Wrongful Death
For over 100 years, Berman & Simmons has helped and supported grieving families who have senselessly and needlessly lost someone they love because of another person’s negligence or misconduct, getting them the compensation and justice to help them move forward.
No matter how many months, years, or decades pass, the grief and pain of losing a loved one never fully goes away. But when a family member is suddenly taken away because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or wrongful conduct, that anguish can be even worse.
In addition to overwhelming emotions, the aftermath of a wrongful death also leaves families uncertain about what to do next. Financial stress, practical challenges, and the absence of the victim’s love, support, and companionship can make every day a tremendous struggle.
While your life will never be the same, holding those responsible accountable and obtaining maximum compensation for your loss can provide much-needed resources and a sense of closure and justice that will help you heal.
As Maine’s largest and most accomplished personal injury law firm, Berman & Simmons has successfully handled some of the highest-profile and most complex wrongful death cases in Maine, obtaining full compensation for families left behind, including damages for:
- Emotional distress and loss of society, comfort, and care.
- Loss of future income.
- Pre-death pain and suffering.
- Medical and funeral expenses.
Our assistance extends beyond advocacy in the courtroom. We work closely with families to help them navigate other issues related to their loss, including setting up an estate and naming a Personal Representative as necessary to proceed with a wrongful death suit.
Defective Products
When manufacturers, distributors, and retailers put consumers at risk by marketing and selling unreasonably dangerous products, Berman & Simmons’ products liability lawyers hold them accountable, getting injured consumers compensation for the harm, loss, and damage caused by their products.
From automobiles to machinery to appliances to dangerous drugs and medical devices, countless consumer and industrial products that we regularly rely on are recalled annually because of preventable safety hazards.
The recalls are alarming reminders that just because a product is made available to consumers or approved by government regulators does not mean it is safe or can’t fail catastrophically. Thousands of Americans are seriously hurt or killed by dangerous or defective products every year. These injuries and deaths are not the results of random accidents or product misuses but rather direct consequences of companies putting profits ahead of people, cutting corners, and designing, manufacturing, or selling products that never should have been in consumers’ hands in the manner sold.
The defective products lawyers at Berman & Simmons have been holding manufacturers and corporations accountable and standing up for injured Mainers for over a century. We are the statewide leader in product liability law, and we are proud of our work helping countless consumers obtain fair compensation for their injuries and making products safer for consumers going forward.
We handle claims related to defective consumer products and industrial equipment, including:
Brain Injuries
At Berman & Simmons, we understand how devastating brain injuries can be and how scary and uncertain the road ahead can be for patients, family members, friends, and caregivers after an accident. That is why we use our unmatched experience and resources to obtain the maximum compensation available for those who suffer brain injuries.
We rely on our brains for everything our minds and bodies do, both voluntary and involuntary, every moment of every day. Simply put, when our brains don’t function well, we don’t function well. And that’s what can make traumatic head injuries so devastating. A serious brain injury can leave a victim diminished and struggling with physical and cognitive impairments that last a lifetime. It can rob them of memories and rob their loved ones of the person who once was.
Tragically, approximately two million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, causing over 50,000 deaths and 250,000 hospitalizations. Millions more suffer mild traumatic brain trauma (mTBI), often without ever receiving a diagnosis or treatment. Vehicle accidents and falls are the most common causes of brain injuries, but sports injuries and acts of violence also regularly result in TBI or mTBI.
Berman & Simmons provides powerful legal representation for Mainers who have suffered brain injuries through no fault of their own. If you’ve suffered a TBI and are feeling lost, “in a fog,” and overwhelmed, you need advocates who can be a beacon in the darkness. We’ll be with you every step of the way.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can leave individuals and families reeling and facing a new reality of permanent paralysis or the inability to navigate life as they once did. Berman & Simmons fights for those who suffer catastrophic spinal injuries caused by others’ negligence, getting them the compensation that can help them rebuild their lives.
The spinal cord is essential to most of our physical functioning. It allows our brain to communicate with the rest of the body. When a spinal cord is broken or injured, the part of the body controlled by the impacted area may no longer function, resulting in permanent disability or paralysis. This can leave the lower extremities non-functioning (paraplegia) or affect all four limbs (quadriplegia).
Sadly, thousands of lives are turned upside-down every year by devastating spinal cord injuries. And it’s not just the injury victim who suffers; their families must adjust to the all-consuming responsibilities of caring for a loved one with new and extensive physical limitations. Overwhelming financial burdens, psychological and emotional trauma, long-term rehabilitation and physical therapy, and adapting to an entirely new way of life make spinal cord injuries truly life-changing.
At Berman & Simmons, our Maine personal injury attorneys understand the challenges faced by those living in the wake of a spinal cord injury. We use our experience and resources to help victims and their families obtain the compensation to help them move forward with their lives and pay for medical bills and future rehabilitation, lost wages, pain and suffering, and the diminishment of quality of life.
Pharmacy Errors
Berman & Simmons represents patients who experience adverse health effects because of pharmacy mistakes, such as receiving the wrong prescription or incorrect dosage. These errors can cause severe injury and death, and when they do, we hold negligent parties accountable, obtaining the compensation our clients need and deserve.
Recent studies have estimated that over 2.3 million prescription medication dispensing errors are made every year in pharmacies across the country, harming more than one million people.
Pharmacy errors can happen at any point in the process, beginning with the doctor’s prescription to the ultimate dispensing of medication to the patient. Even if a physician appropriately prescribes a drug, the pharmacist tasked with filling the prescription can make many mistakes behind the counter, such as mixing up medications with similar-sounding names, misreading illegible handwritten prescriptions, or incorrectly labeling drugs.
Whatever the reason behind a pharmacy error, and no matter how much harm a mistake causes, our Maine personal injury attorneys use their advocacy skills, medical knowledge, and tenacity to obtain the most compensation available for our clients’ injuries and losses.
Medical Device Defects and Recalls
When medical device manufacturers value profits before consumer safety and put dangerous and defective products on the market, the Maine personal injury attorneys at Berman & Simmons are prepared to hold them accountable and recover full compensation for the harm they cause.
When doctors recommend and implant medical devices, it is reasonable to believe those devices are safe and effective. We assume such products wouldn’t be allowed on the market if they weren’t sufficiently reviewed and tested.
Sadly, that assumption is often incorrect. Inadequately tested or negligently manufactured medical devices, marketed by companies who often know or should have known about the device’s faults, severely injure or kill thousands of Americans every year.
At Berman & Simmons, we fight for individuals who have suffered health problems or families who have lost a loved one because of a faulty medical device. We bring our long track record of success to representing individuals harmed by all kinds of dangerous and defective medical devices, including:
- Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements.
- Hernia Mesh.
- Philips CPAP and BiPAP Machines.
Dangerous Drugs
At Berman & Simmons, we know the serious harm and health problems that can occur when a pharmaceutical company’s “miracle drug” isn’t a miracle. We use our unmatched experience to recover compensation for those who suffer from dangerous drugs that should never have been on the market.
More Americans than ever ― roughly seven out of 10 ― take at least one prescription medication, and more than half take two or more. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves new drugs every year designed to treat almost every medical condition imaginable.
Many of these medications improve people’s quality of life. But the rush to develop new drugs, fueled by record-breaking corporate profits, has come at a tragic cost to thousands of consumers. The truth is that not all medications are safe and effective. In fact, some dangerous drugs are prescribed “off-label” or for uses other than what the FDA originally approved.
When drug manufacturers put profits before consumer safety, our Maine personal injury attorneys are prepared to hold them accountable and recover full compensation for the harm they cause.
Sexual Abuse
Any institution or organization that allows sexual abuse of a child to take place, must be held accountable to the full extent of the law. We at Berman & Simmons stand by the victims of these crimes in order to get them the justice they deserve for the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering they have endured.
One in five Mainers will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lifetime. Many victims never seek legal action against their abuser because they are not familiar with the process. The Berman & Simmons Sexual Abuse Survivors Practice Team specializes in providing such counsel. We offer compassionate assistance for the victim, while seeking justice against their abuser. As a regional leader in sex abuse cases, our team seeks to guide our clients through this difficult and emotional process in the most diligent manner possible.
Just last year in 2021, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the new law to extend the statute of limitations which now allows individuals to pursue a child sex abuse claim in Maine no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. We also understand the courage it takes for Mainers to come forward as victims and to that end, our lawyers have received trauma-informed training to help our clients take that most difficult, initial step, towards pursuing their perpetrator.
Susan A. Faunce Attorney, Shareholder
