Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

December 30, 2009: 63-year-old David Warren was killed Wednesday when the PT Cruiser he was driving collided with a van driven by 50-year-old Robert Simocko on River Road in Standish. Simocko was rushed to Maine Medical Center, where he is listed in fair condition.

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.

Police say a vehicle heading east on Anderson Road went out of control, skidded, and hit a tree. Two people were in the car. The driver, Dylon Belanger and his passenger, Denise Dunton, both of Westbrook were taken to Maine Medical Center. Belanger is listed in critical condtion. Dunton is stable.

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.

December 24, 2009: Kennebec County police say two cars were involved in an accident on route 27, about a mile north of Christie's store, near Bog Brook. Police say Jeromiah Baker died in the crash. The driver of the other vehicle, Jessica Bourget complained of leg injuries and was taken to Maine General Memorial Hospital in Augusta.

The cause of this accident is under investigation. As personal injury specialists, Peter Thompson & Associates has investigated hundreds of 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 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.

December 18, 2009: The crash occurred shortly before 8:00 PM Thursday along a curve on Route 26. According to police accounts, an SUV driven by 25-year-old Stephen Hulbert of Glen Aubrey turned in front of a car driver by 21-year-old Michael Pisani of Union. Both Hulbert and his 24-year-old wife, Cristin Hulbert were trapped. Ms. Hulbert died at Wilson Hospital. Stephen Hulbert is being treated for his injuries. Mr. Pisani is also being treated for injuries.

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.

Deputies identified the victim as 62-year-old Eugene Estes. Estes was a courier for NorDx. At the time of the crash, Estes was traveling Route 27 in Edgecomb in a NorDx vehicle to pick up lab specimens from St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor.

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.

An East Dixfield man died Sunday from injuries he received when the van he was a passenger in slid in the snow on Route 4 and collided with another vehicle Saturday night, State Police Lt. Walter Grzyb said. Richard Stickney, 69, of East Dixfield, died early Sunday several hours after the accident occurred at about 9:30 p.m., he said.

Three others were also taken by ambulance to the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after the crash.

Sabrina Stickney, 39, of Mexico was driving a 1998 Dodge Caravan northbound when she lost control in the snow on a corner, just north of the Boothby Road/Route 108 intersection, Grzyb said Monday.

The van slid sideways and skidded into the southbound lane into the path of a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner driven by James MacMahon, 67, of Scarborough, which was heading south, Grzyb said.

The van was pretty much T-boned on the passenger side, he said.

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.

December 2, 2009: Rajeshbhaiv Patel, 47, of 9238 Aspen Dr., died from injuries he sustained in the crash which occurred just after 6 a.m. Dec. 2 on Golf Road east of Oakton Community College.

According to police, Rajeshbhaiv Patel's passenger and co-worker, Ashwin Patel, 51, of 9581 Dee Rd., unincorporated Maine Township, was also seriously injured in the crash.

Des Plaines Police Commander Dan Niemann said the driver's side of Rajeshbhaiv Patel's 1999 Toyota Corolla was broadsided in the crash.

"We're attempting to figure out how the vehicle was ultimately broadsided and what factors contributed to the accident," Niemann said.

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 also the direction the vehicles were headed relative to each other.

November 29, 2009: 57-year-old Angelo Vacca, Jr. was in the area of 887 Forest Avenue and was crossing the road when 74-year-old Chan Ng, also of Portland, hit him with a red 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier. Police say Vacca was transported to Maine Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

This matter is under investigation. Based on our firm's experience in handling similar cases, the investigation will undoubtedly look into what the lighting conditions were, whether Mr. Ng was paying proper attention to the road, and whether Mr. Ng was under the influence of any alcohol or substances that would have impaired his ability to see Mr. Vacca in the road and/or delayed his reaction time. In past cases we have successfully settled on behalf of clients, we have uncovered information about drivers being on cellphones immediately prior to the collision by obtaining copies of their cellphone records.

Because this case involved a fatality, police officials will undoubtedly conduct tests to determine whether Mr. Ng was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision. Although not part of standard police investigations, it is suggested that information about Mr. Ng's vision be obtained. We found in one case where a driver claimed to be unable to see a pedestrian at night that the driver had not had his eyes examined for years and, following a court-ordered examination, was found to have poor nighttime vision. This information resulted in a favorable settlement of the case for our client.

In past nighttime pedestrian collision cases our firm has also conducted field studies under similar conditions using a vehicle identical to the one operated by the driver and placing a pedestrian in the roadway wearing near-identical clothing to determine the precise point in time when the pedestrian would have been visible to the driver. In one recent case, this type of field investigation revealed that the driver could easily have seen the pedestrian and had ample time to avoid the collision, despite his and his insurance company's claim that the accident was unavoidable.