Auburn, Maine

Auburn is a town with a population of 23,055 and serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine. Alongside Lewiston, Auburn is known as one of the Twin Cities. The land in Auburn was originally bought in 1714 following the Treaty of Portsmouth, which brought peace between the native population and English settlements. It continues to maintain several interesting sites including the Androscoggin Historical Society and Museum. For a period of time in the early 1900s, its dominant industry was shoe manufacturing. Today, it remains a pleasant town to walk around—in fact the Twin Cities were recently recognized for having the fourth best implementation of a pro-pedestrian paving policy. Nonetheless, car accidents do happen in Auburn, as they do everywhere. If you are a driver, bicyclist or pedestrian hurt by a careless or negligent driver, an experienced Auburn car accident attorney can help you recover compensation for your injuries.

In Maine, all drivers owe each other and pedestrians a duty to drive reasonably. This includes obeying explicit traffic rules and being mindful of weather and traffic conditions. When a driver breaches that duty and causes an accident, he or she can be held accountable to anyone injured as a result. There are about 65,000 pedestrian injuries due to car accidents in the United States each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pedestrians' injuries can be particularly severe after a car accident because there is nothing between them and the force of a metal car. A pedestrian who is hit by a negligent driver while following the rules of the road can recover past, present and future medical expenses; lost wages; out-of-pocket costs; pain and suffering; loss of enjoyment; household services and more.

Many accidents are not only one person's fault. Often they are caused because more than one person is distracted for a moment. A pedestrian's negligence is sometimes partially responsible for a car accident. For example, a pedestrian who gets drunk at a bar and crosses a road in the dark at a place where there is no light or stop sign may be partially at fault for a car accident that arises. A driver may not see the pedestrian in advance and may have insufficient time to brake without hitting the pedestrian.

Maine follows a modified comparative negligence doctrine. Under this doctrine, a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by his or her percentage of fault, as long as the plaintiff is less than 50% responsible for the accident. If the plaintiff in the above example is found 60% responsible for the accident, she will not be able to recover any compensation from the driver. However, perhaps the other driver didn't see her in time not because it was dark, but because he ran a red light while speeding and driving under the influence. Under those circumstances, a jury may find her only 20% responsible. If her damages are $100,000, she can recover that sum minus $20,000, leaving her with compensation in the amount of $80,000.

An experienced Auburn car accident lawyer can help you win all of the damages to which you are entitled. When negotiating with an insurer by yourself, it is easy to fail to disclose some aspect of your damages. Perhaps you aren't aware you can recover compensation for your inability to enjoy hobbies you enjoyed before the accident. Or perhaps you haven't gotten a chance to fully explore that aspect of your damages because an insurer pressures you to settle. If you retain our firm, we will build an aggressive and comprehensive case on your behalf to help you recover the full amount you deserve. We also thoroughly investigate the facts in order to avoid or reduce a defendant's claim of comparative fault. Contact Peter Thompson & Associates at 1.800.804.2004 or via our online form for a free consultation.