Maine Injury Lawyer BlogUntil recently, auto and other liability insurance companies in Maine were not required to disclose the amount of insurance carried by their insureds, even when they were clearly at fault for an accident. This gave the insurance companies an advantage in settlement negotiations and in determining how long a case took to settle. Fortunately, the Maine legislature corrected this obvious inequity and granted injured persons the right to the insurance coverage information. (M.R. .A 24A -§2164-E.) If the insurance companies do not disclose the information within 60 days of a written request, you are entitled to a $500 fine from them. Many insurance companies are not yet aware of the change in the law and the team at Peter Thompson & Associates has successfully collected several $500 fines for our clients. If you have questions about your rights when dealing with insurance companies, contact us at 1-800-917-1784 or read more on our website, www.Peter-Thompson-Associates.com, on our car accident practice page.
Articles Posted in Personal Injury
Serious injuries resulting from 4 car crash in York
November 12, 2009: A four-car accident on Route 1 Thursday afternoon resulted in multiple injuries and heavy damage to the vehicles involved. A 2008 Volvo station wagon driven by James W. Stott II, 55, of Cape Neddick, was traveling northbound on Route 1 when he struck a southbound 2008 Dodge Durango driven by 38-year-old Erin Latulippe of Ogunquit, who had two young children. Police said the force of the impact sent the Durango careening into a 2007 Kia Sedona van driven by Kelly M. Moulton, 42, of Cape Neddick, who had a 6-year-old child in her vehicle. Following that collision, the Volvo collided with a 2000 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Bryan J. Learned, 24, of Wells, which also rolled over.
The cause of this accident is under investigation. As personal injury specialists, Peter Thompson & Associates has investigated hundreds of multi-car 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, among the various vehicles involved, 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.
Thomaston crash leaves 3 Rockland residents injured
Timothy Benner, 42, of Rockland was driving his 1998 Mercedes Benz west on Route 1 when his vehicle collided with a 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by David Cowan, 55, of Rockland.
Both drivers and a passenger in Benner’s car, Donna Cox, 32, of Rockland, were injured in the collision. The cause of the accident is being investigated. Anyone with additional information about the accident should contact Attorney Peter Thompson at 1-800-804-2004.
Head-on collision on Route 15 in Brooklin leaves 5 injured
Diana Dowse, 59, of Brooklin was headed south on Route 175 about a mile south of the High Street intersection at about 4:25 p.m. when her vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck operated by Timothy Sawyer, 42, of Brooklin.
Dowse was taken by ambulance to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth.
Sawyer and three passengers in his vehicle, Caleb, Timothy and Ethan Sawyer were taken to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Head on crash in Freeport leaves one driver severely injured
Wednesday, September 16, 2009:sA two-car, head-on collision occurred on Route 1 in Freeport near the Exit 24 ramp that provides access to Interstate 295. Police said the cars were traveling in opposite directions at the time of the accident, which took place around 3:45 p.m.
Police said one of the drivers was treated at the scene and released, but the second driver had to be transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland with injuries that are not considered life threatening.
The cause of the accident has not yet been released. Anyone with information about this accident should contact Attorney Peter Thompson at 1-800-804-2004.
Collision in Downtown Norridgewock Leaves Driver Seriously Injured
Christopher Breingan of Norridgewock was seriously injured Wednesday in an early morning collision with a tractor-trailer, the Morning Sentinel reported on September 10th. Mr. Breingan, 25, suffered head and hip injuries after being pinned inside his 1987 Chevrolet pickup truck.
The accident happened at around 3:30 a.m. at the intersection of Main Street, Perkins Street and Bridge Street, on U. . Route 2. A Kenworth tractor-trailer owned by Tremblay & Levesque Inc., driven by William Spencer, 67, of Howland, slammed into Mr. Breingan’s pickup truck on the driver’s side as the truck was proceeding through the intersection toward Perkins Street. Breingan was trapped inside the truck, and was rescued by members of the Norridgewock Fire Department using hydraulic cutting tools.
The pickup truck was totaled and tractor-trailer had approximately $10,000 in damage, according to police. Breingan was taken by helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. There is still no word on his condition.
Truck Plunges offsMonmouth Bridge in Near Collision
Andrew St. Laurent was driving with Randall Black when Black’s truck plunged off a one-lane bridge in Monmouth and into an Annabessacook Lake tributary, the Kennebec Journal reported on September 2nd.
The crash occurred around 3:30 p.m. when Black’s Pat Jackson Inc. septic truck hit a flatbed truck being driven by 74 year-old Perry Malcolm. Black says he was unable to stop, and drove his truck to the right, through the guard rail and off the bridge to avoid a head-on collision. St. Laurent, whose son will marry Black’s daughter in a few weeks, reached across the top of the cab to hold Black’s head above water until rescuers could free both men.
St. Laurent was checked at the scene, but Black was rushed by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. He suffered no broken bones, but his kidneys may have been damaged when he was crushed between the truck and guard rail. He is scheduled for medical tests to see how badly he was hurt.
Route 17 accident in Dixfield leaves one person dead
One person is dead in Franklin County after a serious accident involving a tractor-trailer, a sedan and a pickup truck.
It happened on U. . Route 2 Thursday afternoon. Route 2 is shut down from the Route 17 intersection in Dixfield to Morrison Hill Road in Carthage.
Investigators say a person in the sedan was dead at the scene. Four people in the pickup truck were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.
Hannah Clifford, 9, and several others suffer serious injuries in Brooks, Maine, crash
Sheriff’s deputies and rescue personnel were credited with saving the life of a young girl after they lifted her mother’s wrecked van from atop her after a two-vehicle crash Sunday night.
Hannah Clifford, 9, of Brooks was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with serious injuries after the van she was riding in with her mother and three siblings was hit broadside by a pickup truck that apparently ran a stop sign.
According to news reports, the accident occurred at 7:58 p.m. at the intersection of Route 139 and Bog Road. A pickup truck driven by John Pellitier, 21, of Unity was reported to have ran the Bog Road stop sign and struck the passenger side of a van driven by Andrea Clifford, 40, of Brooks.
Parents of Crash Victim Sue Bars That Served Him
The parents of a man who suffered extensive injuries in a car crash are suing the bars that served him alcohol, the Kennebec Journal reported on August 22nd. On the night of January 31, 2008, Paul D. Hinerman went drinking with a friend at Mainely Brews & Tavern, the Midnight Blues Club and Cellar Door, and The Chez. According to reports, Waterville police Officer Matthew McNutt saw the pickup shortly after midnight as Hinerman raced past the station on Front Street. Moments later, the vehicle crashed at Front Street and College Avenue, rolled over and trapped Hinerman underneath.
As a result of his injuries, Hinerman, 30, who had been a high school varsity athlete, was forced to spend months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. According to the lawsuit, he now “has the mental capacity of a child with nearly complete short-term memory loss, speech impairment and loss of mobility and function.”sHe was discharged from the hospital in May 2008 with medical bills in excess of $400,000, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit charges the bars with recklessness in serving Hinerman, “given his visible and observable intoxication and in conscious disregard of the obvious and substantial risk that serving liquor would cause physical harm.”sNot surprisingly, the bars have responded that in fact their serving practices are responsible and it is unfair for them to be held liable for a customer’s own recklessness.