PALMYRA, Maine (AP) — Police say three people were taken to the hospital after a head-on, two-vehicle collision in Palmyra, but a 10-year-old girl in one of the vehicles escaped serious injury. Police say a 51-year-old man of Newport was flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center with possible internal injuries following the Sunday morning crash. His 10-year-old daughter was checked at the scene by ambulance staff but not transported.

A St. Albans couple was transported to Sebasticook Valley Hospital with possible chest injuries. They were identified as a 70-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman.

Authorities tell the Bangor Daily News that the man from Newport drove into the opposite travel lane while rounding a corner and the initial investigation showed that he most likely was driving too fast for conditions.

At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in assisting clients in car accident cases like this one.  We gather all of the evidence and use the best accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims, underinsured or uninsured motorist claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective cars.  We have recovered millions of dollars in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.  If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

HANCOCK, Maine — Three men were hurt Thursday afternoon in a collision of three trucks on Route 1 in Hancock, according to Maine State Police, but none of the injuries is believed to be life threatening. The accident occurred when an eastbound pickup truck slowed to turn right into a driveway at Sierra Signs around 1:15 p.m., according to Mane State Police Trooper Gregory Roy. A GMC pickup truck slowed behind the turning vehicle and then was rear-ended by a heating oil delivery truck. The oil truck pushed the GMC into the westbound lane and then struck the left rear corner of the Ford truck that had slowed to turn into the driveway. Three men in the GMC were transported by ambulance to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, the trooper said. Traffic was shifted toward the north side of the road for about an hour while emergency crews tended to the injured men and then towed away the damaged vehicles.

At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in assisting clients in accident cases like this one.  We gather all of the evidence and use the best accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims, underinsured or uninsured motorist claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective cars.  We have recovered millions of dollars in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.  If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

LINCOLN, Maine — A 6-year-old girl hit by an RSU 67 school bus suffered a broken femur, four compression fractures in her skull and one in her neck, her mother told police Thursday. The Ella P. Burr School first-grader of Lincoln is in serious condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, a hospital spokesman said, as police continue to assemble their account of the accident at Clark and Ariel streets Wednesday. “Obviously our thoughts and prayers are out to the girl and her family and for the bus driver and her family,” Police Chief William Lawrence said Thursday. “We are very concerned for the bus driver as well. She was in extreme, extreme shock after this event.” The accident “is a tragedy of the two families involved here,” Lawrence added.

Per standard procedure,the  bus driver was placed on administrative leave with pay Thursday pending the outcome of the investigation, RSU 67 Superintendent Denise Hamlin said. School crisis workers were at Burr and Mattanawcook Junior High School helping pupils and staff cope with the accident. “I think that so far the counselors have seen between 25 to 30 students. Anytime this happens to a classmate, it is a difficult situation, especially for young children,” Hamlin said. “We do a significant level of bus safety training in the classroom and the classroom teachers will be revisiting all of that, but for us currently it is about crisis management and ensuring that students and staff have the services they need.”

The bus driver was dropping off Burr and junior high students when the accident occurred at about 2:45 p.m. Police suspect that the 6-year-old had left the bus and came clear of it just before being struck, possibly by a wheel or the bus’s undercarriage. “We are getting a great deal of information from people and we don’t have a clear picture of what has transpired yet,” Lawrence said Thursday. “It is still quite an undertaking trying to figure out exactly how this happened.” A LifeFlight helicopter flew the girl from Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln to the Bangor hospital. Lawrence said that she was “responsive, awake and talking at the scene.”

A review of the bus driver’s safety record showed no previous problems, Hamlin said. “I’d say that she is a very cautious driver,” Hamlin said. Hamlin will be sending home with pupils on Thursday a letter to parents outlining bus safety procedures. The letter encourages parents to review the procedures with their children, Hamlin said. Inspectors with the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division examined the bus on Wednesday and found no mechanical faults that could have contributed to the accident, Lawrence said. The intersection of Clark and Ariel streets sits atop a short but steep hill and adjoins Taylor Street Extension and High Street south of Mattanawcook Lake.

At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in assisting clients in accident cases like this one.  We gather all of the evidence and use the best experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective products or equipment.  Unlike most personal injury firms which only consider negligent driving claims, at Berman & Simmons, we have the resources and expertise to evaluate all possible types of claims arising out of a severe and catastrophic vehicle-related injury. We have recovered millions of dollars in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.   If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

WEST PARIS, Maine — Two local teenagers are dead and two others went to the hospital after an early Saturday morning accident caused by drinking and text messaging while driving, Maine State Police Trooper Tom Welch said. “Alcohol and distracted driving are the primary causation factors,” the trooper said. The four young people had been at an underage drinking party, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Sunday. “They had left that party and were going back to it” when the deadly crash occurred, he said. State police got the call for help around 12:15 a.m., and when they arrived they found a mangled Subaru Impreza at the foot of a bunch of trees off Route 219. Passengers and West Paris residents, one a 19-year-old male, and  another a 16-year-old female who was a student at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, both were killed instantly, Welch said.

The driver, a female, 18, of Paris and another passenger, a male, 22, of South Paris both were seriously injured. The driver was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland and was listed in critical condition Sunday afternoon, a nursing supervisor said. The passenger had serious injuries that were not life-threatening, the trooper said. He was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, and was later released.

A state police accident reconstructionist is investigating the fatal crash. “The car drifted off the roadway, struck a driveway … [and] went airborne,” Welch said. The vehicle hit “a group of trees and came to rest at the base of the trees. The car actually hit the trees roof first.” The driver had been drinking and “she was texting,” the trooper said. The investigation has two parts — the underage drinking party and the fatal crash — that may lead to charges, McCausland said, adding that no charges had been filed as of Sunday. Once the investigation into the fatal crash is complete, “it will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office to see what charges are appropriate,” he said. The deaths of the two teenagers are bound to have devastating effects on their communities and the people who love them, Welch said. “This is just another one of those prime examples of why alcohol and distracted driving don’t mix,” he said. “That is why they are against the law.”

Although this was a single car accident, recovery for the injured victim and family of the decedents may be possible.  The product liability team at Berman & Simmons has successfully recovered against major auto manufacturers in one-car accidents where a defective or dangerous condition of the car caused or contributed to the accident.  Recovery for the passenger may also be possible through the driver’s liability insurance policy, particularly if the driver was speeding or otherwise negligent, or the passenger’s own underinsured or uninsured motorist policy.   For more information, contact Berman & Simmons at 1-800-244-3576 or read more on our website on our car accident practice page.

GARDINER, Maine — Icy roads are being blamed for a highway accident that claimed two lives in Gardiner, a crash that claimed one life in Bowdoin, and a truck crash that resulted in power outages in southern Maine.

Police say U.S. Route 201 in Gardiner was closed after a vehicle rolled over about a mile north of the Interstate 295 interchange, killing two men and injuring a third person. The first man, 62, of Gardiner and a second man, 25, of Pittston were killed in the crash, according to the Portland Press Herald. Both men were partially ejected when the cargo van they were riding in skidded out of control and rolled over before landing in a ditch on its side, Gardiner Police Chief James Toman said. A third man, 29, of Randolph, was taken by ambulance to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for treatment of injuries that were not life threatening. The section of Route 201, also called Brunswick Avenue, was closed for about three hours as police investigated the crash, Toman said. The crash occurred around 8 a.m., as the men were driving a Budget rental van south on Brunswick Avenue toward Interstate 295. According to Toman, the third man was riding in the cargo area of the van while other two men were up front. Police have not yet determined which of the men was driving, but Toman said it did not appear that any of the men were wearing seat belts. Maine State Police and Kennebec County Sheriff deputies assisted Gardiner police and fire department at the scene, Toman said.

In Bowdoin, the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office said that another man, who was 45 years old, of Topsham was killed Saturday afternoon after crashing into a tree just before 3 p.m. on Route 201, WGME reports.

In Falmouth, ice covering Route 9 caused a truck rounding a curve to hit a pole Saturday morning, leaving more than 300 Central Maine Power customers without power for several hours. Nearly 100 gallons of fuel spilled in the road, which was shut down. WMTW-TV says there were no injuries in that crash.

Even in cases where accidents are caused by slippery road conditions, it is sometimes possible to recover under negligence or product defect theories.  In terms of negligence, the driver may have been going too fast or not driving attentively enough for the conditions.  Sometimes there are issues in terms of vehicle maintenance–brakes, tire tread, tire pressure, etc.  Finally, there have been technologies available for more than 10 years which assist a driver in maintaining control on slippery surfaces.  The most common technologies are anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control.  ABS brakes allow a driver to maintain control under braking conditions.  ESC automatically senses the slipping wheels and selectively applies braking and throttle to prevent a loss of control.  Beyond that, there are sometimes “crashworthiness” claims where injuries or deaths could have been prevented with a safer vehicle design.  Examples of crashworthiness claims include unlatching or seatbelt failure, failure of the airbags to deploy or deploying under conditions when they should not have deployed, roof crush, fuel fed fire, etc.  Unlike most personal injury firms which only consider negligent driving claims, at Berman & Simmons, we have the resources and expertise to evaluate all possible types of claims arising out of a severe and catastrophic vehicle-related injury.  Give us a call at 1-800-244-3576 or visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com to learn more about us and how we might help you.

WINDHAM, Maine — An 11-year old Windham boy was hospitalized Thursday morning after he was struck by a pickup truck as he crossed Route 115 attempting to board his school bus.  Windham police Sgt. David Thomas said a man, 22, of Lewiston failed to stop for the bus, which had its emergency lights flashing. “I’ve never seen one of those in 30 years where a student has been hit” attempting to board the bus, Thomas said. Police declined to release the boy’s name, as they plan to discuss the accident with his parents. Boucher was heading westbound on Route 115. The boy was conscious and alert at the scene, according to Thomas He said the pickup had significant damage.

“The way the impact happened, he went into the hood of the pickup,” said Thomas, noting the boy’s injuries could have been worse had he struck the vehicle’s windshield. “It’s going to be a Christmas miracle for that family,” Thomas said. The speed limit in the section of Route 115 where the accident occurred, about a mile from downtown Windham, is 35 mph. The District Attorney’s Office has been called in to investigate the accident. Thomas said that the driver of the pickup offered no explanation as to why he didn’t stop for the bus and that road conditions weren’t icy.  He will face a charge of failing to yield for a school bus. Further charges could be lodged once the investigation is complete, according to Thomas. Another school bus was dispatched to take the other children to school.

At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in assisting clients in accident cases like this one.  We gather all of the evidence and use the best accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims, underinsured or uninsured motorist claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective vehicles.  We have recovered millions of dollars in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.  If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

GREENBUSH, Maine — Slick roads caused by the rain that fell Thursday morning were contributing factors in two rollover accidents that happened just after 10 a.m., Maine State Police troopers said. Trooper Christopher Cookson went to the scene of a rollover crash on Greenfield Road around 10:10 a.m. “A vehicle went off the road because of the road conditions,” he said. “He rolled off the road and was entrapped.” Fire and rescue crews from Old Town, Greenbush and Milford went to Greenfield Road. It took them about an hour to extricate the driver, a man, 21, of Pittston, who suffered an arm injury, Cookson said. The man’s 2004 Ford F-250 pickup truck was totaled in the crash, the trooper said.

The rollover was caused by “the road conditions and driving too fast for the road conditions,” Cookson said. “I’m not saying speeding. I’m saying too fast for the road conditions.” Trooper Adam Coover dealt with the second rollover, which occurred 20 minutes later on Garland Road in Charleston. He said the 10:30 a.m. crash was relatively minor and occurred on a curve when the car got caught in loose gravel on the side of the road. No one was injured, Coover said.

Even in cases where accidents are caused by slippery road conditions, it is sometimes possible to recover under negligence or product defect theories.  In terms of negligence, the driver may have been going too fast or not driving attentively enough for the conditions.  Sometimes there are issues in terms of vehicle maintenance–brakes, tire tread, tire pressure, etc.  Finally, there have been technologies available for more than 10 years which assist a driver in maintaining control on slippery surfaces.  The most common technologies are anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control.  ABS brakes allow a driver to maintain control under braking conditions.  ESC automatically senses the slipping wheels and selectively applies braking and throttle to prevent a loss of control.  Beyond that, there are sometimes “crashworthiness” claims where injuries or deaths could have been prevented with a safer vehicle design.  Examples of crashworthiness claims include unlatching or seatbelt failure, failure of the airbags to deploy or deploying under conditions when they should not have deployed, roof crush, fuel fed fire, etc.  Unlike most personal injury firms which only consider negligent driving claims, at Berman & Simmons, we have the resources and expertise to evaluate all possible types of claims arising out of a severe and catastrophic vehicle-related injury.  Give us a call at 1-800-244-3576 or visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com to learn more about us and how we might help you.

NEWBURGH, Maine — Two local men were taken to the hospital Thursday night for treatment of injuries they suffered when they were thrown from an ATV they were riding on Littlefield Road. Though Deputy Noel Santiago of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department declined to provide the men’s names Friday because the accident remained under investigation, he did say that both are in their early 50s. One of the men lives in Newburgh and the other is a Levant resident, Santiago said. He said one was taken to St. Joseph Hospital and the other to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Further information about their medical conditions was not available on Friday.

Santiago said the accident happened shortly before 5 p.m. while the two were riding on an ATV they were using to haul wood out of a nearby forested area on a homemade trailer. “They were pulling wood that they just got out of the woods and the weight flipped the ATV and they went flying,” Santiago said. One of the men was temporarily pinned under the machine. Santiago said neither speed nor alcohol was a factor in the accident, which occurred as the two were riding down a steep, short hill on Littlefield Road, which is unpaved. A LifeFlight helicopter initially was requested but later was canceled after rescuers determined that the injuries were not as serious as they initially appeared, Santiago said.

Santiago said the accident remains under investigation. Assisting at the scene were personnel from the Maine State Police, Capital Ambulance and the Newburgh Fire Department.

Potential cases involving all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles should not be taken lightly. They require lawyers with particular understanding of these machines, how they operate, and how they fail.  At Berman & Simmons, we are experienced in assisting clients in ATV accident cases.  We gather all of the evidence and use knowledgeable  accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims, underinsured or uninsured motorist claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective vehicles and machinery.  We have been successful in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.  If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for an initial consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

WATERVILLE, Maine — An aggressive dog mauled a child Wednesday on Water Street, and Watervile Police Chief Joseph Massey is fed up. He plans to propose an ordinance to City Council that would restrict large aggressive breeds. “I’ve been in law enforcement for 34 years, and I’ve had the unfortunate experience, dozens and dozens of times in my career, of seeing young children and adults mauled by aggressive dogs,” he said. “I’m at my wit’s end with continually seeing young children bitten with that degree of physical damage.”

On Wednesday, a 5-year-old boy was bitten by a pit bull on Water Street. Massey said the case is under investigation, and names will not be released unless charges are filed. Massey said the child was bitten on the mouth area, and was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center Thayer Unit. The boy was released later that day. He may need to undergo a series of rabies shots and his injury will eventually need reconstructive surgery, Massey said. The dog is quarantined at Humane Society Waterville Area. Massey said he’s not sure when he’ll submit a proposed ordinance to City Council. He’s also not certain what kind of ordinance he will propose. First, he wants to research aggressive-dog ordinances in other communities. “I am certainly going to look at options that would be fair and reasonable ways to control large aggressive dogs,” he said. Breeds Massey said he considers aggressive include akitas, German shepherds, pit bulls and rottweilers.

This summer, Massey was was critical of the dog breeds after two separate attacks on children by the same pit bull. On Aug. 18, a pit bull bit a 6-year-old boy in a home on Louise Avenue. Two weeks later, the same dog bit a 2-year-old boy at the same location. The toddler was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for surgery. The dog was euthanized after a 10-day quarantine. Massey said at the time that supporters of pit bulls and other large breeds disagreed with his position. “My critics give me excuses that it’s not the dog’s fault, it’s the owner’s fault. But over my three decades of law enforcement, blaming the owner has not reduced the number of bites that are happening,” he said.

According to a federal study released last year, the number of people in the U.S. admitted to hospitals because of dog bites increased by 86 percent from 1993 to 2008. The number of hospital stays rose from 5,100 to 9,500 during that time, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Maine has laws that allow someone who is injured by a dog or other dangerous animal to recover money for their injuries.  At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in helping people who have been hurt in an animal attack.  Please contact us if you would like to speak to an attorney about your case.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — A three-vehicle collision that sent three people to the hospital Monday afternoon was still under investigation on Tuesday. The preliminary cause of the incident appears to be driver inattention on the part of a woman of Eliot, Maine, according to South Berwick Police Chief Dana Lajoie. At around 3 p.m., a gray 2007 Nissan Quest operated by the woman was heading south on Route 236 when it collided with a red 1998 Ford Taurus driven by a woman of Medford, Mass., who was stopped in traffic, waiting to turn left into a private residence off Route 236. When the driver of the Quest rear-ended the driver of the Taurus, the force of the impact sent the Taurus into a third vehicle traveling north on Route 236. The third was a blue 2006 Nissan Murano, driven by a woman of Berwick, Maine.

The driver of the 2007 Nissan Quest, her 4-year-old passenger, and the driver of the 1998 Ford Taurus were transported to the hospital. Lajoie did not know the extent of their injuries. South Berwick Fire Chief George Gorman said Monday afternoon the transported victims suffered from neck pain.

Lajoie said all three vehicles are considered destroyed. No charges are pending and the accident is still under investigation, according to Lajoie. The collision and subsequent cleanup closed a section of Route 236 for about an hour Monday afternoon. The section was reopened to traffic around 4 p.m. 

At Berman & Simmons, we are experts in assisting clients in car accident cases like this one.  We gather all of the evidence and use the best accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of the accident.  We explore all angles of recovery for the victims and their families, including liability claims, underinsured or uninsured motorist claims and product defect claims arising out of dangerous and defective cars.  We have recovered millions of dollars in cases where other lawyers were unable to find a legal remedy.  If you or someone you know have suffered an accident-related injury or death, please give us a call or send an email.  We do not charge anything for a consultation.  For more information, visit our website at www.bermansimmons.com.