An electric bicyclist hit by a U.S. Postal Service vehicle is suing the federal government.
Marha Stover was hit by the vehicle when it made a right turn in Warren in 2024, according to a lawsuit against the United States of America alleging negligence that was filed in the U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor on Monday.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, in part for Stover’s injuries. Her collarbone was fractured and surgically repaired with plates.
The Postal Service does not comment on pending litigation, spokesperson Judy Ferriera said.
“The United States of America is legally responsible for the negligence of its USPS employee because he was acting within the course and scope of his federal employment at the time of the collision,” the lawsuit said.
Stover was riding an electric bicycle around 3:15 p.m. on June 27, 2024, on Atlantic Highway in Warren. A USPS employee made a right turn onto Camden Road without doing a “proper lookout” for Stover to ensure the turn was safe, the lawsuit said.
Maine law says a person driving a vehicle cannot make a right turn unless there is space to do it with “reasonable safety” and without interfering with the “safe and legal operation of the bicycle or roller skis.”
The passenger side of the USPS vehicle hit Stover, throwing her from her bike and into the roadway, the lawsuit said. Stover was taken by ambulance to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a fracture to her right clavicle and a displaced vertebra in her sacrum.
Stover had surgery about three weeks later, where dual plates and screws stabilized her clavicle, the lawsuit said. She has continuing pain.