Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

October 24, 2013

Bangor Child Safety an Important Focus of Halloween

Halloween is one of the most enjoyable times of the year for kids, but amid the fun of trick-or-treating and costumes, parents need to be aware of several safety issues. According to My FOX Maine, it’s best to warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering. Your best bet is to inspect the candy first, before handing it over to children.Our Bangor child injury attorneys understand that Halloween night is the most dangerous night out of the entire year for pedestrian injuries and fatalities. More children are killed on this night than any other. But luckily, there are things that parents and guardians can do to help reduce these risks. And it all starts out with a little planning. We’re asking parents and guardians to review the following safety tips and to share them with friends, family members and children to help ensure everyone makes it through All Hallow’s Eve unharmed.

The first thing you’re going to want to tackle before heading out the door is costume safety. Starting from head and heading to the toes, you want to make sure that your child’s costume does not consist of a mask. Masks can hinder children’s vision and can send them walking straight into danger. Consider using face paint instead. You also want to make sure that their costume is light in color and consists of reflective materials to help motorists to see them more easily. Costumes should also be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling. Comfortable shoes are ideal as it’s going to be a long night of candy-seeking adventures. Lastly, swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material. You don’t want any eye injuries.

October 16, 2013

Maine Work Accidents Claim 20 Lives in 2012

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Did you know that if you’re injured on the job, you’ve got 30 days to report it?sIf you don’t do so within this time frame, your claim will be barred. And the report shouldn’t include just work injuries, but should also include any kind of pain that you experience on the job, even if this pain doesn’t prevent you from completing work.According to newly-released preliminary statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 4,300 people who were killed on the job in the U. . in 2012. Although this is down from the 4,600 work-accident fatalities witnessed in the country in 2011, we still have a long way to go.

Our Bangor workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there were millions more who were injured on the job throughout the year. If you’re injured on the job, your employer may require you to see an occupational health doctor. After that, you have the right to see a doctor that you choose. After 7 days of missed work due to your work injury, you are entitled to receive weekly compensation benefits beginning on the eighth day. If you miss more than 2 weeks of work, you will then receive payment retroactive to the date of injury.

September 20, 2013

Drowsy Driving Causes Teen Rollover Accident on Snows Cove

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A Deer Isle teen escaped serious injury when her vehicle veered off the road and flipped over. According to BDN Maine, the 18-year-old driver was heading west on Snows Cove when the accident happened just before 2:00 a.m. Her vehicle went off the road, hit a tree and rollover over. Deputies report that the young driver fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle was deemed totaled.The truth of the matter is that teens and young adults have higher accident rates than any other age group of drivers. Traffic accidents continue to be the number one cause of death in this young age group. We not only have to worry about our teens driving drowsy because of a night on the town, but we also have to cautious of the long hours they’re putting in at work and school.

Our Bangor car accident lawyers understand that sleepiness while driving has become a serious problem and a major traffic hazard. Fatigue and sleepiness seriously impairs driver performance, creating a life threatening combination. Safety is more important than productivity or deadlines. You should never get behind the wheel if you’re feeling drowsy or fatigued. It’s a risk no one should be willing to take on.

August 25, 2013

Dangerous Baby Products Could be in Your Child’s Nursery

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Most parents spend a lot of time getting ready for their new baby to arrive – picking out just the right color of paint for the room, making sure there are enough bottles and burp clothes and buying toys that will be safe and mentally stimulating.The problem is that it seems sometimes, manufacturers don’t spend nearly as much time on safety. We assume that when we buy items for our babies that those products have been thoroughly tested and vetted. However, our Bangor child injury lawyers know that every single month, there is some new product finding its way onto the U. . Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list. Many times, those products are intended for or have been used by infants.

One of the most recent of those involves a Baby Einstein musical activity jumper model, of which nearly a half a million have been sold in the U. . alone. The problem with these toys is that one of the parts has the potential to spring back rather forcefully, causing impact trauma to babies and even adults whose faces are nearby.

There have so far been more than 100 reports of some type of incident involving this particular piece of the toy. Of those, there were more than 60 injuries. A lot of those were cuts and bruises, but there was at least one instance in which a young infant suffered a skull fracture. In another instance, an adult suffered a chipped tooth.

This was a product sold over the last three years at several major retailers, including Amazon.com, Target and Toys R Us.

We wish the concerns ended there. Just this summer, the CPSC has recalled a dozen infant and child products, for reasons ranging from choking hazards to failure to meet inflammability standards.

We encourage parents to regularly check the CPSC ‘s recall lists for products that might be in your child’s nursery or play room. To make it a little easier, in addition to the activity jumper, here is a list of some of the items recalled just these past three months:

Toysmith Toy Light-Up Frogs and Ducks, due to choking hazards. About 30,000 have been sold exclusively at World Market.
Far East Brokers Ladybug-themed kids’ outdoor furniture, due to violations of lead paint standards. About 14,000 have been sold under the Leisure Way brand.
Girls Autumn Run Girls Gemma II Boots, due to an exposed staple at the sole of the boot that could present a laceration hazard. About 5,000 have been sold at Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Nan Far Woodworking Round Cribs, due to entrapment, suffocation and fall hazards. The drop-side rail has the potential to fall out of position, causing an infant or toddler to become wedged or entrapped and possibly strangled. About 4,000 have been sold at JC Penney.
Infants’ First Impressions Varsity Jackets, due to choking hazards. The snaps off the jacket can reportedly pop off. Some 8,7000 have been sold at Macy’s.
Thermobaby bath seats recalled by SCS due to drowning hazards. The seats fail to meet federal standards for stability. About 7,500 have been sold on Amazon.com.
Jeep Liberty Strollers, produced by Kolcraft, due to projectile hazard. Some 96,000 have been sold in the U. .

August 20, 2013

Unnecessary Surgeries in Maine Can Lead to Major Complications

by Peter Thompson & Associates

At the age of 22, a semi-professional baseball player was told if he wanted to live to see 30, he would need to have a pacemaker installed.Such major heart surgery, as such a young age, startled the young player, who had initially sought treatment after a brief fainting spell. But he trusted the doctor.

The surgery ended his baseball career, but he considered a fair trade for having his life.

Only, as both he and our Maine medical malpractice lawyers now know, it wasn’t necessary at all. Soon after he had the surgery, local news outlets began reporting on the fact that the cardiologist he had trusted was being investigated by state health officials for performing unnecessary surgeries.

The former ball player sought numerous subsequent medical opinions. All now say blood pressure medication was in order – but not a pacemaker.

That surgeon is now in prison, following a federal criminal conviction for unnecessary Medicare billings for dozens of heart surgeries that it turns out weren’t necessary.

Sadly, this kind of occurrence is not rare. USA Today recently reviewed years’ worth of government records and medical databases and found tens of thousands of instances in which patients received unnecessary surgeries.

Such procedures are more than a nuisance. They put patients at risk of very real, long-term harm. No surgical procedure is without the risk of complications, and sometimes, those risks might even include death.

Further bolstering this claim is a recent scientific review of every issue of The New England Journal of Medicine from 2001 through 2010. Researchers discovered 363 studies that examined some type of clinical practice. Of those, 146 involved a drug or procedure that was found to be no better – or sometimes even worse – than one that had previously been used.

More than 40 percent of these established practices were found to be ineffective or even harmful. The effect of 22 percent was undetermined.

Those practices found to be among the most harmful:

Hormone therapy in post-menopausal women;
High-dose chemotherapy treatments;
Stem-cell transplants;
Expensive and complex treatments for breast cancer;
Glucose-lowering measures for Type 2 diabetes patients in intensive care.

USA Today reports that somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of all surgical procedures may be unnecessary. In the last eight years, some 1,000 physicians have paid on medical malpractice claims that specifically related to allegations of inappropriate or unnecessary medical procedures. Roughly 50 percent of those cases involved a serious or permanent injury or death. A fair portion involved multiple plaintiffs.

Those cases are only the ones that landed in court. They represent just a small portion of the total number of unnecessary procedures conducted.

Unfortunately, there is no federal or state agency that keeps track of unnecessary procedures, and many doctors never face consequences. This is despite the complications, which can include:

Infection;
Chronic pain;
Permanent disability;
Death.

August 1, 2013

Drunk Driving a Costly, Risky Chance in Maine

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A local man, who reportedly slammed into a parked vehicle, is now facing some serious charges. According to The Bangor Daily News, the accident happened on Broadway near the John Bapst Memorial High School just after midnight.When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, the driver was gone but they were able to find him shortly after, hiding under a porch on Penobscot Street. The porch he was hiding under was the porch of his own home. He has been charged with drunk driving as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

Our Portland drunk driving accident lawyers understand that there are thousands killed each and every year in the U. . in drunk driving crashes. These accidents are completely preventable, yet they continue to account for more than 30 percent of all of the traffic fatalities we observe each and every year.

It’s pretty black and white. In Maine, if you are driving a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or more, you are guilty of a criminal offense known as Operating Under the Influence (OUI), according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. If you’re under the age of 21, you are not allowed to have any alcohol in your system when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Officers practice a strict zero tolerance policy with this one.

And not only do you want to stay out from behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking because you could wind up in a potentially fatal accident, but you also run the risk of landing in jail with a charge that can cost you roughly $7,000.

According to MSN Money, the costs associated with this charge come from court fees and fines, OUI classes, driver’s license fees, attorney fees, increase insurance rates, ignition interlocks and various other costs.

It’s a headache you should just want to avoid. You’ll have to take days off of work to appear in court. You might end up serving jail time. You’ll have to dish out cash for the court’s time. You’ll have to take alcohol-related courses. You could get slapped with a costly ignition interlock. You could end up paying a lot to get your license reinstated. You’re going to have to pay more for car insurance because companies now see you as a risk.

Just for a first offense, you’re looking at 30 days behind bars, a license suspension for 90 days and a fine of $500. In addition to all of these costs, you could lose your job and even be skipped over for new job opportunities. A drunk driving conviction doesn’t look good on anyone’s record.

These are risks that anyone and everyone should want to avoid. Stay safe and stay sober behind the wheel to avoid a whole heap of problems this summer.

July 20, 2013

Maine Travel Safety: Tire Wear and Heat Increases Risk for Traffic Accidents

by Peter Thompson & Associates

The summer’s is at its peak, as is that heat as the Maine tourism season heads towards autumn. Tire safety will be particularly important through the remainder of the summer travel season, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Tire failure accounts for about 11,000 accidents each and every year. Some of the most common causes for these accidents are blowouts, tread separations, under-inflation and tread separation.Our Portland car accident lawyers understand that under-inflated tires not only increase your risks for an accident, but also hinder your fuel economy. When your tires are not properly inflated, you can lose more than 3 percent of your fuel money. But in addition to the risks affiliated with under-inflated tires, the heat is also causing some concern. As the temperatures rise, our risks for tire malfunctions increase as well.

Properly-maintained tires can help to improve your stopping distance, your traction and your steering and control of your vehicle.

Here are some simple safety tips to make sure you’re on the right road:

-Make sure you know the recommendations for tire pressure in pounds-per-square-inch (PSI). This information can be found inside the door of your vehicle or inside the owner’s manual.

-Consider keeping a tire gauge in your vehicle. You can lose tire pressure in your vehicle each month. You want to make sure you’re checking your tire pressure at least once a month.

-If your vehicle has a monitoring system that shows up on your dashboard, you should give it immediate attention once it’s activated.

-Check the owner’s manual to see the recommended amount of time for tire replacement. Some should be replaced every 6 years, while others require replacement every 10 years. Some tires may need replaced every 18 to 24 months, depending on wear.

-Keep an eye out for treadwear indicators. These are raised sections spaced throughout the bottom of the tread grooves. When you see them, it’s time to replace your tires.

-Give the penny test a whirl. What you do here is put a penny in the tread of your tires with Mr. President’s head upside down. If you’re able to see the top of his head, you should go get some new tires. They’re too worn and they could present some serious problems.

-Be aware of tires on vehicles with occasional use – like recreation vehicles, collector cars, community vehicles, and 15-passenger vans – as they are also susceptible to tire aging.

-Remember that more vehicles experience tire problems when driven under adverse roadway conditions (wet roads, roads underwater, slick roads).

By following these simple tips, you can prevent a potentially fatal and costly accident during your summer travels. Be ready, be prepared and be proactive.

July 15, 2013

Remember to Watch for Bicyclists Throughout The Summer

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A 23-year-old rider was hit and killed in Maine recently. It wasn’t just any ordinary ride either. It was a part of the American Lung Association’s Trek Across Maine — a 180-mile bike tour, according to the Boston Globe.According to Maine State Police, the rider was biking down Route 2 just before 9:00 a.m. when a passing tractor-trailer struck him. According to accident reports, the truck didn’t even stop after the collision.

Our Portland bicycle accident lawyers understand that this trek across Maine is very important to a lot of people. The “trekkers” are required to raise $500 in order to ride, and that’s money raised for a good cause. And bicycle safety is also important to many others.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of work to do in helping to keep these riders safe. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 1,000 bicyclists killed on America’s roadways in 2011. These fatalities accounted for about 2 percent of all traffic fatalities for the year. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s more serious that you might think.

In addition to all of the bicyclists killed, there were another 50,000 who were injured. And many of these accidents could have been prevented with a little more awareness.

The truth of the matter is that bicycling is not only a popular form of transportation for residents and visitors throughout the area, but it is also a recreational and fitness activity enjoyed by those of all ages — with close to 90 million adults and children riding their bikes every year. Bicycling enhances your physical health, mental outlook and overall quality of life.

Luckily, officials with the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) are here with some important bicycling safety tips to help to make sure that everyone gets to where they’ve got to be safely.

Simple Safety Tips:

-Whenever you go out riding, make sure you’re wearing a helmet. A helmet is your best bet against injury and death in the event of an accident.

-Always obey the laws of the road. You have to follow these laws, too.

-Ride with traffic (in the same direction as it). Use a bike path whenever there is one available.

-Keep an eye on your bicycle with routine checks and inspections. Maintenance is a good way to avoid a potentially dangerous bicycling mishap.

-Stay visible. Wear bright and reflective clothing to help ensure that motorists see you.

-Keep an eye out for road hazards. You can avoid dangers and risks by staying aware of your surroundings at all times.

-Never overload your bicycle. When carrying items with you, use a backpack, a secure rack on the back of your bike or safe bike bags.

-Be sure to signal all stop and turns.

-Be ready to ride in all conditions.

July 1, 2013

Fourth of July Accident Risks in Portland

by Peter Thompson & Associates

SAFE KIDS Maine warns that celebrators (of all ages) are at some serious risks for burn, cut and other serious injuries through the Fourth of July holiday.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are 200 a day (on average) who are sent to the E.R. because of a firework-related accident in the month that surrounds the Fourth of July. That’s about 90 percent of all of the fireworks accidents we saw in 2012. Homemade and illegal fireworks were involved in all 6 firework-related fatalities during the year.

Our Portland personal injury lawyers understand that the hands and fingers are the most commonly injured body parts in these kinds of accidents. But the truth of the matter is that there’s a lot more to risk during this time of the year. Following hands and fingers, heads, faces and ears are the second most common body parts to be injured in firework accidents, following by the trunk. In these accidents, more than half were burns.

Injuries by Fireworks Type:

-Unspecified – 25 percent.

-Firecrackers, 23 percent.

-Bottle Rockets: 12 percent.

-Sparklers – 12 percent.

-Reloadable Shells: 9 percent.

-Novelties: 5 percent.

-Roman Candles: 4 percent.

-Multiple Tubes: 3 percent.

-Fountains: 2 percent.

-Public Displays: 2 percent.

According to the CPSC, those between the ages of 25 and 34 are the most likely to be injured in these kinds of accidents. Men are more likely to be injured than woman.

Males were most injured from firecrackers, roman candles, reloadable shells, sparklers, novelty devices and rockets while women were most injured at public fireworks displays. Men account for about 75 percent of all firework-related injuries while women only account for 25 percent.

Before planning for your Fourth of July celebration, you want to make sure that fireworks are legal in your area. You should also keep them away from children and only use them one at a time. Any kind of altered firework can serve up some serious risks for an accident, so make sure you read the instructions and the warning labels before use.

You’re also asked to be extremely cautious on our roadways over the holiday period. Fourth of July continues to rank more deadly than any other holiday throughout the year. With the increase in travel, your risks for an accident skyrocket.

It is usually the day of cookouts and fireworks, but the fourth of July is also the day that close to 135 people die on the roads each year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

That’s why, in addition to firework safety, our personal injury attorneys are stressing that motorists buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention behind the wheel and be sure to plan ahead for a sober ride for the holiday.

We wish you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.

June 28, 2013

Traffic Death Toll Rises Nationwide, NHTSA Reports

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Initial statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are that the number of traffic deaths in the U. . has risen by nearly 5.5 percent just in the last year.Unfortunately, that trend doesn’t seem as if it will be abating anytime soon.

SerioussBangor car accidents have so far been plentiful this summer.

A two-car crash around 7:45 a.m. on a Friday on Norridgewock Road resulted in injuries so severe that one woman had to be airlifted by helicopter to the nearest hospital. According to investigators, a 19-year-old female drove directly into the path of a 28-year-old female, with two young children in the vehicle with her, while traveling 55 miles-per-hour. The 19-year-old was listed in critical but stable condition.

Earlier that same day, a tractor trailer crash resulted in the death of a 23-year-old bicyclist.

The day before, a man was killed in a single-car Trenton crash after losing control of his vehicle around a sharp turn, running off the road and slamming into several sizable trees.

And in Augusta, two people were killed when a truck, driven by a Chinese national, crossed the center line and struck a vehicle in oncoming traffic. Both drivers were pronounced dead.

All of this was within a matter of just a couple days. When you start to analyze these figures, those statistics seem to hit the mark, and drive home the point: It’s getting more dangerous out there.

The NHTSA reports that there were 32,267 people who lost their lives in traffic fatalities in 2011. Initial reports from 2012 are that 34,080 people have been killed in motor vehicle crashes. If this figure holds true when the final counts are in, it will be the first annual increase in traffic fatalities this country has seen since 2004-2005. Since that year, it’s dropped about 25 percent.

The figures seem to suggest that we saw an especially dramatic spike of fatal crashes in the first quarter of last year – a 12.6 percent increase. An uptick that high hasn’t been reported since the late 1970s.

Part of the reason we’re seeing these figures climb is that more people are driving than in recent years. We saw a 0.3 percent increase in the number of vehicle miles traveled, which amounted to a total of more than 9 billion last year. That’s a direct result of a steadily improving economy. More people have jobs to drive to and from, more people can afford gas and cars, more people are ordering products and services delivered by truckers and people are more apt to take road trips and vacations than they were before.

Still, this does not give license to people to drive carelessly or under the influence or while negligently fatigued. These remain the top reasons for fatal traffic collisions, and they are all 100 percent preventable.