New Haven Personal Injury Law Blog

While certain factors, among them icy sidewalks, cluttered store aisles and slick surfaces, have the capacity to make anyone fall down, Connecticut’s older residents face an elevated risk of falling and injuring themselves when such environmental factors exist. At Loughlin Fitzgerald, P.C., we recognize that when home and business owners are negligent, they endanger everyone, but today’s older Americans typically have other risk factors in play that make them even more likely to suffer a fall-related injury.

Per the National Council on Aging, today’s seniors are experiencing slip-and-fall accidents at alarming rates, and so much so that falls have become the single biggest cause of fatal injuries, nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions among this population. In addition to affecting you physically, falls also take an emotional toll on many older Americans, and in some cases, they make seniors less likely to move about and socialize.

At Loughlin Fitzgerald PC, we understand that underage drinking poses a significant ongoing problem in Connecticut and across the nation. But did you know that you could be held legally responsible if you allow your child or his or her friends to possess alcohol at your home?

As explained by the Beverage Journal, Connecticut’s social host law, enacted in 2012, prohibits you from recklessly or with criminal negligence allowing anyone on your property under the age of 21 to possess alcohol. In addition, it likewise requires you to make reasonable efforts to stop any such underage person from possessing or consuming alcohol in your home. If prosecuted for and convicted of this social host crime, you could face up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

Motor vehicles are a major source of convenience, allowing people the freedom and independence to travel anywhere they wish with a little bit of planning and gas money. Most people in Connecticut depend on motor vehicles to make their daily commute to work, run errands and care for their families.

All too often, drivers don't consider the potential risks before they get behind the wheel. After all, most people arrive safely. For a small fraction of people, a standard drive can turn into something tragic or even fatal. Crashes that result in catastrophic injuries or fatalities are not common, but they do happen every day. For those who lose a loved one to a deadly crash, there is the potential to seek compensation and justice if the other driver was responsible for the collision.

People in Connecticut should be able to walk along a sidewalk without fear of getting hit by a car or other vehicle. Assumptions like this, however, rely on drivers to operate their vehicles safely and responsibly and with the care of others in mind. Unfortunately, there are too many people who fail to consider the safety of others and even of themselves when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

One example of this can be seen in an accident that took place recently in Thomaston. According to NBC Connecticut, a man and his son, who is a minor, were walking on a sidewalk near a gas station when they were suddenly hit by a sports-style passenger car. The driver of the vehicle did not apparently stop upon hitting the two pedestrians as reports indicate it only stopped after hitting a sign at the gas station.