As reported in the Portland Press Herald on December 15, 2010
” . . .
A Subaru Outback driven by Laura Breault, 48, of Knox, was heading east toward Brooks. Breault was taking her 15-year-old daughter, Jessica, to school, Keating said.
For many years, Maine law has required anyone in a vehicle that is required to have seatbelts, to wear a setbelt. (29-A M.R. .A §2081)There are also more specific safety restraint rules for children.
A study done of crashes which occured in 1996 in Maine concluded that ” . . . unbelted occupants were 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized or die with a head injury than those belted.” (As reported by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety). However, the statute specifically states that failing to use your seatbelt is not admissible evidence in any civil or criminal trial. Therefore, while it is clear that you should be belted when you are in a vehicle, the fact that you were not wearing your seatbelt during an accident is irrelevant. It cannot be used as eveidence, even if the other driver could prove you would not have been injured if you had your seatbelt on.
Some states do not have this rule. Therefore, some insurance adjusters may tell injured parties their claims are worth less because they didn’t buckle up. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident in while unbelted and has questions about the law, contact the team at Peter Thompson and Associates. We have handled thousands of similar claims and recovered millions of dollars for our clients. For a consultation call 1-800-917-1784 or read more on our website, www.Peter-Thompson-Associates.com, on our car accident practice page.
Reported in the Portland Press Herald on November 26, 2010
A 27-year-old Portland native was killed early Thursday morning in a two-car crash in Massachusetts in which one of the drivers has been charged with motor vehicle homicide while drunk, according to police.
Raina Jensen was a back-seat passenger in a 2002 Nissan Altima traveling in Wilbraham, Mass., when it was struck by a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Joshua Lacroix, 24, of Ware, Mass.
On November 9 and 10th, the National Transportation Safety Board hosted a forum to discuss issues relating to highway safety and our aging population. A webcast is archived on the N.T. .B website.
An interview with Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the N.T. .B., was published on November 17th, 2010 in The New York Times blog “The New Old Age”, (see full article here). The forum revealed that recent statistics have surprised researchers. For example, while the number of fatalities has dropped across the board, drivers over 70 have had an even higher drop in the rate of fatal crashes. People are living longer and are also healthier as they age. Ms. Hersman concludes that age alone is not a sufficient factor for determining continuing eligibility to drive, but that states need to consider alternatives such as additional testing or shortened periods before renewal of a license.
Maine considers a driver elderly when he or she is over 65 years of age. The DOT has published resources to assist residents who are dealing with the issue of aging and driving on their website.
Reported in the Bangor Daily News on November 16, 2010
An accident on outer Essex Street claimed the lives of two men Tuesday.
Police say the car they were riding in struck a tree and both victims were ejected from the vehicle.
A recent post to this blog was about a tragic accident which killed two teenage girls. Such news makes one consider teen and inexperienced drivers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more teens are killed every year by car accidents than by any other cause. In Maine, the statistics are equally disturbing. According to the Secretary of State,
“•Nearly one young driver is killed each week in Maine;
•More than 60 young drivers are injured each week in Maine;
By making a personal injury claim, you are asking the insurance company for the person who caused your injuries to pay you for your damages. In the most generous view of insurance companies, in order to fairly compensate you, the will need to do a full invesitigation of your claim. Of course, we normally see that this investigation is not as impartial as it should be. Nevertheless, when you make a claim, you open a window into parts of your life you would ordinarily consider private.
One example is your medical history. For instance, if you are claiming that you have an injury to the muscles in your neck, it makes sense for the insurance company to verify that you weren’t treating for the same thing before the accident. Obviously, they are not required to pay you to get physical therapy for your neck if it was necessitated by a prior, chronic neck problem. There is no way to know if you had a prior neck problem without examining your medical history.
The analysis of what information the insurance company is entitled to review really comes down to what they may receive should your case enter litgation, and further, what they would be allowed to present to a jury. The scope is extremely broad. However, in some circumstances, items that could in no way be related to an auto accident, or would not be allowed into evidence in a trial, can be withheld.
In Maine, there is a potential intersection of the workers’ compensation and personal injury systems when the injury is caused by a third party.
Generally, if you are injured at work, regardless of the cause, you are compensated for that injury entirely through the workers’ compensation system. However, did you know that if a party other than your employer is responsible for the injury, you may also have a separate claim against that party?
For example, if you were driving a vehicle as part of your job and were injured in an accident caused by another driver, you have both a workers’ compensation claim and a claim against the other driver.
Reported in the Portland Press Herald, October 22, 2010
HARRISON — Police in Harrison, Maine, say one teenager has been killed and three other people injured in a car crash.
Eighteen-year-old Thomas McLendon, of Oxford, was a passenger in a Chevrolet Trailblazer whose driver lost control rounding a corner and crashed into trees.
Reported in the Sun Journal, October 16, 2010
PARIS — Two people were injured late Friday morning when a car delivering mail was struck from behind by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer on a rainy, windswept stretch of Route 26 near the West Paris town line.
According to Lt. Michael Dailey of the Paris police, a 1998 Buick Century driven by 31-year-old Katie Brett of Paris was traveling south at 11:30 a.m. and had stopped to let a northbound car pass before she attempted to turn into Doe’s Variety. Her car was hit by a Freightliner fuel truck driven by 53-year-old William LeTarte of Dummer, N.H. The truck was lettered with “Bill LeTarte Trucking” of Dummer.
Maine Injury Lawyer Blog