Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

Dover-Foxcraft is the county seat of Piscataquis County in Maine. It was originally two small towns separated by a river. The river offered water to power for mills. Early industries in these towns included sawmills, tanneries, carriage makers and a wool factory. The towns merged into a single town in 1922. If you are hurt in a car accident in Dover-Foxcraft, or elsewhere in Maine, a trustworthy car accident lawyer can help you recover compensation for your injuries.

All Maine drivers have a duty to other drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians to drive with reasonable care. Driving while drunk or impaired by drugs is illegal. In addition to possibly receiving criminal sanctions, those who drive while impaired or intoxicated may be subject to a personal liability lawsuit in civil court if they injure somebody.

The legal limit in Maine and other states is .08 BAC. However, you can be impaired for purposes of safe driving even if your BAC does not reach that level. Everybody has a different tolerance for alcohol based on their gender, weight, medical conditions and other factors. Even if somebody does not have .08 BAC, he or she may be impaired. If a prosecutor chooses not to bring criminal charges, an injured victim or her family may still pursue civil damages. The standard of proof is lower for civil suits than criminal suits.

You should also be aware that you may hold somebody responsible for negligent operation of a vehicle even if the reason for his or her impairment was prescription medication. The legality of the substance is not the critical question in a negligence case. Rather the issue is whether the defendant acted as a reasonable person would have under the circumstances. For example, somebody may have a valid prescription for a muscle relaxant, but a “reasonable person” would not drive while under the impairing effects of that drug.

Maine has dram shop laws—part of the Maine Liquor Liability Act—which hold liable a person or business that supplies alcohol to a drunk driver who injures someone. While you have six years in most cases to bring a personal injury lawsuit in Maine, there are time constraints that limit plaintiffs from bringing an action against a bar, restaurant or person who supplied alcohol. Someone who is hurt by a drunk driver only has 180 days to notify the bar, restaurant or person she intends to hold that entity responsible for the injury. The notice should be in writing and it must specify the time, place, and circumstances of the server's actions that created liability as well as the time, place and circumstances of the car accident. Failure to include information or an error in the notice does not void the notice unless it is "substantially material."

After a car accident involving a drunk or impaired driver, you may feel overwhelmed by bills, lost wages, injuries and pain. Due to the short time frame within which to notify the entity that served alcohol that you may be holding it responsible, it is crucial to consult an attorney right away. An experienced Dover-Foxcroft car accident attorney will investigate all relevant theories of recovery, bring in responsible parties and aggressively advocate on your behalf to secure compensation from all parties responsible for your injuries. Our firm builds cases carefully, sometimes utilizing an accident reconstruction expert or other investigators and experts when appropriate. Contact Peter Thompson & Associates at 1.800.804.2004 or via our online form for a free consultation.