Whether online, in print, or on TV, we’re proud our important work is routinely featured in the region’s top news forums and shared nationally. This recap of media coverage during the second quarter of 2023 spotlights the many ways in which we’re helping our clients find justice and recover fair compensation after experiencing a serious personal injury due to the negligence of others.

Notable Client Work

Representation of childhood sexual abuse earns national recognition

One year after attorneys from Berman & Simmons filed its first case against Maine’s Roman Catholic Diocese on behalf of adults who survived sexual abuse by clergy as children, a news article about the work brought the firm national attention. The Associated Press interviewed attorney Michael Bigos and his clients about how meaningful it is that they can pursue justice and hold their perpetrators accountable, now that Maine has removed the statute of limitations for these civil suits. More than 300 media outlets across the country published this multi-media story in June.

Delayed justice: 3 states remove all time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits | AP News

Members of the Penobscot Nation latest to sue Maine Diocese for alleged sexual abuse 

In April the team also received notable coverage for representing four Penobscot Nation men who were sexually abused as children by three different priests at St. Ann Parish in Indian Island, Maine. Indian Island is part of the ancestral homeland of the Penobscot Nation in Maine. These lawsuits brought the total to 25 filed against the Portland Diocese by Berman & Simmons.

• WABI-TV: 4 from Penobscot Tribal Nation sue Maine Catholic Diocese for sexual abuse allegations (wabi.tv)
• Bangor Daily News: 4 Penobscot Nation men sue Catholic diocese over alleged clergy sex abuse
• NewsCenter Maine Catholic priests accused of abuse by 4 Penobscot Nation members | newscentermaine.com

Firm news and legal expertise

MedMal Expert

Attorney Travis Brennan contributed his knowledge and expertise about medical malpractice, negligent medical treatment, and wrongful death to an investigative report by The Maine Monitor and Pro Publica looking at the failures of Maine’s residential care system. In the report Brennan addressed how potentially deadly medication mistakes are symptomatic of other problems in assisted living facilities. The original story was syndicated to multiple media outlets.

Maine Monitor: As residential care homes expand in Maine, seniors don’t always get the care they need

Family Leave Flexibility

Maine’s legislature passed a paid-family-leave law this session, a bill that Berman & Simmons Managing Director Craig Bramley testified in favor of. “Life happens and unfortunate events come up for all of us and come up in unpredictable ways,” he told the Portland Press Herald upon passage. “Not everyone has the nest egg or the means to put work aside and take care of their loved ones. This just provides a backstop and gives people the time they need.”

Portland Press Herald: Families, business owners weigh implications of paid family leave, now likely to become Maine law