Lawsuit settled in cruiser accident $400,000 awarded to Liberty family

BELFAST – More than three years after one of their sheriff’s deputies crashed his cruiser head-on into a van carrying the Sullivan family of Liberty, the Waldo County commissioners have agreed to an $400,000 insurance settlement with the four-member family.

“We voted unanimously to approve the settlement recommended by our risk pool,” commission Chairman Jethro Pease said after Tuesday’s vote.

The commissioners reached their decision after discussing the terms in executive session with their Maine County Commissioners Association insurance manager, Malcolm Ulmer, and attorney Peter Marchesi of Waterville.

The accident occurred on July 2, 1998, on Route 131 in Waldo. The Sullivans were headed east at about 8:30 a.m. in a Chevrolet van when a Waldo County Sheriff’s Department patrol car suddenly crested the hill in front of them and hit their van head on.

Deputy Charles “Chip” Paone, 23 at the time of accident, had just passed a dump truck and was still in the Sullivans’ driving lane when his Ford cruiser slammed into the van. Paone, who was uninjured in the crash, was subsequently charged with driving to endanger. He was found not guilty when the case was tried in December 1999.

Paone, who now lives in New Hampshire, was attending Unity College and working part time as a deputy sheriff on the day of the accident. He was on his way to cover a minor accident at the other end of the county when he crashed into the Sullivans’ van.

John Sullivan, 56, the driver of the van, lost his eye in the crash, suffered a fractured hip, fractured toe, fractured bones in his right leg, torn rotator cuff of the right shoulder, fractured bones in his face and multiple abrasions all over his body.

Sullivan has undergone extensive therapy since the crash, has had two heart attacks and is confined to a wheelchair.

His son, Demain Sullivan, 29, who was riding beside his father in the van’s front seat, sustained two broken legs, has difficulty walking unaided and continues to undergo therapy.

Demain’s wife, Kristen Sullivan, 26, injured her back in the crash. Their son, Sean, 10, has visual problems as a result of the accident. Throughout their ordeal, the Sullivans have incurred more than $500,000 in medical bills.

Although the Sullivans initially filed a claim for $7.5 million, the county was protected under the state’s Tort Claims Act to liability of $400,000 in the case of accident. The Sullivans attempted to circumvent the tort limit by appealing directly to the 119th Maine Legislature for assistance.

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Susan Longley, D-Liberty, and state Rep. Carol Weston, R-Montville, proposing a $700,000 payment on top of the tort claim limit, however, died in committee in April 2000.

After being thwarted by the Legislature, the Sullivans filed suit against the county in June 2000, a few days before the two-year statute of limitations expired

Attorney Stephen Silin of Lewiston, representing the family, said Tuesday that the Sullivan family intended to bring its case before the Legislature next year. He said the cap imposed by the Tort Claims Act was not sufficient to cover the family’s medical expenses or do them justice.

“We’re happy that this phase of the dispute is over,” said Silin. “It’s been a long and contentious one.

“But there still are pending issues that need to be addressed by the Legislature as to the real injustices of the Tort Claims Act. We don’t intend to go away. We’ve resolved the first step, but we have to bring justice to the Sullivan family, whose lives have been forever changed as a result of this accident.”

Attempts to reach Ulmer on Tuesday at his Augusta office were unsuccessful.