Bangor car accident lawyer

December 14, 2017

Black Ice Blamed in Numerous Maine Car Accidents Recently

Black ice on the roads was cited as a factor in a number of central Maine car accidents recently, though thankfully, no serious personal injuries were reported. In a single icy morning, the dispatch center for Kennebec County and Somerset County reported 85 reports of crashes and cars that had veered off the roadway. Calls started around 3:30 a.m., and within the hour, authorities on site were informing dispatch and other emergency responders about the perilous black ice that coated Interstate 95 and surrounding areas. One official was quoted as saying the interstate “looks like a skating rink.” Officials did choose to close the Messalonskee Bridge for a time after four crashes happened back-to-back, as reported by CentralMaine.com.

Although weather certainly can be a factor in any car accident, it’s important to point out that even the worst road conditions do not relieve motorists of their duty of care to use reasonable caution in their operation of a motor vehicle. That means exercising constant vigilance when conditions are right for hazards like black ice. It means slowing to a safer speed and avoiding distractions and maintaining a safe distance from the vehicles ahead of you. Failure to do so can be grounds to assert negligence when it results in a collision.

What is Black Ice?

January 16, 2017

States Backtrack on Senior Driving Laws as Population Ages

by Peter Thompson & Associates

There are many challenges drivers face as they age. Vision deteriorates and reflexes dull. That’s why many states – including Maine – have provisions in place requiring senior drivers to undergo additional testing and in-person renewals.

The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles is one of the more stringent. Drivers are first required to undergo a vision test at age 40 in order to renew their license. Drivers older than 65 have to renew their state-issued licenses every four years, as opposed to every six years, as younger drivers do. Drivers 62 and older are required to undergo a vision test every second renewal. The bureau also accepts requests from anyone with personal knowledge of a driver who may pose a safety concern to others. Road tests may be required if the bureau has reason to believe the driver may be unfit. Bureau personnel have the authority to restrict the driver’s licenses of elder drivers to prevent them from driving when it’s dark or only allow driving within a certain area.

As the population ages (the U.S. Census opines the percentage of the over-65 population will more than double by 2050), states are not rushing to impose additional regulations. In fact, some state legislatures have actually been actively rejecting these measures, according to a recent report published by the Portland Press-Herald. In fact, while 60 million older adults are expected to be on the nation’s roadways by 2030, some legislators are taking the position that licenses should not be restricted solely on the basis of age.

October 17, 2016

Graf v. State Farm – Maine Auto Insurance Dispute Weighed by State High Court

by Peter Thompson & Associates

In Maine, motorists are required to maintain minimum limits of uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) benefits. These help make up the difference in costs if you are injured by the negligence of another driver who doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your losses. It can also be applied if you are struck by a vehicle, such as a bicyclist/pedestrian/skateboarder, are injured in a hit-and-run or are run off the road by a “phantom” vehicle. The minimum amount of coverage is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash.

But even when drivers maintain their benefits, they may still find that insurers are reluctant to pay these costs. Injured parties may need to take their claim to a judge to collect.

That was the situation in the recent Maine Supreme Judicial Court case of Graf v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. According to court records, plaintiff was injured in a Maine auto accident when she was rear-ended by an underinsured motorist. All parties agree the crash was entirely the fault of the other driver, who at the time had a liability motorist policy worth a (statutorily legal) $50,000. Plaintiff claimed UM/UIM coverage and medical payments under two State Farm insurance policies. 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

May 16, 2016

Maine Distracted Driving Crash Losses Reverberate for Years

by Peter Thompson & Associates

It’s been 10 years since Judy Bouchard’s daughter died on I-295 while en route to work from her home. The University of New England graduate was working as a teacher of students with autism.

Heather Dawn Bouchard’s phone buzzed. She took the call. It was a client. But she dropped the phone mid-conversation. She unbuckled her seat belt to reach down for it. It was the last thing she ever did. The car crossed over into the median and slammed into a van driven by a local television crew. Heather was ejected from her car and died soon after. Although she was an organ donor, her body had sustained such trauma that none of her organs were fit for use. She was just 24 years-old. The two TV crew members in the van suffered injuries, but survived.

Recently, her mother stood before a group of students at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. She told them of her heartache that cell phone distraction has caused their family. What the world lost that day. How her daughter would never have driven while on the phone if she knew how greatly her family would suffer for it.

“She didn’t think it could happen to her,” Bouchard told the group gathered at the safety symposium. Continue reading

March 31, 2016

$124M Car Accident Injury Judgement for Defective Audi Seats

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A defective auto part cost a young boy his bright future, prompting the Texas jury deciding his car accident injury lawsuit to award $124 million in damages to his family.

The 7-year-old suffered severe and irreversible brain damage, as well as blindness and partial paralysis as a result of the rear-end collision. The boy was seated in the backseat, behind his father, who was driving. His father had stopped for a school bus. The car behind him failed to stop.

But while the boy’s younger brother, who was seated next to him in the back, emerged from the crash relatively unscathed, this young man suffered severe injuries. That’s because upon impact, the father’s seat collapsed backward, causing the father’s head to collide with son’s at high force. The result was that the boy almost died. Continue reading

January 5, 2016

Holiday Hayride Accident Injures 7, One Woman Critically

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A man driving a car on a rural road in Waterville was reportedly blinded by bright sun when he rear-ended a horse-drawn hayride recently, injuring seven people – one critically.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the collision happened on Christmas Day when the operators, S&S Carriage Rides, were offering rides to volunteers and guests of the Waterville Elks Lodge.

The force of impact was such that a 56-year-old woman was knocked off the back of the wagon and onto the road, where she was then run over by the car. The seat in which the 42-year-old wagon operator was sitting was broken, though the horses were not hurt. The 73-year-old car driver wasn’t hurt. Seven people in total were taken to the hospital, though the 56-year-old woman had to be flown by helicopter to a health care facility in Portland. Continue reading

December 16, 2014

Distracted Driving and Holiday Traffic: A Deadly Combination

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Five people were hospitalized and a sixth injured following Maine car accident recently when the driver of a truck, apparently distracted, rear-ended the truck ahead of it, causing it to be pushed into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a sport utility vehicle head-on. The driver of the second truck was trapped inside and had to be extracted by firefighters.

None of the injuries are classified as life-threatening, though it’s not yet clear whether the injuries sustained will be debilitating.

Authorities haven’t given great detail about the at-fault drivers actions in the moments before the wreck, but they have said he was “momentarily distracted” just before impact.

August 25, 2014

“Multiple Occurrences” in Maine Auto Insurance Coverage

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Police in Augusta responded to a multi-vehicle pile-up in both the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 95, caused initially by one 20-year-old driver who failed to slow down in time to avoid a collision with a tractor-trailer ahead. This set off a chain reaction of events, which included several vehicles slamming into the wreckage. One of those vehicles contained a loaded gun. When that vehicle caught fire, a gun inside exploded, causing 40 bullets to explode within a 10-minute time period.

The crash resulted in numerous injuries, and a mass of mangled metal that closed the interstate for hours while authorities worked to aid the injured and clear debris. Authorities were still investigating, but anticipate filing charges in relation to the crash.

Undoubtedly, the incident will also give way to a flurry of auto insurance claims, and potentially some civil lawsuits if those agencies aren’t forthcoming in paying those claims. Our Bangor car accident lawyers recognize that one of the elements that can complicate situations like this is the question of singular versus multiple occurrences.

July 17, 2014

Bangor Injury Lawyers Must Often Fight for Uninsured Motorist Coverage

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A Bangor man is facing numerous charges following a hit-and-run crash that occurred late one recent weeknight.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the 32-year-old crashed into a moving van that was parked on Ohio Street. Inside the van, a passenger was injured. By the time police arrived, the at-fault driver had fled. Police then received a tip from a caller who said a man she knew was at her door, covered in blood. He had been drinking alcohol, and she had warned him earlier not to drive. He matched the physical description of the driver who fled. Officers arrived, and the man ran away on foot, but was caught soon after.

Bangor hit-and-run accident attorneys know the plaintiff in this case was fortunate that police were able to catch the man, and further that he was tracked while there was still alcohol in his system. This will allow prosecutors in the criminal matter to make a strong case for OUI, as well as leaving the scene of a personal injury crash.