PARIS – A Roxbury woman was awarded $331,000 last week for injuries suffered in a head-on collision in 1997 on Route 232 in Rumford.
After a two-day trial, nine Oxford County Superior Court jurors in Paris rendered their unanimous verdict on Jan. 19, finding in favor of Gaye I. Haseltine.
“Justice was served, and we are very happy for Gaye,” stated Haseltine’s lawyer, Ted Dilworth of Norway, in a news release.
“Trials are about convincing juries of the injustice done, and, in this case, we succeeded,” he added.
Portland lawyer Mark E. Dunlap, who represented defendants Debbie J. Blais of Auburn and Danny B. Long Sr. of Bethel, acknowledged the judgment when contacted Thursday afternoon.
Dilworth said Thursday that the Jan. 19 verdict was against Blais only, because Long’s name was dropped from the complaint before the case went to trial on Jan. 18.
Blais’ insurance company was expected to pay the judgment, Dilworth said.
However, Dunlap said he would be mailing a motion to the court on Thursday, seeking either a reduction in the award or a new trial altogether.
Dunlap said that once the court receives his motion, Dilworth has a chance to respond, then Superior Court Judge Ellen Gorman is to decide whether to grant the motion.
On May 26, 2004, Dunlap, on behalf of Blais and Long, offered a pre-trial settlement of $50,000 to Haseltine. That consisted of $45,000 of new money and credit for $5,000 in insurance payments previously paid by his clients, inclusive of all interest and costs accrued to date, according to the defendants’ offer.
Haseltine and Dilworth rejected the offer, Dilworth said, opting instead for a jury verdict.
Dilworth said that Haseltine had suffered soft-tissue injuries in her back in the 1997 collision, and was subsequently diagnosed with chronic back pain after the accident.
When Judge Gorman read the Jan. 19 verdict, Dilworth said Haseltine was pleased.
“She’s happy that the people understood what she’s gone through, and what she’s going to go through in the future, medically,” Dilworth said Thursday.
Background
The incident that set the civil case in motion began Nov. 18, 1997, on Route 232 in Rumford at the intersection of East Bethel Road.
According to investigating Rumford Patrolman Donald B. McKeen’s report, Haseltine, then 47, was driving a 1985 Saab south on Route 232 at 1:35 p.m., when she attempted to turn right onto East Bethel Road.
McKeen said that Blais, then of Rumford, who was driving Long’s 1988 Toyota east on East Bethel Road, failed to keep to the right, and crashed head-on into the Saab.
Dilworth, on behalf of Haseltine, filed suit against Blais and Long on Oct. 16, 2003.
“The important thing,” Dilworth said, “is that Gaye will now have the resources for ongoing medical treatment that can keep her pain to a minimum.”
Superior Court Clerk Donna Howe said Thursday that the $331,000 verdict was one of the largest personal-injury jury verdicts in Oxford County in memory.
“Juries will often come in with verdicts a tenth this size for these kind of accidents,” Dilworth said, “but, in this case, we successfully documented the extent of the past, current, and future costs of treatment that Gaye will require.”
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