One can hardly doubt that persons who have sustained serious work site injuries, some that have led to their Death, by their pursuit of lawsuits beyond the mere assertion of workers compensation claims have fostered awareness and safety for many. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that occurred in the year 1911 was one of the most tragic industrial accidents in U.S. history. 146 workers lost their lives, many were young female immigrants.
The factory conditions were so deplorable and unsafe that a criminal investigation and charges were filed but the owners of the Factory were acquitted. However, they were sued for civil damages-monetary compensation for those that lost their lives and brought wrongful death claims which they won. The American Society of Safety Engineers(ASSE) was also founded, in part, because of this event and made efforts to bring attention to the horrid conditions which the workers were having to work in.
In Connecticut, we have experienced a number of industrial accidents. One of the more recent and tragic ones occurred in Middletown last year and left five people dead and over a dozen injured on this work site as a result of a gas explosion. The litigation growing out of that event is still ongoing. It may turn out that there was more than mere negligence involved in this mishap. Many smaller tragedies continue to befall Connecticut workers on construction sites, factory floors and warehousing facilities. Where appropriate, it is helpful to pursue a recklessness claim against the responsible parties assuming that they do not have clear legal immunity for civil money damages which is often the case given the statutory language of the workers compensation statute.
A civil Complaint sounding in recklessness may be substantially the same factually with the addition of an allegation of Scienter. Namely, that the party acted wantonly, willfully or its conduct was reckless based upon what it knew and understood to be the risks its conduct created. ( see Gurliacci. See, Ruano v. Carias, Superior Court, Docket No.
CV085006698, Judicial District of StamfordDec, 30, 2008) (Pavia, J.), 2008
Conn. Super. LEXIS 3334 (Conn. Super. Ct. Dec. 30, 2008); Lugauskas v. Reis,
Superior Court, Docket No. CV 00 0161575 (November 29, 2001, Rogers, J.)
2001 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3364); Cyr v. Fahey, Superior Court, Docket No. CV
04 0351231, 2004 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2832 (September 22, 2004, Bellis, J.).
Castro v. Sail Harbour Club Ass'n, Inc., 2004 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3665 (Conn.
Super. Ct. Dec. 9, 2004) . It is sometimes the Defendant's knowledge and sophistication that supports an awareness of the risk and and conscious decision to disregard same . In such a situation then that same conduct may be viewed to have been engaged in recklessly. A finding of recklessness on the part of the responsible party can engender punitive damages and lead to a great deal more care being taken in the future in order to prevent similar accidents, a worthy accomplishment.
