Category: Slip and Falls

Sabatini and Associates Retained in Slip and Fall Case

Our lawyers have been retained by a woman who suffered serious personal injuries due to a slip and fall on ice at her Connecticut apartment complex.  Our client’s injuries include a fractured leg and fractured kneecap.  Many slip and fall accidents occur due to icy conditions.  Property owners and property management companies have a legal responsibility to make sure that their walkways, driveways and parking lots are clear of snow and ice.  If you or loved one have suffered personal injuries due to ice on a sidewalk, driveway, parking lot, or walk way, call our attorneys today at 860-667-0839.

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Proving A Connecticut Public Sidewalk Defect Case

If you have been injured as a result of a public defective sidewalk in Connecticut, you have a statutory legal claim for money damages.  However, the law does not make it easy for the injured person to be successful.  This is due primarily to the law’s requirement that the injured person must prove that he or she was free from any negligence in causing the injuries.  In other words, even if the injured person is only 1% negligent for causing her injuries, the injured person loses the case. This legal requirement is vastly different from cases involving a private defective sidewalk.  In a private defective sidewalk case, the defendant must prove that the injured person was negligent and even if negligence is proven, the injured person still recovers compensation provided that her negligence does not exceed 50%. 

So, how do we prove that an injured person was free from negligence in a public defective sidewalk case? Since each case is fact specific, everything about the injured person’s behavior leading up to the fall must be examined, everything about the defect must be examined, and everything about the surrounding circumstances at the time of the incident must be examined.  Hopefully through the investigation into these three areas, a strong case can be developed.  Here is what to look for and hopefully find.

As for the person’s behavior leading up to the fall, the following will be helpful: proper footwear, proper clothing, no texting, no talking on the cell phone, no eating, no drinking a beverage, walking a normal or customary pace, and that while walking the person would look ahead, look down, look right and look left.

As for the defect, the following will be helpful: defect is the same color as the surrounding sidewalk, the defect covers a large enough area of the sidewalk that it would be difficult to walk around it, the grade of the sidewalk, and the location of the sidewalk (i.e. around a tree, next to a cross walk. on a major thoroughfare).

As for the surrounding circumstances, the following will be helpful: the pedestrians sight line as she walks towards the defect is impaired (impaired by a tree, the grade of the sidewalk, by other defects); the lighting; leaves or vegetation hiding some or all of the defect; the defect located near a street or driveway thus the pedestrian would be looking for cars rather than down at her feet; pedestrians or bicyclists approaching the pedestrian; a dog barking at the pedestrian or running towards the pedestrian; and a vehicle driving by that honks the horn, or has a siren on.

By establishing even a few of the items listed above, the injured person can effectively prove that she was free from negligence.  If you have been injured a public sidewalk defect case, contact our attorneys today at 1-860-667-0839 to discuss the legal viability of your claim.

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Lawsuit Filed In Fractured Hip Case

Attorney James Sabatini has filed a lawsuit in New Haven Superior Court on behalf of his client who sustained a fractured hip. The hip fracture was caused by a defective walkway and inadequate lighting which caused the client to lose her balance and fall. The fall took place at an apartment complex.

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Sabatini and Associates Retained In Fractured Elbow Slip and Fall Case

Sabatini and Associates has been retained for a personal injury case involving a fractured elbow. The injury was caused by an accumulation of ice on a residential driveway.  Property owners have the legal responsibility under Connecticut law to make reasonable efforts to clear snow and ice from their walkways.  Such reasonable efforts include shoveling or plowing the snow and sanding the ice.  While the property owner is under no legal requirement to sand and salt during an active storm or snowfall, once the precipitation ends, the property owner is then responsible for snow and ice removal within a reasonable time.

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Lawsuit Filed For Client Injured In Parking Lot

Connecticut personal injury attorney James Sabatini has filed suit on behalf of his client who sustained serious injuries as a result of a defective parking lot.  Commercial and retail parking lots have to be maintained and inspected by the property owner. Failing to maintain a parking lot results in deteriorating conditions including loose gravel, cracks and potholes.  These hazards pose a significant risks to shoppers.  Stepping into a pothole or tripping over a serious crack in the pavement can cause serious injury.   The property owner must take reasonable steps to fix the defect or at a minimum place a warning cone to alert shoppers of the hazard. 

The failure to correct the defect or warn against it constitutes negligence and the property owner will be liable for injuries caused by the hazard.  In many of these cases, the property owner’s insurance company will argue that the injured shopper was at fault for not seeing the hazard.  In most cases this argument can be defeated or minimized. For example, shoppers will not see the crack, loose gravel or pothole because they are carrying large boxes or shopping bags.  In other instances, the hazard has been covered by leaves, sand, debris or snow.

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