Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

Distracted driving car accidents in Portland and elsewhere are becoming a top concern for officials as more drivers than ever are taking their eyes off the road. To help combat the problem and to save some lives along the way, the National Safety Council (NSC) has released a new video series, "Understanding Distracted Driving," to help drivers to fully understand the dangers and the consequences of the dangerous driving behavior.

Our Maine car accident attorneys understand that state officials have yet to enact a ban on cell phone use by drivers. Currently, novice drivers in Maine are the only ones who are covered under a ban of cell phone use for both hand-held and hands-free devices. As of September 28th, no driver in our state is allowed to text while operating a motor vehicle. Unfortunately, not all motorists will abide by these laws and will continue to put other driver's lives in danger.

Throughout the NSC's new video series, the Senior Director of Transportation Initiatives at the NSC, David Teater, addresses a dozen popular questions regarding the dangerous habit, including just how severe distractions can be, why cell phones prove to be such a dangerous distraction and how employers can create an effective and beneficial cell phone policy for all employees.

Teater has chosen to conduct these videos because he and the NSC saw him as a good fit. Teater lost his 12-year-old son in a motor-vehicle accident that involved a distracted driver in 2004.

"Cell phone use and driving are a dangerous, and oftentimes deadly, combination," Teater said.

The NSC isn't the only one targeting distracted drivers. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is at it, too. The NTSB recently made a proposal to ban all commercial truck drivers from using a cell phone and texting while driving.

The most recent proposal comes after a hearing that addressed a driver that was involved in a fatal accident just seconds after hanging up his cell phone. The accident took the lives of 11 people and sent local shops crumbling to the ground, according to FOX News.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there is a rule in place that bans truck drivers in Maine and nationwide from using texting while driving. The NTSB is trying to build on this rule by asking that the ban cover both truck and bus drivers and to prohibit both cell phone use and texting by these drivers.

"This is the most comprehensive recommendation we've made," said the NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman.

The NTSB doesn't have the authority to make something like this a federal law, so the proposal has been sent to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and each of the 50 states. This ban could potentially regulate the driving habits of nearly 3 million truck drivers in the United States and help to save thousands of lives on our roadways.

Continue reading "Advocates Step Up to Help Curb Distracted Driving Car Accidents in Portland and Elsewhere" »

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new preliminary data calculating the total number of work injuries in Maine and elsewhere in 2010. The Bureau estimates that nearly 4,550 employees were the victim of a fatal work accident in 2010. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reported that there was a final count of 4,551 on-the-job fatalities recorded in 2009.

The number of fatal work-related injuries in the United States totaled about 3.5 deaths for every 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. This is the exact same rate that 2009 produced. Final data for the 2010 year will be released in the Spring of 2012.

Our Portland injury attorneys understand that there are many unseen factors that go into the risks of a work accident, including the total number of hours worked and the status of the economy/unemployment rate. The number of hours worked was up in 2010 in comparison to both 2008 and 2009. Industries that are typically high-risk however, were fortunate enough to experience a decline in the number of fatal accidents. These industries also experienced a slow increase in the number of worked hours.

The primarily findings from the 2010 Bureau's Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

-Self-employed workers: Experienced a decline in the number of fatal work injuries by about 6 percent. Less than 1,000 workers died in this industry during the year.

-Private mining industry: Increased of almost 75 percent in the number of fatal work accidents from 2009 to 2010. Nearly 175 workers died in this industry throughout the year giving it a death rate of 19.9 per 100,000 FTEs.

-Private construction industry: Experienced a decrease of roughly 10 percent in 2010. The number of fatal construction-related work accidents has declined by 40 percent since 2006.

-Fatal Injuries caused by fires: These incidents have more than doubled from since the previous year. More than 100 fatal work injuries were caused by fires in 2010, which is the highest number recorded since 2003.

-Homicides: Decreased by nearly 10 percent 2010. This is the lowest number that the Bureau has ever recorded. In this category, homicide involving women increased by nearly 13 percent, however.

-Race: African-American and non-Hispanic workers experienced a 9 percent decline in 2010 in the number of fatal work injuries. Fatal work-related injuries experienced by white workers increase by about 2 percent. Hispanic or Latino workers experienced a decrease of about 4 percent.

-Police officers: Experienced an increase of about 40 percent, more than 130 law enforcement officers died in 2010.

Employers have a responsibility to keep workers safe. Federal regulations are in place to ensure than these individuals are taking all of the proper precautions to help keep employees safe. Failure to comply with federal recommendations can result in legal consequences, fines, violations, lawsuit or potential shut down.

Continue reading "Preliminary Results Reveal Dangers of Fatal Work Accidents in Maine, Nation" »

What will it take to get Maine motorists to curb the dangerous driving behavior of texting while driving? Cell phones and other distractions kill thousands of motorists on our nation's roadways every year and is a common cause of car accidents in Portland and elsewhere in Maine.

We posted on our Maine Injury Lawyer Blog back in July that Governor Paul LePage was being applauded by U.S Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for joining the many other states to finally sign a bill prohibiting texting while driving on Maine roadways.

Bangor car accident lawyers want Maine motorists to understand that by the end of this month there will be consequences if you continue to practice this unsafe behavior behind the wheel. Touching screens on your iPhone or punching buttons on your keyboard while driving will need to become a thing of the past.

Seacoastonline reports starting September 28, the new texting ban will take effect and Maine motorists will face a $100 fine if caught texting while driving for the first offense. Subsequent violations will result in increased penalties. York Police Chief Douglas Bracy is one person happy to see the law finally take effect. He said he finds numerous drivers of all ages busy looking at screens or punching buttons while they drive, which puts many motorists at risk of a serious accident. Bracy reflects on the tragedy last fall that killed a young high school graduate after she lost control of her vehicle on Interstate 295 while texting.

Maine already has a distracted driving law in place for things that cause a driver to operate a vehicle unsafely, such as eating or putting on make-up, but the law is secondary, which means a motorist must be infringing the law in another way before they can be cited for driving distracted. The texting ban will now allow law enforcement officials to pull over drivers who are distracted by cell phones as a primary offense and no other infractions are needed.

The National Safety Council recently released a series of videos to help educate and drive home the message about the dangers of distracted driving related to using a cell phone. The "Understanding Distracted Driving" clips are frequently asked questions in the form of a 2-3 minute video which are answered by David Teater, NSC Senior Director of Transportation Initiatives. Teater lost his son in a car accident back in 2004 and has been a strong advocate against distracted driving ever since. A few sample questions asked in the videos include:

• How can employees be protected by workplace distracted driving polices?


• How can talking to passengers in the vehicle cause a distraction behind the wheel?


• What can parents do for their children that would set a good example for them to follow?


• What is cognitive distraction?


• Why are using cell phones dangerous when you are operating a vehicle?

The public can download the videos for free on YouTube.
Maine motorists may consider the $100 penalty a small price to pay for taking the risk to text while they drive. Yet they should consider the very different consequences and what they can cost you if you are involved in a distracted driving accident which causes severe injury to you or other motorists traveling next to you.

Continue reading "New Law Penalizes Texters, Behaviors that Lead to Distracted Driving Accidents in Portland, Throughout Maine" »

It was a horrendous Labor Day holiday weekend for those traveling on Maine roadways with five fatal accidents and many more resulting in injuries.

Portland car accident attorneys remind us that school resuming, fall tourist season, upcoming holidays, and winter weather will all make the next few months especially dangerous. Common causes of Bangor car accidents include distracted driving, speeding, aggressive driving, drunk driving and accidents involving teen drivers.

The Saturday of the Labor Day weekend, in Yarmouth, a one car accident left a motorist dead. A 36-year-old man driving his pickup left the road due to unknown causes, crashed into a tree stump and then flipped his vehicle. The victim was ejected from the vehicle which caused the fatal injuries.

That same day, a two-car crash in Mars Hill caused the death of one man and injured three others.

On Sunday, a resident of Mars Hill was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence that resulted in a fatal two-car crash that caused the death of a Medway man. The suspect also had in his possession methamphetamine, according to police. The 51-year-old Medway man was a passenger in his son's vehicle when it was hit head-on on Route 1 in the accident, killing him instantly. The impact was so severe it sent the victim's vehicle rolling into a ditch and ending up on its side. There was another passenger in the car that sustained life-threatening injuries. All occupants were trapped in their vehicles and rescue workers had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate them.

Also that Sunday, in Lamoine, police discovered the body of a woman inside a car that apparently had driven into the ocean. According to police, the roof of the vehicle was spotted in the water by a passer-by. The incident happened at the end of Route 184 that leads to the ocean's edge. The 48-year-old victim was from Florida and was returning to her hotel after attending a family wedding. Authorities believe she got lost in her unfamiliar surroundings.

Also on Labor Day Sunday, a man was killed when he was ejected from a pickup in Hudson. The crash on Route 43 killed a 19-year-old male, when, after missing a turn, his pickup truck overturned into a field and ejected him into the woods. Police are still investigating the crash and it remains unknown if the victim was the driver or the passenger of the truck. Thus far it appears that alcohol and speed contributed to the crash.

Police in an early morning Labor Day Sunday incident in Turner found a car on fire with someone inside. It is unclear what caused the one-car crash that happened around 3 a.m. There has been a tentative ID of the victim but the name is not being released until family has been notified.

As you can see, many people were affected by these terrible accidents -- both the victims themselves, but also many friends and family. Don't mix alcohol and driving and always avoid aggressive driving, which can lead to accidents.

Continue reading "Holiday Travel a Danger to Maine Motorists Causing a High Risk of Severe Injury in Bangor Car Accidents" »