Vermont & New Hampshire Injury Blog

Tragic Rear-End Accident in New Hampshire: Two Killed; One Seriously Injured

Late on Friday, February 20, 2009 a father and his 5-year-old son were killed in Rochester, New Hampshire. The accident occurred on Route 11 when Carl Lytle rear-ended a car that was waiting to make a left hand turn.  Carl Lytle and Tyler Lytle were from New Durham.  Ann Leighton, of Farmington, was the driver of the vehicle that was rear-ended.  She was waiting to turn left into Lilac City Pediatrics.  Immediately following the collision, a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2007 Dodge Charger traveling east on Route 11 smashed into the vehicles. 

Ann Leighton was taken to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester and was listed in critical condition. 

The highway was shut down for hours as police tried to determine exactly what happened. The Strafford County Regional Technical Accident Reconstruction team is investigating the accident.  However, authorities have said that the motorist was driving too fast for the icy roads.  Apparently, Route 11 is known for high-speed driving. 

Driving too fast for conditions is a common issue in New Hampshire. For example, police counted 18 accidents on Seacoast highways (Route 12, Route 101 and Interstate 95) on Friday morning. 

This story serves as a reminder to all drivers in the Vermont/New Hampshire area that road conditions can be very dangerous during the winter.  If you are a passenger in a motor vehicle that is involved in a car accident due to negligent driving, you may have a personal injury claim.  The driver of a motor vehicle has a duty to operate the motor vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner.  This standard of care applies in dangerous, wintry weather conditions as well.  If you have been injured in a car accident, see Auto Accident Checklist, for detailed information on how to protect your rights.

For the full store in the union leader, click here. 

Motor Vehicle Accident Victim Concerns

If you or someone you care about has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, you probably have serious concerns that need to be addressed right away. How should you deal with your insurance company? What do you say to the insurance company that may or may not be harmful to the claim? Should you make a statement to investigating police, if so what should you say? Should you seek medical treatment for your injuries right away or are you afraid you will incur large medical bills that you cannot pay?  Who will pay the medical costs for the treatment you already received? How can you make up missed time at work and be compensated for your lost wages? How and when should you get your motor vehicle repaired or replaced?  Should you hire a lawyer? How do you get the best settlement for your claim?

This website can help. It is designed to provide answers to all these questions and more. Find answers to questions by going to our Frequently Asked Questions section or find more in depth information in our Library articles. Also our Automobile Accident  practice area is a good source of information. Click on any of these links and find your way to valuable information on what to do if you are seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Finally, you are welcome to contact or call our firm with any questions you may have. Call us toll free at 1 (866) 632-8980  or fill out the Free Consultation contact form on the upper right hand portion of this page and someone will get back to you promptly. Please remember we are here to serve you.

New Client Testimonial

Today, we added another Client Testimonial to our site. Our client is Cheryl H. Cheryl was seriously injured in a car accident. She went to a  local law firm near where she lived. The lawyers there tried to convince her to accept a settlement that would barely cover her medical bills. Dissatisfied with that firm,  Cheryl then came to us. We advised her that she had a good claim and that we would represent her interests against the insurance company. Our skilled team put Cheryl’s claim together and then began negotiations with the insurance company. The insurance company balked at paying a fair settlement so we filed a lawsuit. We took the case through the litigation process and got ready for trial. (To learn more about the litigation process contact us for a free copy of our Personal Injury Victim's Handbook for Vermont and New Hampshire.)Finally, on the eve of trial the insurance company made what we thought was a fair settlement and Cheryl accepted it.

All to often we go through this process. After 30 years of representing seriously injured personal injury victims we know that sometimes insurance companies will not pay what we consider to be fair settlements until their backs are against the wall. Our background, experience and track record trying personal injury cases to juries gives us the leverage to make the insurance companies pay what we consider to be fair settlements, not what they want to pay. Sometimes we have to take them down to the wire, but that's ok with us as long as our client get's a fair settlement. To see Cheryl’s Testimonial, click here: Testimonial

Massive Pile-Up in New Hampshire, 100 injured.

On January 11, 2009 vehicles piled-up on Interstate 93 in Derry, New Hampshire.  Roughly 100 people sustained injuries, and 19 were transported to local hospital with more serious injuries. 

Apparently, a car had stopped on the interstate, and in an attempt to avoid it, a school bus filled with Boy Scouts applied its breaks.  When this happened, cars began sliding to avoid the bus at 50 mile per hour.  In total, 46 cars, three buses, and two tractor-trailers were involved in the pile-up. 

Seventeen ambulances and dozens of EMTs searched car by car in an attempt to identify the injured.  Luckily, no one sustained life-threatening injuries, however many people did sustain serious personal injury, such as broken legs and ankles.  On man had to be pulled out from underneath a tractor-trailer. The story was reported by WMTW and the Boston Herald. 

This accident serves as a reminder that road conditions can be dangerous in New Hampshire during the winter driving season.  Winter drivers, remember to give yourself more time to get to your destination and drive with extra caution to avoid an accident.   If you have been injured in a car accident, see Auto Accident Checklist, for detailed information on how to protect your rights. 

Was that person “negligent” and do I have a personal injury case?

Many people are injured as a result of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, industrial accidents, construction site accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and medical malpractice. If the injury was the result of another’s negligence, you may have a personal injury case.  Negligence is the failure to exercise the type of care that a reasonable person in society would exercise under the same circumstances, also known as reasonable care. Negligence does not simply mean that someone has done something wrong.  Rather, there are elements of negligence that have to be established. These elements are duty, breach, causation, and damages. For a more detailed explanation of the elements of negligence, click here: The Elements of Negligence. If your personal injury attorney can establish these elements, then you may have a personal injury case. A personal injury case is a legal request for financial compensation for damages suffered as a result of another’s negligence.  However, your personal injury claim may be subject to a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is the maximum period of time you have to initiate a claim, or bring legal proceedings, based on the negligent event that caused your injury.  At Van Dorn & Curtiss, we can review your case and help determine your claim eligibility.

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Upcoming meeting with an attorney? What to expect in your first interview.

Do you have a meeting scheduled with an attorney at Van Dorn & Curtiss to discuss the merits of a potential personal injury claim? If you don’t, and would like to schedule one, please contact us.  If an appointment is already scheduled, you may be wondering what to expect or what information the attorney is going to ask you. The first meeting between you and your lawyer could be the most important meeting in your case.  During your initial interview, your attorney will typically discuss several factors that may play a role in your potential personal injury claim. These factors include the statute of limitations in your case.  Specifically, your attorney will need to determine when the statute of limitation begins to run on all your potential claims, and when it ends. Your attorney will also discuss issues bearing on liability.  This is where details are very critical, and the attorney may spend a significant amount of time walking through the events step by step.  For example, in an automobile accident case, your attorney will need to know how the accident happened, a description of the scene of the collision, the location of all vehicles involved in the collision, the point of impact, and other details such as speed, time, and road markings.  Your attorney will also discuss damages.  Damages may include out-of-pocket expenses, lost income, future expenses, medical bills, as well as intangible harm such as pain and suffering.  Other potential topics to be discussed include the client’s background, other parties involved, potential witnesses, potential defenses, physical evidence, paperwork, the client’s goals, and the steps going forward. There is one important thing to should keep in mind: tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Don’t tell your lawyer what you think is important.  It is crucial that you tell the entire story, making sure to include all facts that you might think are negative or harmful to your claim.  This is the only way to ensure that your attorney gives you the best and most candid advice.

The Elements of Negligence

Negligence is the failure to exercise reasonable care with harm resulting. Reasonable care is generally defined by what the average person in our society would do or not do under the same circumstances. In a civil case, such as a personal injury case, including automobile accident cases, medical malpractice cases, product liability cases and premises liability cases to name a few,  there are specific elements of negligence that must  be established to make the case. . These elements are “duty”, “breach”, “causation”, and “damages” and are explained in more detail in the article on our website. To continue go here