Connecticut Injury Attorney Blog

Just over a year ago, 20 year-old University of Connecticut student David Plamondon was killed when a campus shuttle bus struck him as he was crossing an intersection. The accident occurred on campus at about 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Emergency responders pronounced Plamondon dead at the scene.

The driver of the shuttle bus was a student, 22 year-old Lukasz Gilewski. Most of the drivers in UConn's 13-bus campus shuttle system are students. In order to work as a driver, they must obtain a commercial driver's license and complete thirty hours of behind-the-wheel training. Gilewski reportedly waved to another bus driver just before hitting Plamondon. Gilewski was charged with negligent vehicular homicide and failing to yield to a pedestrian. He pleaded nolo contendere to negligent homicide in early March. He received a six-month suspended prison sentence and will serve two years of probation.

In the aftermath of the accident, students and administrators reviewed safety issues for pedestrians on the UConn campus. The head of the University's Department of Transportation Services, Janet Freniere, formed a committee to review pedestrian safety during the fall semester. They found that motor vehicles, including shuttle buses, presented a danger to pedestrians on campus, along with scooters, bicycles, and skateboards.

UConn installed a system of speakers on all of its shuttle buses intended to warn pedestrians when the buses are turning corners. Freniere acknowledged that the system came in response to Plamondon's death, and a university spokesman confirmed this in a statement to the media. The system, known as "Safe Turn Alert," plays a verbal message, "Pedestrians, bus is turning," when the bus' wheels turn a certain degree. The system also reportedly reminds drivers to look both ways.

The school started using the system on Monday, March 19. Students have said that the system, while initially startling, helps at times when visibility is low and the buses are difficult to see. Drivers have reportedly said that they have seen pedestrians step back out of the street when they hear the warning. Plamondon's brother, Mitchel, however, told the UConn student newspaper that he supports the university taking action but thinks the system places the burden on the pedestrian rather than the bus driver.

Continue reading "University of Connecticut Implements System Allowing Campus Shuttle Buses to Give Verbal Warnings to Pedestrians" »

To meet the need for immediate step by step on scene assistance for Connecticut motor vehicle drivers involved in an collision a new Car Accident app has been made available without cost. Very few persons involved in a car crash would think to get legal advice or retain a lawyer instantly in order to know what to do at the scene of the accident and in the immediate aftermath, what to document and how to assemble useful information for an attorney to eventually assist with the claim if need be. The accident app provides that level of instruction. Both i-phone and Android versions of the app have gone live and may be downloaded for free at the links provided herein.

The free release of the car crash app is part of the continuing effort on the part of a law firm dedicated to provide injured people with competent and aggressive legal representation on personal injury matters including automobile, motrocycle and truck accidents. We also represent people in a full range of personal injury litigation including car accidents and truck accidents, construction accidents, work injuries and those caused by dangerous or defective products.

Attorney Levin is rated by AVVO ( Independent Lawyer Research Organization) as "Superb" and has been recognized by Hartford Magazine as a Top Personal Injury lawyer in the Greater Hartford, CT area. BV Distinguished Peer reviewed rating issued by Martindale Hubbel. Office location- 40 Russ Street, Hartford, Connecticut though cases presently handled in Waterbury, New Haven, Middletown, New London and LItchfield regions.

Police in Danbury, Connecticut announced the arrest of 22 year-old Eugene Robinson in connection with the November 2011 hit-and-run death of Dong Lin. Lin, a non-matriculated student at Western Connecticut State University, died on November 22 after a car hit him as he crossed the street. We previously remarked on this case in this Connecticut Injury Attorney Blog in November. Robinson, who is also a student at WCSU, reportedly turned himself in on Friday, January 27, when he learned that police had issued a warrant for his arrest. His attorney says that he has cooperated with police throughout the investigation, and that he notified authorities of his involvement in the accident two days after it occurred.

Robinson faces a charge of evading responsibility because he allegedly fled the scene of the accident after his vehicle allegedly struck Lin. "Evading responsibility" is defined by Connecticut law, in part, as failing to stop and render assistance when one had knowingly been involved in an accident that involves serious injury to, or the death of, another person. The statute requires a person to provide needed assistance and to provide identifying information to a witness or to law enforcement. The statute prescribes a penalty of one to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or a combination thereof.

Robinson entered a plea of not guilty in Danbury Superior Court on February 16. He must report back to court on March 7. After his arrest, the court freed him on $10,000 bail.

The accident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Lin was crossing White Street when a car, described a by witnesses as dark-colored and "boxy," hit him. Lin was pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital later in the day. Witnesses said that the car did not appear to be speeding. Authorities have given no indication that alcohol played any role in the accident at all. According to Robinson's attorney, he did not have time to react when Lin stepped into the street. He says Robinson drove away because he "panicked."

Witnesses have also suggested that Lin was distracted when he tried to cross White Street, The spot where he stepped into the street is reportedly two hundred feet from the nearest crosswalk. Investigators have also suggested that Lin might have been texting shortly before he was hit. He was apparently sending a text message to a friend at the time of the accident.

Continue reading "Man Charged in Western Connecticut State University Hit and Run Accident" »

A Pennsylvania construction worker who was paralyzed in a 2001 hit and run accident has received a $3 million workers' compensation settlement, believed to be one of the largest settlements ever. His case has been, to put it mildly, a rollercoaster ride through many of the most difficult obstacles a personal injury plaintiff can face. After a lawsuit for negligence and Dram Shop Act liability, he had to pursue a claim for bad faith refusal to pay an insurance claim. With the settlement of his workers' compensation claim, perhaps the case can have some closure.

Joseph Tuski worked as a road flagman in Warminster, Pennsylvania. In January 2001, he was directing traffic around a construction site when a car driven by Michael Petaccio reportedly hit him, throwing him fifteen feet in the air and sixty feet away. Tuski suffered severe neck and spinal injuries, brain injuries, and broken limbs. The injuries rendered Tuski a quadriplegic, and he continues to require around-the-clock medical care.

Petaccio was the manager of the Ivyland Cafe and had reportedly just left there when the accident occurred. He fled the scene of the accident and was arrested several days later. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while driving under the influence in 2001 and received a prison sentence of one and a half to three years.

Tuski filed suit against Petaccio and the Ivyland Cafe, alleging that Petaccio was negligent and therefore liable for his injuries, and that the Ivyland Cafe was liable under the Dram Shop Act. This law allows someone injured by a person under the influence of alcohol to recover damages from the person or business that served the person alcohol, if they did so when the person was already visibly and unreasonably intoxicated. In early 2004, a jury in Philadelphia awarded Tuski $75.6 million in compensatory and punitive damages, which Tuski's lawyer at the time claimed was the largest verdict in a liquor liability case in Pennsylvania history.

Continue reading "Construction Worker Paralyzed by a Drunk Driver Receives a Record Workers' Compensation Settlement" »

A 19 year-old student at Western Connecticut State University died after a hit-and-run accident on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Dong Lin, a commuter student at the university who resided in Brookfield, was struck by a car around 5:30 p.m. while crossing White Street in Danbury. Police responded to a call at about 5:35 p.m. Lin was later pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital. Police have not announced any suspects or arrests in the case. Both Danbury and university police are reportedly investigating the accident, and have asked any witnesses to come forward. The only available witness description was of a "dark-colored, boxy car." The university is also making additional counseling resources available to its community in the wake of the accident.

Hit-and-run accidents have consequences far beyond the people directly injured or killed. When a person flees the scene of an accident, especially one with a fatality, that person creates further difficulties for both the victims and the authorities. The case could eventually have both criminal and civil components.

The driver, if apprehended, will likely face a charge of "misconduct with a motor vehicle" or "negligent homicide with a motor vehicle," as defined by Connecticut law. The misconduct charge involves "criminal negligence" in operating a motor vehicle that causes another person's death. It is a class D felony with a penalty of one to five years imprisonment. The negligent homicide offense, considered a lesser included offense of the misconduct charge, involves merely negligent operation of a motor vehicle that causes a person's death. It carries a penalty of up to six months' imprisonment. Considering that the driver apparently fled the scene of the accident in this case, a misconduct charge, if not an outright charge of manslaughter, seems likely.

The driver also faces potential civil liability for wrongful death. This is a civil claim brought by the heirs of someone who died as a result of another person's illegal or negligent conduct. Unlike a criminal case, which is brought by the state and seeks to punish the defendant, a wrongful death claim seeks financial compensation for the loss of the decedent's support and companionship.

Continue reading "Connecticut College Student Killed in Hit and Run Accident" »

An equipment malfunction may have caused a U-Haul truck to crash into a tailgate party outside the Yale University football stadium, killing one person and injuring two more, according to the truck's driver. Police are still investigating the crash and its possible causes. For a personal injury lawyer, the case presents the critical question of who could be held liable for the crash, and in this case it is not yet clear.

The crash occurred Saturday, November 19, 2011. The truck, driven by a Yale junior, was on its way to a fraternity tailgate party outside the football stadium when it suddenly swerved and sped up, veering into a crowd and hitting three women attending another tailgate party. A 30 year-old woman from Salem, Massachusetts was killed. Another victim was taken to a nearby hospital in serious but stable condition. A third victim received treatment for minor injuries.

New Haven police took the driver of the U-Haul to police headquarters and administered a standard field sobriety test. The driver reportedly passed the test, and he was released from police custody. No charges have been filed against him. Two passengers were also reportedly in the truck at the time of the crash, but neither was detained by police.

Police impounded the truck, a Ford F-350 with a V-10 Triton engine, in order to preserve it for inspection. The Yale Daily News interviewed several individuals with knowledge of this model of truck regarding the claim of some sort of vehicle malfunction. Some F-350 models apparently have closely-spaced gas and brake pedals, for example, leaving the possibility that a driver could accidentally push both pedals, or even just the gas pedal, when intending to brake. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has apparently received several complaints regarding this truck model.

Although it is too early to say what claims may arise from this tragic event, a wrongful death claim on behalf of the woman killed in the crash seems likely. This requires proof that someone's negligence directly caused her death. Three possible defendants present themselves, depending on how the investigation turns out: the driver of the truck, the truck rental company, or the truck's manufacturer. No evidence yet available supports a specific negligence claim against any of the actual people or businesses involved in this case, so of course this analysis is purely hypothetical.

Continue reading "Fatal Crash at Connecticut Tailgate Party Leaves Liability Questions Unanswered" »

Sometimes, unlikely events occur. Getting struck by a police cruiser on a street just blocks from the Police Department falls into that category. Having the Assistant Police Chief( Officer Melendez) behind the wheel at the time adds to the misfortune. Losing consciousness at the scene and being removed by ambulance with head and facial injuries only to awake from the fog of it all to find out that the accident investigation is likely being carried out by officers, junior in rank to the Assistant Chief with no evident referral to the State Police or some other mechanism offering a higher indicia of reliability as to the eventual findings and investigative deliberative process borders on the incomprehensible. That, however, is exactly what seems to have happened in the case of a recent client whose Family simply contacted my office to look into what may have happened and take any appropriate steps to pursue a personal injury claim on his behalf should the facts so warrant.

Continue reading "NEW HAVEN, CT PEDESTRIAN STRUCK BY A POLICE VEHICLE CRIES FOUL WHEN JUNIOR OFFICERS ARE PUT IN CHARGE OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION" »