A Maine woman has sued Dollar Tree over injuries she suffered when a pick-up truck crashed through the front entrance last December.
Diane Martin, a 67-year-old woman from the Sullivan, was shopping at the Dollar Tree located in on Route 3 in Ellsworth when Joseph LaFrance — an 80-year-old man from Ellsworth — crashed into the building after accidentally hitting the accelerator in his pick-up truck.
Four other shoppers also suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident.
Martin alleges in the lawsuit that Dollar Tree was aware prior to the crash that the bollards installed outside of the store were insufficient to prevent accidents such as this from occurring.
Reporting from WMTW done at the time of the incident revealed that the bollards used at the location were not crash test rated and were intended for use in warehouses to stop forklifts — not outside storefronts to stop cars.
Ellsworth did not, however, require that any bollards be installed at this location.
Martin’s attorneys argues in the lawsuit that Dollar Tree installed these bollards at their store “in order to give an appearance to the public that the Ellsworth Dollar Tree was a safe place to frequent.”
Martin’s attorney — Taylor Asen of Auburn — alleges in the lawsuit that the company has known “for many years” that storefront crashes have posed a risk to customers at their more than 16,000 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar locations nationwide.
“Since 2009, there have been at least 140 crashes into Dollar Tree storefronts” and “at least 80 crashes into the storefronts of Family Dollar,” the lawsuit states. “Many of these storefront crashes resulted in injuries to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar customers.”
The lawsuit also claims that Martin has suffered “serious and debilitating injuries” as a result of the crash and has consequently experienced “permanent impairment, emotional distress,” and financial losses, as well as “pain, suffering, and lost enjoyment of life.”
Through her lawsuit, Martin has accused not only Dollar Tree, but also LaFrance and Miser Investments LLC — which owns the Ellsworth property where Dollar Tree is located — of negligence.
She also alleges that the manufacturer of the bollards used at the store — McCue Corp. — produced defective equipment and failed to provide reasonable warning of the potential harm they posed.
From her lawsuit, Martin is seeking unspecified monetary damages, as well as “other and further relief,” from the defendants.
A court clerk has told media outlets that the civil complaint was filed in Kennebec County Superior Court on November 13.
Good job Taylor Asen, and all his team of ambulance chasing lawyers from Auburn, on suing everyone but the paver of the parking lot, Joe Lafrance estate, the primary care dr. of Joe Lafrance, the manufacturer of the automobile Lafrance was driving, the manager of the Dollar Tree, the town of Ellsworth, the town manager of Ellsworth, the Ellsworth police chief, the Ellsworth code enforcement officer, Ellsworth chief of Fire and Rescue, etc. etc.