Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

September 20, 2016

Man Crashes Car in Maine While Arguing With His Girlfriend

Authorities say two people were injured in a Maine car accident that occurred in Harpswell while the pair were engaged in a heated argument with each other.

The Portland Press reported first responders were called to the 1300 block of Harpswell Neck Road on a recent Thursday evening, where they found a Nissan car that had veered off the road and struck a tree. The vehicle was totaled. The driver, a 26-year-old man from Milton, Mass., was reportedly fighting with his 20-year-old girlfriend/passenger, from Brunswick, as he traveled at a high rate of speed. Investigators say he suffered serious leg injuries and was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland. His passenger, who suffered minor injuries, was transported to Brunswick’s Mid Coast Hospital, where she was treated and released.

The incident serves as a reminder of one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving: Arguing with your passenger. Some research suggests this practice is even more dangerous than talking on the phone or possibly even texting. As the Washington Post recently reported on federal data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, passengers pose a greater risk of distraction than cell phones. Conversations with passengers were reportedly responsible for 57 percent of distracted driving accidents, while phone use only accounted for 12 percent. Continue reading

September 12, 2016

How Social Media Can Sour Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Globally, we have become reliant on social media platforms. They are a source of fulfillment on many fronts, keeping us connected, informed and entertained. But they are increasingly being used for another purpose: Evidence.

This is true of course for law enforcement, combing for evidence of threats or probation violations or gang activity. However, they are also used in personal injury lawsuits, which is why it has become more and more prevalent to our practice.

On one hand, social media can be a benefit. For example, let’s say an at-fault truck driver was believed to have been playing around on Snapchat, got distracted and caused the crash. That digital evidence can be used to our client’s advantage to prove not only negligence, but perhaps gross negligence warranting punitive damages. On the other hand, social media has become something of a burden as well because defendants – particularly insurance companies – comb these platforms for any evidence that might help them dispute causation or the extent of damages. Continue reading

September 1, 2016

Maine Woman Sues New Hampshire Company for Food Poisoning That Sickened Child

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A woman from York County, Maine is suing a beef manufacturer headquartered in New Hampshire following an outbreak of E. coli that made her 9-year-old son so sick he had to be hospitalized.

According to a report from SeaCoastOnline.com, plaintiff purchased the meat at a store in Kittery, and she prepared it for her son one day in June. Within five days, the boy began to experience a severe reaction that included vomiting, fever and diarrhea. These are typical symptoms of the food poisoning caused by an E. coli infection. The boy was rushed to a local hospital in York before being transferred for more intensive treatment at the Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts.

The boy was one of more than a dozen people sickened by the outbreak tied to this particular farm, with other cases cropping up across Maine, as well as in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. It was ultimately the U.S.D.A.’s Food Safety Inspection Service, alongside the Department of Health in New Hampshire, that traced the outbreak not just to this one farm but to a specific slaughter date. This prompted the farm to recall some 8,800 pounds of raw beef products that were deemed potentially contaminated. Continue reading

August 30, 2016

Kay v. Wiggins – Maine Wrongful Death Lawsuit Barred by Workers’ Compensation Exclusivity

by Peter Thompson & Associates

In most situations wherein someone’s injury or death is caused by the negligence of another, a civil lawsuit may be in order. However, if the injured party was working or acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident, the case could become more complicated.

Workers’ compensation laws in Maine contain something known as an exclusive remedy provision. This means that the only remedy one has against his or her own employer for work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses is workers’ compensation, which typically covers medical bills and a portion of lost wages, but nothing else. There can sometimes be grounds for a third-party lawsuit against others aside from the employer. There are also situations in which entities wrongly label themselves as “employers” when in fact they are not, in which case litigation is still appropriate.

These are matters that must be handled by an experienced Portland injury lawyer. Continue reading

August 20, 2016

Maine Woman Arrested for Hitting Pedestrians Playing Pokemon Go

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Police say a Bangor pedestrian accident that resulted in injuries may have been intentional. What will that mean as far as auto insurance coverage for the injured?

According to The Bangor Daily News, a woman from Brewer may have intentionally rammed her car into a pedestrian who was playing the now-popular Pokemon Go game near the U.S. Post Office downtown – a so-called “Pokestop” – on a recent Sunday night.

Witnesses say a 37-year-old man from Bangor was injured while in the Franklin and Hammond Street crosswalk. Authorities allege a 36-year-old woman struck the man and then took off. The victim was reportedly playing the game on his phone with a group of friends just before he was struck by the woman in the vehicle. Continue reading

July 31, 2016

Estate of Smith v. Salvesen – Maine Court Rules Against Widow in Fatal Fall Lawsuit

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Property owners owe a duty to guests to ensure they are not confronted with unreasonable risks and hazards that may jeopardize their safety. Depending on the role of the guest (i.e., a social visitor, a business invitee or a trespasser), the duty of care owed by the property owner will vary.

Recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court – the highest in the state – handed down a ruling on a premises liability lawsuit that underscores the importance of expert witness testimony in some of these cases.

The case of Estate of Smith v. Salvesen is a tragic one. Plaintiff and his wife were in town as guests at a reception held at a local college for which they were benefactors. The pair stayed at a local inn. They were told their suite was on the second floor, but they did not realize it was actually a two-story suit, equipped with stairs in the bedroom that led to the lower level. Continue reading

July 10, 2016

Maine Mother’s Tireless Fight Against Tired Trucking Marches On

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Almost 23 years have passed since Daphne Izner’s 17-year-old son and three of his friends, parked in the breakdown lane of the Maine Turnpike when their car overheated, were struck and instantly killed by a tired trucker. Despite causing four deaths, the truck driver was never charged with manslaughter. Drowsy driving wasn’t – and still isn’t – punishable by law in Maine. (The driver did ultimately serve three months in jail for falsely logging his work hours, a major problem in the Maine trucking industry.) Last year, HB 683, which would have made it a crime to operate a vehicle after 24 consecutive hours without sleep or while the person’s ability or alertness is so impaired by fatigue that it’s unsafe, failed in the state senate.

Nonetheless, Izner has not given up her 23-year fight to make Maine’s roads safer. A year after their son died, Izner and her husband founded Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT) which has been a force for change on Maine’s roads.

In 2002, PATT became the Truck Safety Coalition after joining forces with Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways. But for all the progress she and other safe trucking advocates have made, there are those in Congress who are still actively working to peel back federal safety regulations for the trucking industry. Specifically, the hours of service regulations for truckers is one that lobbyists have been working to scale back. Safety advocates like Izner aren’t giving up. They know how much is at stake. Continue reading

June 30, 2016

Estate of Summers v. Nisbet – Maine High Court Restores Widow’s Priority in Fire Death Lawsuit

by Peter Thompson & Associates

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has addressed a blind spot in case law regarding which victims may claim a defendant’s money and assets in a case involving multiple individuals who are equally harmed.

The case of Estate of Summers v. Nisbet stems from the deadliest fire in Maine in over 40 years. The blaze broke out in a two-unit home in 2014 in Portland. Six people were killed.

In the aftermath, it was alleged the landlord was negligent in maintaining the property in safe condition, which played a central role in the fire. Soon after, families began filing wrongful death lawsuits against the landlord, who also faces six criminal counts of manslaughter.

The family of one man, Steven Summers, was the first to file a claim for damages in court. However, his widow, as personal representative of his estate, did so by filing what is known as an ex parte attachment. It is a claim that is not made public until after the defendant – here, the landlord – goes through a process of challenging that attachment. It’s a secretive process intended to block a defendant’s assets without warning, to prevent the defendant from concealing property or money to avoid having to part with it to satisfy the judgment. Continue reading

June 25, 2016

Maine Leaders Struggle to Address Drug-Impaired Driving

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Drunk driving in Maine is a serious problem that claims innocent lives year after year. A number of initiatives have been taken in recent years with the goal of reducing these tragedies, including tougher penalties on impaired drivers.

But much of this focus has glossed over drug-impaired driving, which has become a growing threat as we are realizing a heroin epidemic and are considering the legalization of recreational marijuana.

This issue was raised recently at a Portland summit that involved police, prosecutors, traffic safety experts and others – many of whom argued that greater education is going to be essential. Continue reading

June 10, 2016

Police: Teen Driver in Fatal Maine Crash Was Speeding

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A driver behind the wheel in a car crash that left one person dead and three seriously injured was reportedly traveling at nearly twice the speed limit, police say.

Speeding, of course, is one of the most prevalent contributing factors in auto accidents, with the National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reporting the average annual cost of speed-related crashes nationally is more than $40 billion.

Bangor Daily News staffers recently combed through law enforcement analysis of the May 14th crash in Belfast involving a 19-year-old driver and her four young passengers. Continue reading