Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

A fatal trucking accident in Maine claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl on a YMCA horseback riding trip.

The Boston Herald reports a tractor-trailer was hauling sawdust on Route 2 when it collided into the back of a YMCA minivan headed to Acadia National Park in Vermont. Two adults and two other teenagers were transported to a local hospital. The family mourns the death of the young girl, who by age 12 had already established herself as an environmentalist winning the top prize for her reusable pizza box invention at the Invention Convention in Storrs, Connecticut.

Saving trees and global warming were two areas of interest for the young 12 year-old. The accident remains under investigation by Farmington police and State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit; the cause of the accident is still unknown.

Bangor car accident attorneys know that car collisions involving large trucks are not only dangerous because of the size of the truck but because many times they are transporting a load that can spill onto a roadway and make the situation that much more dangerous. Large trucking companies have a responsibility to hire reliable drivers and maintain their equipment. If you have been involved in an accident with a large truck, contact an experienced attorney to help you sort out who is at fault and to fight for the compensation that you deserve.

In 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 21 fatal large truck crashes involving another vehicle in Maine. This equated to roughly 10 percent of total fatal accidents involving all vehicles for that year.

In the news recently was a legislative proposal by Senator Snow to permit large trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds access to all highways and interstates in Maine.

Truckinginfo.com reports that current legislation limits overweight trucks of more than 80,000 pounds to use secondary roads with the Maine Turnpike from Kittery to Augusta being the only exception. The Commercial Truck Safety Act of 2011 would make states more consistent in allowable weights. There are 27 states that currently allow loads up to 100,000 pounds to travel on interstate highways. Maine truck drivers either have to unload some of their cargo when transporting through the state or take winding roads which travel through small towns and create a safety hazard for rural communities.

A report by the Maine Department of Transportation last fall indicated several advantages to the new proposed legislation which include: improving the environment, reduce transportation infrastructure costs, making businesses more competitive, increasing traffic safety, and saving on fuel costs.

We're not sure heavier trucks are the answer -- certainly we question whether allowing heavier trucks on the road can be spun as a way to improve safety. But neither do we think having heavier trucks traveling secondary roads through small communities is a good idea.

Continue reading "Increasing Weight Limits to 100,000 Pounds on Maine Interstates Could Increase Trucking Accidents in Bangor" »

August is Back to School Safety Month according to Safe Kids USA so our Portland injury lawyers want to urge parents take a few minutes to review some simple tips to keep children safe as they prepare for the new school year.

We posted previously on our Maine Injury Lawyer Blog that school bus accidents are a common danger that parents should be concerned about as children return to school this fall. Children who don't ride the big yellow bus are typically close enough to walk or ride a bike to school. Speeders or driver inattention can put children at risk of a pedestrian or bicycle accident in Bangor or Portland.

Franklin County Emergency Management Agency warn motorists to be alert for the following as school resumes session:

-Crossing guards directing traffic or flashing lights at busy intersections.

-Children who are walking or biking to school.

-Children gathered at the roadside waiting for a bus to pick them up.

-Parents dropping children off in school zones or at day care centers.

-School buses with flashing lights stopping at scheduled intervals to pick children up.

Parents with teen drivers should remind young and inexperienced drivers to:

-Use caution in poor driving conditions.

-Allow plenty of time to travel to school.

-Police officers will be highly visible during peak hours of school commuting so obey all traffic laws and traffic signs.

-Pay attention and keep passengers riding in the vehicle with you to a minimum. Teens' riding in the car with a teen driver create an unnecessary distraction and is never recommended, especially during the first year after obtaining a license.

Child pedestrians and bicyclists should use the following safety tips provided by the National Safety Council:

-Make yourself visible, especially when walking or biking at night. Wear bright clothes, attach reflectors to your backpack, and keep a light handy either to hold in your hand or to attach to your bike as a headlight.

-Use bike paths or sidewalks whenever they are available. Staying away from speeding cars and distracted drivers can reduce the risk of serious injury.

-Cross the street at intersections and only when it is safe to do so. Making eye contact with the driver or waiting for them to signal can alert you that it is safe to cross.

-Travel to school in groups rather than alone. Form a single line to be courteous to other walkers or bikers.

-Small children under the age of 10 should be accompanied by an adult.

-Never make quick or sudden moves into traffic. Motorists have a difficult time seeing young children, especially when they appear in the street unexpectedly.

Continue reading "Back to School Injuries a Concern for Child Pedestrians and Bicyclists Involved in Portland Car Accidents" »

A man involved in a Bangor construction accident has died. The young man was reportedly working on a natural gas line project when he was crushed by a backhoe on Odlin Road, according to Bangor Daily News.

The 23-year-old was working for Bowdoin Excavation out of North Yarmouth and was working on a line extension project for Bangor Gas., according to WABI 5.

Our Maine workers' compensation lawyers understand the high risk construction workers face around heavy equipment. Accidents that involve these heavy machines can oftentimes be fatal. When a backhoe runs into a ditch, a stump or a hole, it can overturn or cause the operator to fall off and be run over. It is not uncommon for inexperienced driver to run into fellow workers either. This is why federal job safety standards require that operators of industrial lift-type trucks be thoroughly trained on how to operate the equipment before jumping in the driver's seat. Under these federal standards, all workers that are under the age of 18 are prohibited from driving or operating the machinery.

"OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the Attorney General's office, would be involved in something like this because it's an unattended death. A medical examiner would be involved because of the nature of the incident and everybody has their part to do. We'll at some point find out exactly what happened," says Sgt. Chip Hodges from the Bangor Police Department.

Federal statistics report that more than 5,000 employees died at work in the United State in 2008 alone. Construction equipment operators were among the categories of workers with the highest number of fatalities during that same year, according to OSHA.

Tips for site workers to avoid an accident with a backhoe or any other hydraulic excavator:

-All workers should be trained to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions. They should also be required to execute safe work practices that apply to their specific work environments.

-All workers on the work site should be aware of the machines' established swing areas and blind spots. Employers should keep workers on foot outside of these areas by marking them off with rope, tape or other barriers.

-Before beginning a work shift, go over and confirm communication signals between machine operators and surrounding workers.

-Workers should be prohibited from standing under suspended loads or suspended machine components such as the boom, arm or bucket.

-Workers on foot should not be allowed to approach the hydraulic excavator or backhoe loader until they receive the go-ahead signal from the operator.

-Workers should never ride in or work from excavator or backhoe loader buckets.

-All workers should have appropriate personal protective equipment. Employers should make sure that workers use and maintain this equipment.

Continue reading "23-year-old Worker Crushed by Backhoe in Bangor Work Accident" »

Amtrak has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts company that owned the truck hit by the Downeaster passenger train last month in North Berwick, Maine. That truck is owned by Triumvirate Environmental Inc. of Somerville, Massachusetts.

The driver of the 18-wheeler truck was killed in the Maine car accident that happened on July 11th, according to boston.com.

The truck was carrying more than 50,000 pounds of trash to a local incinerator. Police are conducting an ongoing investigation into the accident.

The Amtrak driver is accusing the big rig driver of ignoring the railroad crossing controls and warnings while he was crossing the railroad tracks. Four passengers aboard the Amtrak train suffered injuries in the collision. Amtrak isn't seeking specific damages, but they are reportedly seeking compensation for subsequent service disruption costs of $3 million. The suit was recently filed in federal court in Massachusetts.

Our Portland personal injury attorneys understand that the court filings for this case state that the crossing warnings were activated as the truck proceeded through the crossing. They also state that the truck driver "failed to heed the warnings" and drove his tractor-trailer around the lowered crossing gates and caused the accident. This case is important to bring up because accidents near railroad crossings can be oftentimes produce deadly results if the proper safety measures are not taken and if warning signals are ignored.

"Once we get it all done, we'll release what our finding was," says Police Chief Stephen Peasley, estimating it could be another couple of weeks.

The suit was filed on August 8th at the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts by John Bonistalli, the attorney representing National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

It is estimated that a person or a vehicle is hit by a train every 115 minutes. It is also estimated that about half of these railroad accidents occur at railroad crossings when automatic warning devices, like flashing lights and gates, are present and are properly activated and working.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are approximately 5,800 vehicle-train accidents each year in the United States. A majority of these accidents occur at railroad crossings. These accidents result in an average of 600 fatalities each year. These accidents also injure about 2,300 people yearly.

Common injuries of a train and car accident can include brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, concussions, other head injuries, sprains, fractures, abrasions, burn injuries and internal and various soft tissue injuries. Many of these injures can be life threatening.

Railroad accidents most oftentimes include these scenarios:

-Derailment of a train.

-Train-train collisions.

-Train-car collisions.

-Train-person collisions.

-Damage to property.

Accidents that involve a train can be very complex and difficult for the victims, especially when fighting for deserved compensation. That is why it is critical for you to contact an attorney immediately following a train wreck or railroad accident.

Continue reading "Amtrak Sues Trucking Company for Maine Truck-Train Accident" »