Evidence Rule 411 Does Not Automatically Bar Reference at Trial to a Defendant’s Insurer The Law Court’s decision in West v. Jewett illustrates the limits of Evidence Rule 411 in precluding evidence of a defendant’s insurer at trial. (2018 ME 98). Rather than functioning as an automatic bar to admissibility in every case, the Rule...
Law Articles
In the middle of a September night, a fire ripped through an apartment building at 35 Main Street in downtown Biddeford, Maine. Michael Moore, 23, and his best friend and roommate James Ford, 21, were trapped in their attic apartment unit. By the time they were carried out of the building by firefighters, the men were unconscious and had suffered severe smoke inhalation. Moore died the next day at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Ford died nearly one month later. The men had been friends since grade school....
A Defendantâs Offer to Stipulate Should Not Disrupt the Narrative Force of Plaintiffâs Evidence at Trial...
Effective February 14, Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b) has been amended to clarify that any party may record a deposition by any means, provided the recording does not disrupt or impede the deposition process. A party may record the deposition by videotape, after giving written notice to every other party. The rule does not specify how much notice should be given, for instance a day or a week. ...
Promoting Safer Trucking in MaineMaineâs unique geography and geopolitical boundaries necessitate heavy reliance on trucking to keep our economy moving and to keep food and other goods available and in our stores. However, because of their massive size and limited maneuverability, trucks pose special risks on the roadways. Every year, there are over 1,000 crashes involving commercial vehicles on Maineâs roads. With increasing economic...
During the summer season, many of us enjoy time out on Maine’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Boating and fishing enthusiasts live throughout Maine, and with the long-awaited arrival of warm weather, they are getting out on the water with family and friends as often as possible. And while our short and busy boating season certainly provides many enjoyable experiences, an unfortunate aspect of the activity is that serious boating accidents and collisions inevitably happen every year.Boating Accidents May Cause Catastrophic Injuries or Death...
The Law Court Affirms a Jury’s Ability to Infer Causation from Adequate, Reliable Evidence In a 2009 decision, Addy v. Jenkins, the Law Court threw into question a jury’s ability to infer causation when a plaintiff cannot remember specifically how or why he was injured—at least according to a strong dissent by Justice Silver. Justice...
Miriam Johnson discusses the process of determining agency in medical malpractice cases....
Daniel Kagan discusses the importance of system failure analysis and the potential for wrongful death....
Travis Brennan discusses a recent case related to severe injuries along with how to utilize experts and trial technology....
Defendants in product liability and other complex personal injury cases often point to their compliance with government regulations or industry standards as a key to their defense. Under Maine law, breach of a law, regulation, or formal standard is evidence of negligence to be considered with other evidence in the case. Alicia Curtis addresses legal arguments helpful for attacking their “compliance” defense....
Benjamin Gideon discusses his case invoving a 38-year-old Marine Corps Veteran who suffered permanent paralysis after visiting the Togus VA Hospital in Augusta (Togus) in 2011. When Ben first spoke to this client, he learned that he had already consulted with several lawyers who told him there was nothing they could do to help him. Ben agreed to take the case, and filed suit against the U.S. government. After two years of litigation, he obtained a settlement for his client of $2.75 million, one of the largest such settlements obtained in Maine history....
Susan Faunce discusses issues that arise from medical malpractice claims involving prisoners in state and local correctional facilities in Maine....
Craig Bramley discusses how Berman & Simmons has transformed from a general practice firm to Maine’s most successful trial firm, and now to a more specialized firm focusing on personal injury, medical malpractice, and complex trial matters....
In February 2014, after more than four and a half years of litigation and a three-week jury trial, a jury in Chittenden County, Vermont (Burlington) returned the second highest jury verdict in the history of that state. The jury awarded approximately $22.5 million dollars to our clients, Michael and Tracey Hemond. Since that verdict, lawyers and clients have asked for more details about the case, how we reached the point of trial and obtained such an extraordinary result. This article is an attempt to tell, at least part of, that story....
Catastrophic injury cases present special challenges. They are not only quantitatively but qualitatively different at every phase from other personal injury cases in how they must be prepared and tried and in the time and resources that must be devoted to them. Just as importantly, because the catastrophically injured exist in a world that most people never have to experience, jurors may have difficulty identifying with them or appreciating the impact of the injury on their lives and families....
Medical malpractice cases in Maine can be costly and difficult. They involve complex medical issues, require expensive expert witnesses, are subject to the pre-litigation screening panel system, and are fiercely defended by Maine’s most skilled and experienced defense attorneys. While these obstacles to recovery are all real, they can be overcome with careful analysis at intake and the use of a sophisticated approach to case development and trial presentation....
Lawyers who represent injured people must be aware of the increasing use of social networking sites and how a client’s postings may impact their personal injury case. Clients may be subject to exhaustive discovery requests about their personal activities and, often, information from these sites is highly unlikely to be helpful to a case. This article will address a variety of steps that can and should be taken to avoid the damage that they may do. ...
Each summer, many Maine residents and tourists are injured by negligent use of personal watercraft (PWC). Known by such names as Jet Ski, WaveRunner and Sea-Doo, PWCs are relatively inexpensive and easy to operate. PWCs pose risks to health and safety in a variety of ways. Used properly, with proper training and supervision, they can be both fun and safe. Unfortunately, too often proper safety precautions are overlooked or ignored, resulting in catastrophic injury or death....
Maine is a beautiful place to ride motorcycles. With summer upon us and the increasing number of motorcyclists on our roads, there inevitably will be accidents resulting in serious injuries. Lawyers who represent motorcyclists must remember that motorcycle crash cases involve issues of bias that are not present in automobile collision cases....