Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

December 22, 2013

Maine Ice Slip and FallsAccidents Commonplace as Winter Begins

For the majority of the winter season here in Maine, workers and residents must contend with a potentially hazardous mix of ice and snow.While some might consider a slip on the ice or a fall in the snow just one of those inevitable cold-weather nuisances – perhaps even a comical one – there is also a high potential for such an incident to result in a serious injury. The result is sometimes that victims are forced to take leave of their job and suffer serious medical complications, including broken bones and joints, as well as back and head injuries. Filing aspremises liability claim may best protect your rights in the wake of serious injury.

A recent report by the Maine Department of Labor Standards took pains in detailing just how widespread the problem is, and how much it costs us all each year.

December 14, 2013

Maine’s Emergency Medical Responders & Overexertion Injuries

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Our emergency medical responders are the people we count on when seconds matter and fast, proper care can mean the difference between life and death.But according to a new report by the Maine Department of Labor’s Labor Standards division, these workers, who include EMTs, paramedics and firefighters, are especially vulnerable to injuries. On the job, these employees are at high risk for overexertion injuries resulting from lifting, transporting or otherwise assisting ill or injured persons.

Those type of injuries accounted for more than third of all injuries suffered by emergency medical crews, with strain injuries accounting for some 94 percent of all overexertion injuries. Most often, it was the employees’ back that was affected, accounting for about 45 percent of all cases.

December 1, 2013

Timely, Proper Filing of Medical Malpractice Claims Key to Success

by Peter Thompson & Associates

When it comes to filing a successful claim of medical malpractice injury in Bangor, when and how you file is just as important as the substance of your lawsuit.That’s the lesson that can be derived from Frame v. Millinocket Regional Hospital, reviewed recently by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

The petitioner appealed a judgment entered by the lower-level superior court to dismiss her unsworn notice of claim to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, pursuant to the Main Health Security Act, as a properly-sworn claim was not filed within the statute of limitations.

November 17, 2013

Hit-And-Run Accidents on the Rise in Portland

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Four people, including two young children, were involved in a late-night accident as their vehicle was run off the road by another vehicle. The driver in question left the scene of the accident, according to the Portland Press Herald.Maine State Troopers report that the victims’ vehicle flipped over in the accident along Interstate 295 in Cumberland. Luckily, officers were able to track down the dangerous driver later at her home in Portland. She has been arrested and charged with failing to report an accident and leaving the scene.

Our personal injury attorneys in Portland understand that this accident was caused by the careless passing driver. She was attempting pass cars on the right while heading southbound when she swerved back into her lane and slammed into the victim’s car. Upon impact, the victims’ vehicle went into the median and flipped over onto its side. The driver, a passenger and an 8- and 12-year-old child were taken to Mercy Hospital.

November 11, 2013

Local Man Killed in Portland Railroad Crossing Accident

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Officers recently responded to the scene of a fatal accident involving a Pan Am Railways freight train and a pedestrian. According to Bangor Daily News, the accident happened just before 8:00 p.m. Officers were forced to shut down a section of Forest Avenue — the part that runs from Walton Street to Woodford’s Corner.Officers received a report that a pedestrian was struck by a freight train at that crossing. They haven’t identified the pedestrian.

Our Portland injury lawyers understand that there were close to 2,000 railroad accidents at public and private crossings in the U. . in 2012. Of these accidents, there were close to 300 people killed, according to Operation Lifesaver. In addition, there were another 950 people injured in these accidents. Did you know that there are more than 210,000 railroad crossings, approximately 129,644 intersect with public roads in the United States?sAbout every 90 minutes, there is a train derailment or a train collision. Currently, railroads are self-regulated and fall under the scrutiny of the federal government.

October 24, 2013

Bangor Child Safety an Important Focus of Halloween

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Halloween is one of the most enjoyable times of the year for kids, but amid the fun of trick-or-treating and costumes, parents need to be aware of several safety issues. According to My FOX Maine, it’s best to warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering. Your best bet is to inspect the candy first, before handing it over to children.Our Bangor child injury attorneys understand that Halloween night is the most dangerous night out of the entire year for pedestrian injuries and fatalities. More children are killed on this night than any other. But luckily, there are things that parents and guardians can do to help reduce these risks. And it all starts out with a little planning. We’re asking parents and guardians to review the following safety tips and to share them with friends, family members and children to help ensure everyone makes it through All Hallow’s Eve unharmed.

The first thing you’re going to want to tackle before heading out the door is costume safety. Starting from head and heading to the toes, you want to make sure that your child’s costume does not consist of a mask. Masks can hinder children’s vision and can send them walking straight into danger. Consider using face paint instead. You also want to make sure that their costume is light in color and consists of reflective materials to help motorists to see them more easily. Costumes should also be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling. Comfortable shoes are ideal as it’s going to be a long night of candy-seeking adventures. Lastly, swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material. You don’t want any eye injuries.

October 16, 2013

Maine Work Accidents Claim 20 Lives in 2012

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Did you know that if you’re injured on the job, you’ve got 30 days to report it?sIf you don’t do so within this time frame, your claim will be barred. And the report shouldn’t include just work injuries, but should also include any kind of pain that you experience on the job, even if this pain doesn’t prevent you from completing work.According to newly-released preliminary statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 4,300 people who were killed on the job in the U. . in 2012. Although this is down from the 4,600 work-accident fatalities witnessed in the country in 2011, we still have a long way to go.

Our Bangor workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there were millions more who were injured on the job throughout the year. If you’re injured on the job, your employer may require you to see an occupational health doctor. After that, you have the right to see a doctor that you choose. After 7 days of missed work due to your work injury, you are entitled to receive weekly compensation benefits beginning on the eighth day. If you miss more than 2 weeks of work, you will then receive payment retroactive to the date of injury.

September 20, 2013

Drowsy Driving Causes Teen Rollover Accident on Snows Cove

by Peter Thompson & Associates

A Deer Isle teen escaped serious injury when her vehicle veered off the road and flipped over. According to BDN Maine, the 18-year-old driver was heading west on Snows Cove when the accident happened just before 2:00 a.m. Her vehicle went off the road, hit a tree and rollover over. Deputies report that the young driver fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle was deemed totaled.The truth of the matter is that teens and young adults have higher accident rates than any other age group of drivers. Traffic accidents continue to be the number one cause of death in this young age group. We not only have to worry about our teens driving drowsy because of a night on the town, but we also have to cautious of the long hours they’re putting in at work and school.

Our Bangor car accident lawyers understand that sleepiness while driving has become a serious problem and a major traffic hazard. Fatigue and sleepiness seriously impairs driver performance, creating a life threatening combination. Safety is more important than productivity or deadlines. You should never get behind the wheel if you’re feeling drowsy or fatigued. It’s a risk no one should be willing to take on.

August 25, 2013

Dangerous Baby Products Could be in Your Child’s Nursery

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Most parents spend a lot of time getting ready for their new baby to arrive – picking out just the right color of paint for the room, making sure there are enough bottles and burp clothes and buying toys that will be safe and mentally stimulating.The problem is that it seems sometimes, manufacturers don’t spend nearly as much time on safety. We assume that when we buy items for our babies that those products have been thoroughly tested and vetted. However, our Bangor child injury lawyers know that every single month, there is some new product finding its way onto the U. . Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list. Many times, those products are intended for or have been used by infants.

One of the most recent of those involves a Baby Einstein musical activity jumper model, of which nearly a half a million have been sold in the U. . alone. The problem with these toys is that one of the parts has the potential to spring back rather forcefully, causing impact trauma to babies and even adults whose faces are nearby.

There have so far been more than 100 reports of some type of incident involving this particular piece of the toy. Of those, there were more than 60 injuries. A lot of those were cuts and bruises, but there was at least one instance in which a young infant suffered a skull fracture. In another instance, an adult suffered a chipped tooth.

This was a product sold over the last three years at several major retailers, including Amazon.com, Target and Toys R Us.

We wish the concerns ended there. Just this summer, the CPSC has recalled a dozen infant and child products, for reasons ranging from choking hazards to failure to meet inflammability standards.

We encourage parents to regularly check the CPSC ‘s recall lists for products that might be in your child’s nursery or play room. To make it a little easier, in addition to the activity jumper, here is a list of some of the items recalled just these past three months:

Toysmith Toy Light-Up Frogs and Ducks, due to choking hazards. About 30,000 have been sold exclusively at World Market.
Far East Brokers Ladybug-themed kids’ outdoor furniture, due to violations of lead paint standards. About 14,000 have been sold under the Leisure Way brand.
Girls Autumn Run Girls Gemma II Boots, due to an exposed staple at the sole of the boot that could present a laceration hazard. About 5,000 have been sold at Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Nan Far Woodworking Round Cribs, due to entrapment, suffocation and fall hazards. The drop-side rail has the potential to fall out of position, causing an infant or toddler to become wedged or entrapped and possibly strangled. About 4,000 have been sold at JC Penney.
Infants’ First Impressions Varsity Jackets, due to choking hazards. The snaps off the jacket can reportedly pop off. Some 8,7000 have been sold at Macy’s.
Thermobaby bath seats recalled by SCS due to drowning hazards. The seats fail to meet federal standards for stability. About 7,500 have been sold on Amazon.com.
Jeep Liberty Strollers, produced by Kolcraft, due to projectile hazard. Some 96,000 have been sold in the U. .

August 20, 2013

Unnecessary Surgeries in Maine Can Lead to Major Complications

by Peter Thompson & Associates

At the age of 22, a semi-professional baseball player was told if he wanted to live to see 30, he would need to have a pacemaker installed.Such major heart surgery, as such a young age, startled the young player, who had initially sought treatment after a brief fainting spell. But he trusted the doctor.

The surgery ended his baseball career, but he considered a fair trade for having his life.

Only, as both he and our Maine medical malpractice lawyers now know, it wasn’t necessary at all. Soon after he had the surgery, local news outlets began reporting on the fact that the cardiologist he had trusted was being investigated by state health officials for performing unnecessary surgeries.

The former ball player sought numerous subsequent medical opinions. All now say blood pressure medication was in order – but not a pacemaker.

That surgeon is now in prison, following a federal criminal conviction for unnecessary Medicare billings for dozens of heart surgeries that it turns out weren’t necessary.

Sadly, this kind of occurrence is not rare. USA Today recently reviewed years’ worth of government records and medical databases and found tens of thousands of instances in which patients received unnecessary surgeries.

Such procedures are more than a nuisance. They put patients at risk of very real, long-term harm. No surgical procedure is without the risk of complications, and sometimes, those risks might even include death.

Further bolstering this claim is a recent scientific review of every issue of The New England Journal of Medicine from 2001 through 2010. Researchers discovered 363 studies that examined some type of clinical practice. Of those, 146 involved a drug or procedure that was found to be no better – or sometimes even worse – than one that had previously been used.

More than 40 percent of these established practices were found to be ineffective or even harmful. The effect of 22 percent was undetermined.

Those practices found to be among the most harmful:

Hormone therapy in post-menopausal women;
High-dose chemotherapy treatments;
Stem-cell transplants;
Expensive and complex treatments for breast cancer;
Glucose-lowering measures for Type 2 diabetes patients in intensive care.

USA Today reports that somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of all surgical procedures may be unnecessary. In the last eight years, some 1,000 physicians have paid on medical malpractice claims that specifically related to allegations of inappropriate or unnecessary medical procedures. Roughly 50 percent of those cases involved a serious or permanent injury or death. A fair portion involved multiple plaintiffs.

Those cases are only the ones that landed in court. They represent just a small portion of the total number of unnecessary procedures conducted.

Unfortunately, there is no federal or state agency that keeps track of unnecessary procedures, and many doctors never face consequences. This is despite the complications, which can include:

Infection;
Chronic pain;
Permanent disability;
Death.