Boothbay is disputing a man’s claim that he was hurt in a mowing incident last summer as a result of the town’s negligence. Suing the town was the last thing that Harold Siagel, 84, a summer resident of Boothbay Harbor, wanted to do after debris from the mower struck and injured him as he drove along Country Club Road, Siagel’s attorney said May 4.

Attorney Richard Elliott said that from the ambulance crew, to then-Boothbay town manager Jim Chaousis, the town was attentive to Siagel. 

“The town couldn’t have been better,” Elliott said. The suit was brought after an insurance adjuster handling the matter for the town refused to pay Siagel’s medical costs stemming from the incident, Elliott said.

Siagel’s complaint, filed in Lincoln County Superior Court on March 16,  claims that on June 25, 2014, a Boothbay town worker was operating a riding mower when debris from it struck Siagel and his vehicle. The vehicle was damaged and Siagel was injured and scarred, the suit claims.

Siagel had a fractured left cheek bone and permanent eye and hearing injuries, according to the complaint.

“(He) was violently struck on the left side of his head by one or more rocks and debris ejected from the discharge of a riding lawn mower ... while (Siagel) at all relevant times (used) due care.”

Siagel was the vehicle’s lone occupant as he drove it with the driver’s side window rolled down, Elliott said in Monday’s telephone interview.

The suit seeks unspecified compensation for damages and legal costs.

The town has coverage up to the maximum $400,000 a plaintiff can be awarded for a tort claim under Maine law, Boothbay’s attorney in the matter, Edward Benjamin Jr., said on May 1. The town’s coverage is through the Maine Municipal Association’s property and casualty pool, a self-insured municipal risk pool, Benjamin said.

The town’s answer to the lawsuit denies Siagel’s claim of negligence; and argues that the complaint lacks a claim for which relief could be granted.

With the suit only recently filed and the information-gathering phase just getting under way, Benjamin said he was unable to answer questions about the facts of the case.

The court received the town’s answer on March 19. The denials in it preserve the town’s ability to deny the claims as the case moves forward, Benjamin said Friday.

The town’s answer seeks legal costs and asks the court to rule in Boothbay’s favor.

Boothbay Town Manager Dan Bryer deferred comment to Benjamin.