In the center of Maine’s shoreline are the coastal towns of Camden, Rockport, and Belfast. Camden and Rockport, both in Knox County, support a year-round population of 4,850 and 3,330 respectively. Less than twenty miles to the north, Belfast consists of 6,668 residents and is the county seat of Waldo County. These picturesque seaside towns may experience a tripling of their populations in the summer months as tourists flock to the area to enjoy the natural beauty and abundant activities. Here at Peter Thompson & Associates we understand that, perhaps due to this seasonal influx, Camden, Rockport, Belfast, and the surrounding areas experience a significant level of motor vehicle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2010, Knox County suffered 7 traffic fatalities on its roads and highways. Likewise, Waldo County experienced 10 traffics fatalities during the same time period. These scenic areas are also popular with motorcyclists and between 2006 and 2010 there were 73 motorcycle crashes in Knox County and 80 in Waldo County, as reported by the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Recently our office represented a Belfast area woman who was injured in a severe head-on motor vehicle accident in Frankfort, Maine. In attempting to pass another vehicle, the at-fault driver entered our client’s lane and collided with her vehicle head-on at high speed. This at-fault driver later faced criminal charges related to the accident, including operating under the influence. Our client suffered extensive injuries throughout her body, including a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, and internal organ damage. Many of these injuries were permanent and would continue to affect our client for the rest of her life. The insurance coverage of the at-fault driver alone would be insufficient to cover the extent of our client’s damages. Therefore, in addition to recovering the full amount available under the at-fault driver’s insurance policy, our experienced attorneys were also able to recover the full amount of underinsured coverage available under our client’s own insurance policy. Our office was further able to reduce the amount of liens, through negotiations, owed by our client from medical expenses for her treatment.
Our office also represented this client’s husband for his loss of consortium claim arising from this accident. Loss of consortium claims seek to compensate the spouse of an injured party for their loss of comfort, companionship, and affection of their spouse. Since our initial client was permanently disabled as a result of this accident, her husband not only suffered the trauma experienced when a loved one has life-threatening injuries, but also became our initial client’s permanent caregiver. In addition to the recovery obtained for our initial client, our skilled attorneys were able to recover the policy limits from of that client’s husband’s own insurance policy for his loss of consortium claim. This case is a prime example of how our office is able to maximize our clients’ recovery, as in this situation, recovering three separate settlements from the same accident.