In case we were not convinced, the last few days has proven that winter has officially arrived in New England. As you probably realize, sub-freezing temperatures, along with the ice and snow that typically accompany them, can present a variety of dangers. Icy roads make car accidents more likely, and snow-covered walkways can lead to serious slip-and-fall injuries. Sometimes, snow can contribute to an accident by hiding other hazards, such broken sidewalk slabs or black ice. Such was allegedly the case for a former Vernon resident who recently settled an injury claim against the apartment complex where he once lived.

A Dangerous Combination

According to court records, the incident took place in January 2015 after a snowfall. A 41-year-old man fell on the walkway of his apartment complex on West Main Street in Vernon. The man claimed that the walkway was cracked and uneven, but that snow and ice covered up the walkway’s poor condition. He reportedly suffered injuries to his left leg, knee, and hip, and surgery was required to put hardware in his leg.

In October 2017, the injured man filed a lawsuit against the owners of the apartment complex for negligence related to the incident. The suit alleged that the owners knew or should have known that the sidewalk was in a state of disrepair and that residents would be walking on it but did nothing to address the problem. The original claim sought $450,000 in damages, including $100,000 in medical bills.

When a dog attacks and causes injury to a person, the owner of the dog is generally liable for those injuries under Connecticut law. The damages that the victim could collect depend on a number of factors, including the extent of his or her injuries and the effect those injuries have on the victims’ life. For example, a person who has been permanently scarred as the result of a dog bite might be entitled to collect more than an individual whose injuries healed completely in a matter of weeks. This idea can perhaps be best explained with real-world cases that were resolved recently right here in Connecticut.

FedEx Driver Receives $160,000 Settlement

Delivery personnel, including those who work for the U.S. Postal Service and private companies like UPS and FedEx, encounter dogs virtually every day. In 2013, a FedEx driver was backing into a residential driveway in Thomaston when he was attacked and bitten by two pit bulls. According to the victim’s account, the attack continued for nearly two agonizing minutes. The man’s wounds were reportedly so deep that the staff at the hospital decided against stitching them up, opting to irrigate them instead to reduce the risk of infection.

The insurance company for the dogs’ owners offered a settlement of $10,000, reports indicate, and the victim’s initial demand was for $250,000. The victim filed suit in Litchfield Superior court in 2015, but a settlement agreement was only recently reached. Under the terms of the settlement, the man received $120,000 from the dog owners—via their insurance carrier—and $40,000 in workers’ compensation benefits since the attack occurred while the victim was working. The victim has recovered from his injuries but still has permanent scars on his arm.

It is a scene that is often portrayed in Hollywood thriller movies: a person is driving at highway speeds when they need to apply the brakes. Instead of the slowing the car, however, the brake pedal sinks to the floor, all but completely useless. For a West Hartford woman, this unlikely scenario became all too real when the brakes in the car she was driving suddenly stopped working, leading to a serious accident.

A Scary Situation

The incident occurred in July of last year on Interstate 84 in West Hartford. The woman had just picked up her daughter’s 1964 Chrysler New Yorker at a repair shop in Clinton. On that particular day, the repair shop fixed a flat tire on the classic car. The same shop had serviced the New Yorker on at least 10 separate occasions in the 15 months leading up to that day.

After fixing the flat, the repair shop released the car to the woman, representing that it was safe to drive and in sound mechanical condition. In reality, however, there was a leak in the left rear brake assembly. The problem became evident when the woman tried to slow the car to exit the interstate. The Chrysler struck another vehicle, crashed into a guardrail, and went over an embankment. The driver reportedly suffered several serious including fractured ribs and concussion. She remained in the hospital for four days followed by more than three weeks in a rehabilitation center, her lawyer indicated.

When you have been involved in an auto accident, most advice from attorneys and insurance companies recommends against admitting fault or apologizing to the other party or parties involved. This is because car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are often the result of many factors in addition to your own behavior. Apologizing or admitting fault could cause the police, insurance claims adjusters, and investigators to take you at your word instead of looking more deeply into the circumstances the crash. The other drivers are also less likely to voluntarily take responsibility if you have already done so.

Sometimes, a more in-depth investigation into an accident may lead to the discovery of evidence from unexpected sources, including security cameras installed on homes, government buildings, and private businesses in the vicinity of the crash. Footage from one such camera recently provided the proof a Prospect man needed to collect a large settlement following a motorcycle accident in Bethany.

Lucky to Be Alive

The moments after an auto accident can be extremely important in determining which driver’s insurance company should be paying for the resulting damages or injuries. In most cases, each driver provides a reasonably accurate account of what happened to the responding police officer, and the officer uses that information to file an accident report. Sometimes, however, the information provided by one or both drivers conflicts with the physical evidence or other individuals’ accounts of the accident. When this happens, crash investigators may need to find other ways to figure out exactly who was responsible.

Event Data Recorders

You are probably aware that commercial airplanes are generally equipped with an electronic device that records flight data and other important details that could be important when a crash or an unexpected mechanical failure occurs. Commonly known as a “black box”—despite being bright orange so that it can be found more easily at a crash site—the device is actually called an “event data recorder” or EDR.