There are also more specific safety restraint rules for children.

A study done of crashes which occured in 1996 in Maine concluded that ” . . . unbelted occupants were 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized or die with a head injury than those belted.” (As reported by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety). However, the statute specifically states that failing to use your seatbelt is not admissible evidence in any civil or criminal trial. Therefore, while it is clear that you should be belted when you are in a vehicle, the fact that you were not wearing your seatbelt during an accident is irrelevant. It cannot be used as eveidence, even if the other driver could prove you would not have been injured if you had your seatbelt on.

Some states do not have this rule. Therefore, some insurance adjusters may tell injured parties their claims are worth less because they didn’t buckle up. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident in while unbelted and has questions about the law, contact the team at Peter Thompson and Associates. We have handled thousands of similar claims and recovered millions of dollars for our clients. For a consultation call 1-800-917-1784 or read more on our website, www.Peter-Thompson-Associates.com, on our car accident practice page.

November 28, 2010

Deering High graduate dies in crash in Massachusetts

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Reported in the Portland Press Herald on November 26, 2010

A 27-year-old Portland native was killed early Thursday morning in a two-car crash in Massachusetts in which one of the drivers has been charged with motor vehicle homicide while drunk, according to police.

Raina Jensen was a back-seat passenger in a 2002 Nissan Altima traveling in Wilbraham, Mass., when it was struck by a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Joshua Lacroix, 24, of Ware, Mass.

November 26, 2010

National Transportation Safety Board hosts forum on aging drivers

by Peter Thompson & Associates

On November 9 and 10th, the National Transportation Safety Board hosted a forum to discuss issues relating to highway safety and our aging population. A webcast is archived on the N.T. .B website.

An interview with Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the N.T. .B., was published on November 17th, 2010 in The New York Times blog “The New Old Age”, (see full article here). The forum revealed that recent statistics have surprised researchers. For example, while the number of fatalities has dropped across the board, drivers over 70 have had an even higher drop in the rate of fatal crashes. People are living longer and are also healthier as they age. Ms. Hersman concludes that age alone is not a sufficient factor for determining continuing eligibility to drive, but that states need to consider alternatives such as additional testing or shortened periods before renewal of a license.

Maine considers a driver elderly when he or she is over 65 years of age. The DOT has published resources to assist residents who are dealing with the issue of aging and driving on their website.

November 24, 2010

Two Men Die in Bangor Accident

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Reported in the Bangor Daily News on November 16, 2010

An accident on outer Essex Street claimed the lives of two men Tuesday.

Police say the car they were riding in struck a tree and both victims were ejected from the vehicle.

October 22, 2010

Workers’ compensation injuries and personal injury claims

by Peter Thompson & Associates

In Maine, there is a potential intersection of the workers’ compensation and personal injury systems when the injury is caused by a third party.

Generally, if you are injured at work, regardless of the cause, you are compensated for that injury entirely through the workers’ compensation system. However, did you know that if a party other than your employer is responsible for the injury, you may also have a separate claim against that party?

For example, if you were driving a vehicle as part of your job and were injured in an accident caused by another driver, you have both a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against the other driver.

October 22, 2010

Oxford teenager killed in crash

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Reported in the Portland Press Herald, October 22, 2010

HARRISON — Police in Harrison, Maine, say one teenager has been killed and three other people injured in a car crash.

Eighteen-year-old Thomas McLendon, of Oxford, was a passenger in a Chevrolet Trailblazer whose driver lost control rounding a corner and crashed into trees.

September 24, 2010

What if the person who caused my accident doesn’t have enough insurance? Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

What happens if someone else’s negligence behind the wheel causes you injury and they don’t have enough insurance?sIn Maine, every auto insurance policy is required to have several components. In a previous post, we discussed uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, or the coverage that exists when the other party is not insured. The partner component of UM coverage is underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. Like with UM coverage, every auto insurance policy in Maine must have a minimum of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident of UIM coverage (See Maine Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 29-A Section 1605 (1)(C)(2) & (3) and Maine Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 24-A Section 2902). This means, if you have insurance, you automatically have this coverage as part of your policy.

UIM coverage is used when someone causes you injury and their insurance policy is not sufficient to cover your damages. For example, although Maine requires $50,000 minimum of insurance, Massachusetts only requires $20,000 minimum. With the rising costs of medical expenses, even a moderate injury can easily use up this amount. This must also cover any lost wages, pain and suffering, attorney’s fees, and all other damages you may have. (The only exception is your vehicle damage, which is usually covered separately.)

So, if you are injured by someone who has $20,000 of insurance and you have $50,000, then there is a total of $70,000 of coverage right?sUnfortunately, no. In Maine, your UIM carrier receives a credit for the amount paid by the insurance company for the at fault driver. Therefore, in this example there is only a total of $50,000 of coverage. $20,000 paid by the at fault driver and $30,000 paid by your UIM carrier. Therefore, if you only have the minimum required insurance coverage of $50,000 of UIM, and someone else with the minimum causes you an injury, there is no additional coverage for your injuries.

September 18, 2010

What happens if the person who caused my accident didn’t have insurance?sUninsured Motorist Coverage in Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

What happens if someone else’s negligence behind the wheel causes you injury and they don’t have insurance?sIn Maine, every auto insurance policy is required to have several components. One of those components is uninsured motorist coverage (UM). Every auto insurance policy must have a minimum of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident of UM coverage. (See Maine Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 29-A Section 1605 (1)(C)(2) & (3) and Maine Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 24-A Section 2902). This means, if you have insurance, you automatically have this coverage as part of your policy.

UM coverage is used when someone with no insurance at all causes you injury. In that case, you can use up to the amount of your policy. Therefore, if you have only purchased the state minimum of insurance, the maximum amount available tosyou from an accident will be $50,000. This is true even if the accident was not your fault. With the rising costs of medical expenses, even a moderate injury can easily use up this amount. This must also cover any lost wages, pain and suffering, attorney’s fees, and all other damages you may have. (The only exception is your vehicle damage, which is usually covered separately.)

Note that the limit is further split, depending on how many people are injured in the accident. For example, if a family of three are traveling in the same car and all three are injured, the maximum amount available for the whole accident is capped at $100,000. No one person can recover more than $50,000 and the total amount the insurance company will have to pay will not exceed $100,000. Again, if all three have even moderate injuries, there will likely not be enough money to properly compensate everyone.

September 16, 2010

Family of Three Killed, Man Injured in Route 1A, Dedham Accident

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Reported by Bangor Daily News on September 14, 2010 and September 15, 2010

DEDHAM, Maine — A family of three from Jonesport was killed and an Orono man was injured Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash on U. . Route 1A.

Killed in the accident were Carlos A. Tapia, 34, his wife, Rachelle R. Tapia, 23, and Rachelle Tapia’s 4-year-old daughter, Mackenzie Gray, who was Carlos Tapia’s stepdaughter.

May 5, 2010

Paris crash results in serious injuries to 3

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Three people are recovering from serious injuries after a head-on crash Monday morning in Paris. Police say a car heading north on Route 119 crossed the center line and collided with a pickup truck heading south. Driver Justin Rolfe, 26, of Paris and his passenger, Donavan Stevens, 26, of Hebron were listed in stable condition Monday night after Rolfe’s car crossed the center line on Route 119 in Paris on Monday morning and hit a truck, police Lt. Michael Dailey said. Terence Bean, 51, of Paris, was the driver of the truck.

A police investigation is underway. As personal injury specialists, Peter Thompson & Associates has investigated hundreds of accidents. In almost all cases, the primary and secondary causes of collisions are disputed, resulting in the need for a comprehensive accident reconstruction. While police will often conduct an accident reconstruction, we find it frequently necessary to conduct more detailed investigations of accident scenes to determine who was at fault. Because important evidence that will be necessary to provide the most accurate investigation is often lost as time passes, it is critical that a comprehensive accident reconstruction occur as soon as possible and that all witnesses to the accident are interviewed to preserve their recollections.