Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle while crossing Boonsboro Road near the James River Day School on Monday night. No other information has been released about this incident.

Our firm, Peter Thompson & Associates, successfully tried a case similar to this involving a driver who claimed he was unable to avoid the collision. The critical issue in that case was whether the driver was paying sufficient attention immediately before the collision. Our expert constructed a time and distance model showing that a driver paying attention to the road would have seen our client if he was paying proper attention.

A trailer-truck hauling wood chips and a pickup truck crashed and burst into flames on Route 26 early Monday evening. The crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m. near 122 Bethel Road near the Chowder House Restaurant. Police reports indicate that both trucks appeared to be headed north on a straightaway when the accident occurred near J & K Sporting Goods. A third vehicle was also involved. Maine State Police Sgt. Don Shead was heading up the investigation.

At this time, there is limited information on the cause of the crash. At Peter Thompson & Associates, we have investigated thousands of car crashes utilizing the very best experts in the field. It will be critical to conduct a timely investigation to preserve evidence at the accident scene and to record witness recollections of the events. Often skid marks and debris left from the vehicles will indicate not only the speed of the vehicles prior to impact, but the direction the vehicles were headed relative to each other.

November 13, 2009: A crash claimed the lives of three people Friday afternoon when a pickup truck collided head-on with a pulp truck and caught fire.

Because there is likely to be a dispute over how the accident occurred, it will be critical to conduct a detailed and thorough accident reconstruction and interview any witnesses, including the driver at the truck who also sustained injuries. At Peter Thompson & Associates, we utilize the very best accident reconstructionists to determine how and why accidents occurred. Field analysis of skid marks immediately prior to the collision is an excellent indicator of the positioning of the vehicles in the road and the speed of the vehicles prior to impact. The nature and extent of the damage to the vehicles is also an excellent way to determine speed, as well as the position of the vehicles in the roadway and in relation to each other at the point of impact. Because critical evidence necessary to perform such an investigation is often lost as time passes, it will be necessary in this case to begin the investigatory process as soon as possible.

Stephen Bowers, 24, of Bangor, suffered life-threatening injuries during an afternoon crash on High Street between Hammond Street and Union Street in downtown Bangor. Bowers was a passenger in a Cadillac driven by James Blakeman, 23, who died at the scene.

In this type of serious case, it is critical to conduct an accident reconstruction as soon as possible to preserve necessary evidence. For example, one of the best ways to determine whether speed was a factor in the accident is to examine and measure skid marks. Skid marks become markedly less visible as time passes, particularly if snow falls and the road is plowed. In addition, the damage to the vehicle is an excellent indicator of the speed of the vehicle immediately prior to impact, so it will be important to preserve the vehicle. At Peter Thompson & Associates, we have investigated hundreds of serious collisions and had the very best accident reconstructionists in the field determine how and why an accident occurred.

November 14, 2009: Forest Dale, Sr., 46, of Steuben was killed Saturday morning when he was crushed between the cab and the dump body of his delivery truck.

Dale was delivering a load of firewood to a home in Cherryfield about 11 a.m. when the accident occurred, according to Sgt. Timothy Tabbutt of the Washington County Sheriff's Department.

In the process of attempting to raise the dump body on his 1-ton flatbed, Dale's truck broke through an abandoned underground tank, Tabbutt said. The truck fell through all the way to its frame.

Dale, who had climbed under his truck to release the piston to dump the load of firewood, was caught between the cab and dump body when the truck fell and he was crushed.

The personal representative of Mr. Dale's estate should be able to collect compensation from the property owner's homeowner insurance. At Peter Thompson & Associates, we specialize in obtaining insurance coverage in complex cases such as this. We have successfully represented many victims of serious injuries caused by dangerous conditions on property. It will be necessary, as in the vast majority of the other cases we have handled, to investigate the exact circumstances that resulted in Mr. Dale's death. In order to preserve necessary evidence, it is highly recommended that this investigation occur as soon as possible and not be left to the property owner's insurance company.

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.

November 4, 2009: Shane Everett was walking on Hunter Road when he was hit by John Fortier of Lewiston. Mr. Fortier has been charged with OUI. The boy was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he remained in critical condition late Thursday night, a nursing supervisor said.

At Peter Thompson & Associates, our personal injury law specialists and private investigators have handled similar cases. In this case, it is likely that the driver will claim that, despite his level of intoxication, he could not have avoided the collision with the boy because of the lighting conditions and the color of the boy's clothes. It will be necessary, as in past cases we have handled, to establish that the delayed reaction time by the driver due to his intoxication was the cause of the accident. Our legal team has employed experts in the effects of intoxication on reaction time and have successfully established that accidents could have easily been avoided but for the driver's impaired reaction time. We have also conducted simulations under near-idential conditions to show how even small fractions of time can mean the difference between whether it was possible to avoid hitting a pedestrian walking along the side of the road. These simulations have involved, among other things, placing a video camera in a vehicle operating in the same direction as the drunk driver at the lawful speed and having someone walk along the same side of the road in the same type of clothes that our client was wearing at the time of the collision. This type of visual information is extremely persuasive in establishing that the collision could have been avoided.

We also look at whether the driver of vehicle was operating his vehicle above the speed limit. It is possible by looking at scuff marks in the road in relation to where the pedestrian ultimately landed and other physical evidence at the accident scene, including any damage to the vehicle, to determine the speed of the vehicle immediately prior to the collision. Witness statements, if any, are also critical to determining the cause of the accident. It is critical in a case such as this that the matter be investigated as soon as possible to prevent physical evidence from being lost and to preserve witness recollections.

While police investigations will reconstruct accidents using some of these techniques, it is rare that official investigations are as thorough as the type our office conducts.

November 7, 2009: Authorities are conducting an investigation in the cause of a crash that killed a mother and daughter in Auburn on Saturday. Police reported that a truck hauling an trailer was traveling eastbound on Minot Avenue when it crossed the center line and stuck a 2003 Oldsmobile that was traveling westbound. The operator of the Oldsmobile, a 36-year-old woman from Auburn was killed instantly. Her 4-year-old daughter later died at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewsiton. The operator of the truck, a 43-year-old man from Norway and a passenger from each vehicle were in critical condition at CMMC Saturday night.

Police did not immediately release any names. The cause of the crash was still under investigation late Saturday.

At Peter Thompson & Associates, our attorneys and crash scene investigators have investigated many similar accidents. Frequently driver inattention or distraction is the cause. For example, an accident we investigated recently turned out to be due to a driver talking on a cellphone. Although the driver initially claimed that he wasn't talking on the phone immediately before the accident, we were able to obtain copies of his cellphone records which revealed he lied about that important information. The case was successfully resolved.

Improper speed is also another common factor. Our investigations of accidents generally result in accident reconstructions that look at skid marks, damage to the vehicles, and the distance travelled by the vehicles after the collision to determine the speed of the vehicles immediately prior to impact. We also are able in many cases to obtain data from the vehicles internal computers about speed immediately prior to impact. Witness statements are also crucial information in determining whether excessive speed was a factor in the accident. It is critical that an investigation begin immediately after the accident has occurred in order to preserve physical evidence and obtain statements from witnesses before memories of events fade.