WARREN, Maine — A judge approved this week a judgment of nearly $1.8 million to a Warren couple injured in a 2013 crash when a farm truck turned into their path.
Justice Daniel Billings issued the judgment Tuesday for Dean and Shelby Olsen against Jacob Hyler and Ahlholm Inc. of Warren.
The Olsens were injured on Sept. 18, 2013, when Hyler, now 25, was driving a 2006 GMC truck south on Western Road in Warren and turned left into the path of a 2012 Hyundai, driven by 40-year-old Dean Olsen. At the time, Hyler was working and driving the truck for Ahlholm, which operates a retail and wholesale farming business.
The vehicles collided nearly head-on.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office reported at that time that Shelby Olsen, a passenger in the Hyundai, was treated for unspecified injuries at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport and then released. Dean Olsen, however, was taken to a Bangor hospital for multiple injuries, including broken bones.
Hyler, who was not injured, was issued a summons for failing to yield the right of way, according to the sheriff’s office.
In this week’s judgment, Dean Olsen was awarded $960,000 and Shelby Olsen was awarded $825,000. Insurance companies have already paid $205,000 to Dean Olsen and $130,000 to Shelby Olsen, according to court records. The damages were for physical injuries, emotional distress, pain and injury, loss of opportunities and loss of enjoyment of life, according to court papers.
The couple will not seek additional damages from the defendants other than what will be paid out by another insurer, Tower National Insurance Company.
The Olsens were represented by attorneys Graydon Stevens and Lauri Boxer-Macomber of Portland and Jack McGintee of Windham.