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50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
Winter in the northeast United States is generally characterized by sub-freezing temperatures and seasonal snowfall best measured in feet. Travel, of course, can be become very dangerous, and weather-related auto accidents are extremely common. Slip and fall accidents usually increase during the winter months as well, with snow- and ice-covered parking lots, sidewalks, and stairs often causing serious injury. When such accidents occur, who should be held liable for the resulting injuries? The answer depends on many factors, including where the incident took place and who was involved.
Roadway Snow and Ice
According to Connecticut law, individual municipalities including cities and towns have the authority to create their own local policies regarding snow and ice removal. The state does provide recommended provisions but permits each municipality to adopt and adapt them as it sees fit. The Connecticut Department of Transportation is statutorily tasked with clearing snow from state highways to ensure safe travel, while local and city roads are the responsibility of each city or town.
If you are arrested on the suspicion that you committed a crime, part of your defense may include showing that you were not near the location of the crime when it was taking place. But, what if records from a cell phone tower suggest that you were in the area of the crime? Are cell towers reliable enough to provide evidence that could change a criminal defendant’s life? This is the question that the Connecticut Supreme Court must answer as it reviews the case of a man currently serving 20 years prison for a robbery in Wethersfield in 2012.
Constantly Changing Technology
Before the advent of cellular technology, criminal prosecutors could definitively place a suspect near the scene of a crime in one of a few ways. The suspect’s own admission, of course, was—and still is—the most certain, but a prosecutor could also utilize physical evidence such as hair, blood, or clothing fibers, as well as the testimony of eyewitnesses. Today, however, a person is likely to carry a cell phone constantly sends and receives a variety of signals, allowing the person to make phone calls, receive emails, and share messages, while creating records of each transmission along the way.
In the state of Connecticut, the law offers a measure of protection to those who—voluntarily or in the scope of their employment—provide emergency medical assistance or first aid to a person in need. Known colloquially as a Good Samaritan law, the statute specifies that teachers, lifeguards, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel may not be held liable for any injuries resulting from “acts or omissions” by the first-responder “which may constitute ordinary negligence.”
The protection offered by the Good Samaritan law in Connecticut is generally considered to be broader than that provided by similar laws in other states. A recent decision by a New Haven Superior Court judge, however, determined that while the law may protect the individuals who provide first aid, it does not apply to all for-profit companies who employ first-responders.
According to statistics compiled by the federal government, more than 90 percent of all criminal defendant plead guilty to the charges against them—or some variation of such charges in a plea deal—instead of going to trial. In some cases, pleading guilty may be the better option, as the defendant knows that he or she committed the crime of which he or she has been accused and by pleading guilty, the impact to the defendant’s future may be lessened. In other situations, however, including many drug cases, a suspect may plead guilty because he or she was led to believe that the evidence against him or her is overwhelming, even if he or she is not actually guilty. The defendant may be convinced that he or she stands no chance at trial and a plea agreement may seem like the only option.
Field Drug Testing
One example of such potentially misleading evidence is the result of a field drug test. These tests are intended to use a chemical process to detect the presence of illicit substances and lead to thousands of arrests each year. To conduct a field drug analysis, a police officer will drop a sample of a seized substance into a pouch containing several chemicals, which are meant to change color to indicate that the substance is, in fact, an illegal drug. While many studies have supported the tests as accurate enough to establish probable cause for the officer to then make an arrest, a conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt—a standard that these $2 test kits may not be capable of meeting.
When a child is injured on school property, Connecticut law makes it rather difficult to hold the school administrators, faculty, or staff responsible for the child’s injuries. The law affords a great deal of protection to school officials and employees, shielding them on the basis of governmental immunity. A teacher or school official acting within the discretionary scope of his or her employment is typically granted generous considerations regarding liability. Otherwise, the floodgates could be opened for massive numbers of lawsuits each year.
But, what about a school official who does properly carry out his or her job-related assignments? Can he or she be held responsible if a student is injured as a result? A recent ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court indicates that the answer is “maybe.”
Smoking Before School
When you have been injured in an automobile accident, a slip-and-fall accident, or any other incident attributable to the actions or negligence of another person, you may need to take aggressive legal action to ensure that you receive full compensation for your injuries. Unfortunately, recovering damages in a personal injury case can be very difficult without responsible representation from a qualified legal professional. Choosing the right attorney can make a world of difference in the outcome of your case so it is important to consider your options carefully before making a decision.
If you have been hurt and are looking for an injury lawyer to assist you in filing a claim or a lawsuit, there are many factors to take into account, including:
Type of Accident and Areas of Focus
Just because an attorney practices in the realm of personal injury law, it does not mean that he or she has experience with the type of accident or situation that caused your injuries. If you have been injured in a car accident, you will need a lawyer who understands traffic laws and how to work with auto insurance carriers to resolve difficult cases. Likewise, if you slipped and fell on a hazard in a grocery store or were bitten by a dog, you will want your attorney to be experienced with such cases and the applicable laws.
When you go to work every day, you are expected to perform at a certain level. You may have productivity standards or sales quotas that must be met, and you are almost certainly required to adhere to your company’s code of conduct policies. If you make a major mistake or deliberately break the rules, you are probably subject to some sort of disciplinary process which could ultimately cost you your job. At the very least, you will likely be expected to remedy your error if possible. While such expectations apply to most people who work for a living, it seems that criminal prosecutors—for whom a major mistake or misconduct could ruin another person’s life—are often exempt. A report released earlier this year found that prosecutors who commit misconduct or make serious mistakes in their prosecution of criminal cases are very rarely held accountable for their actions.
Hundreds of Examples
When police officers are responding to a call, it is not uncommon for them to go speeding through city streets—sometimes pausing at red lights, sometimes not. For a responding officer, time is of the essence, of course, as the situation to which he or she has been called can quickly go out of control. When a private citizen is speeding along the highway or on city roads, he or she is typically responsible for any accidents, damages, or injuries that may arise as a result. But what about police officers? Can they be held accountable when an accident occurs in the line of duty?
Tragic Circumstances
In July of 2012, a 50-year-old Hartford man was driving along Albany Avenue, and was heading—with a green light—through the Woodland Street intersection. Seemingly out of nowhere, the man’s car was broadsided by a speeding police cruiser heading south on Woodland Street and running the red light. The man’s car was crushed on the passenger side and was pushed into a building on the side of the road. He was taken immediately to the hospital with severe injuries, where he died a week later. The officer driving the police cruiser was not hurt.
We Americans love our pets. According to estimates from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), between 37 and 47 percent of all United States households own at least one dog while 30 to 37 percent of households own at least one cat with many owning more than one. These numbers equate to as many as 80 million dogs and 96 million cats owned as pets throughout the country. Companion animals, in the overwhelming majority of cases, are treated with love and care and are provided a comfortable life by their owners. When the animals develop a need, the owners step up and address it with appropriate veterinary care or other reasonable considerations. But, what about animals who are not in a loving home? What about those who are forced to suffer deplorable conditions and unimaginable cruelty? Who speaks for them? Thanks to a new law in Connecticut, abused animals can now be provided advocates for their interests in criminal cases regarding animal cruelty.
Are you a procrastinator? When you have an important yet stressful task to complete, do you actively or subconsciously find other things to do to put it off-things like repeatedly checking your email, suddenly remembering a closet that needs to be cleaned out, or distracting yourself with hours of your favorite television show? Research on the subject suggests that chronic procrastination affects up to a quarter of the U.S. population. While putting things off can cause issues when the tasks are difficult but relatively mundane, procrastination in certain situations—like following a car accident or other injury-causing event—can potentially cost you thousands of dollars and compromise your legal rights.
Defining a Statute of Limitations
When you have been injured due to the actions or negligence of another party, the law in Connecticut typically requires you to take legal action—if you wish—within a certain period of time following your injury. The amount of time you have to file a claim depends on the type of injury you have sustained and the legal basis for your intended suit. The law that provides the applicable timeframe is known as the statute of limitations, and failure to file within the allotted time may leave you unable to collect compensation for your injuries.
50 Founders Plaza
