Posted on September 03, 2020 in Car Accidents

With more people deciding to forgo public transportation and use their cars instead, traffic on Connecticut roads is picking up. The presence of more cars means that more traffic accidents are likely, which makes this a good time to make sure your car insurance policy provides you with all the coverage you need in case of an auto accident.

Not every insurer offers the same types of coverage, and you might not have a type of coverage if you did not request it up front. These are just two reasons why your policy might lack some coverage.

Liability and injury coverage

The State of Connecticut Insurance Department explains that state laws require certain types of insurance coverage. Liability insurance is one of these, and it covers damages if you are at fault for them.

Personal injury protection or medical payments coverage pays for your medical bills no matter if you are at fault or not. However, given that state law does not require them, you might not have received them as part of your policy.

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 Posted on August 26, 2020 in Premises Liability

Many falls are preventable and occur because a property owner failed to do something to make it safer for you during your visit to the premises. A fall can result in serious injuries that may require long-term treatment and care.

There are different types of falls that can occur under different circumstances. The following information comes primarily from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, but it is also applicable to falls unrelated to work. 

Trips

A trip occurs when your foot comes in contact with an obstacle while you are walking. You can lose your balance when your foot strikes the obstacle if you are moving with enough momentum. Examples of obstacles that could cause a trip include:

• A piece of merchandise that store workers failed to pick up

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 Posted on August 26, 2020 in Workers' Compensation

Gov. Ned Lamont signed Executive Order 7JJJ to create a limited rebuttable presumption that workers who contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic contracted it on the job, and that they are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

The order states that any employee who initiates a claim for payment of workers’ compensation benefits—after missing a day or more of work between March 10, 2020, and May 20, 2020, because he or she showed symptoms of, or was diagnosed with COVID-19—contracted it as an occupational disease during his or her employment provided that the following statements are true:

1. The employee worked, at the direction of the employer, outside the home during at least one of the 14 days immediately preceding the date of injury, and had not received an offer or directive from said employer to work from home instead of from his or her place of employment;

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 Posted on August 07, 2020 in Car Accidents

Your immediate thoughts after experiencing a car accident in Bridgeport (after assessing your own condition, as well as that of your passengers and your vehicle) likely center on how the person that hit you seemed so inattentive to your presence on the road.

Distracted driving is a real problem. Yet many of those that seek our assistance here at Tremont Sheldon P.C. often only believe it to occur when one is using their cell phone while driving. In reality, there are a number of different distractions that could have pulled the attention of the driver that hit you away from the road. One may be much more common (and dangerous) than you realize.

Eating and drinking while behind the wheel

This particular type of distraction is eating and drinking while driving, and is likely overlooked by you (and most others) as a distraction because it seems to be such a natural act. Yet according to information shared through a joint awareness campaign featuring the Auto Alliance and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, eating behind the wheel causes drivers to simultaneously engage in the following three major types of distractions:

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 Posted on August 04, 2020 in Car Accidents

Recent incidents have led to a dramatic drop in traffic. With most people staying at home in recent months, roads and highways were freer than normal of most motorists.

People who were out driving, however, took advantage by speeding at unprecedented rates. With states now seeing individuals leaving the house more, speeders pose a danger to the public if they continue the dangerous habit.

Numbers detail a problem

States report many more vehicles caught speeding in recent weeks when there were fewer drivers on the road. Instead of driving 10 or 15 mph over the limit, drivers felt free to exceed 100 mph. The Governors Highway Safety Association said the problem was nationwide, including the northeast. New York City issued twice as many daily speeding tickets via automatic cameras as usual.

The consequences are in the statistics. For example, in New England, Massachusetts, car crash fatalities rose. In Rhode Island, pedestrian deaths were up. The increases in deaths occurred despite far fewer vehicles on the road.

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 Posted on July 30, 2020 in Sexual Abuse

Police officers and police departments are supposed to enforce the law and serve the communities they work in. Unfortunately, some lose sight of this. Here in Connecticut, former police officer William Ruscoe sexually abused and assaulted a teenage girl he was mentoring when she was a cadet in the Trumbull Police Explorer Scout Program.

Ruscoe, a 20-year veteran and supervisor, was arrested and ultimately pleaded guilty to second degree assault in 2014. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the sentence was suspended after 30 months in 2017. He remains on probation and is a registered sex offender.

The victim filed a lawsuit against the responsible parties.

"For years, it has been known that police explorer programs, such as the one in Trumbull, put underage explorers at risk for sexual molestation. Yet, Trumbull had inadequate supervision and allowed rules to be broken, enabling Ruscoe, a police officer and program advisor, to have un-monitored contact with our client, who was a minor cadet in the program," said senior partner attorney who represents the victim. "Our client was drawn to the police cadet program because she always looked up to and trusted law enforcement. Instead she was horribly deceived and continues to suffer emotional trauma from the abuse."

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 Posted on July 09, 2020 in Car Accidents

Drivers education is important for young students to become better drivers. In the digital age, virtual driving lessons are becoming more popular. However, this does not always mean that they are a better option than in-person driving lessons.

With virtual learning, there may be more risks for accidents.

Factors behind teen accidents

According to the CDC, car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. The risk of crashes for individuals between the ages of 16 and 19 is higher than any other demographic. Within that age group, those who experience a 1.5 times higher rate of accidents than older teens are 16-year-old students.

One of the major factors that contribute to teen accidents is inexperience. An inexperienced driver may not recognize dangerous situations on the road. They may also be more likely to speed and less likely to use seatbelts.

The problems with virtual driving schools

Virtual driving schools can be convenient. They can also be less expensive than traditional schools. However, when your child attends a virtual driving school, he or she may not receive the same level of instruction that he or she may receive in person. Online school is generally less regulated. Some students may rush through the work without learning key information about driving.

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 Posted on June 30, 2020 in Car Accidents

If you have been in a car accident in Connecticut, you should know your rights and responsibilities. Diligently assessing damages and filing an insurance claim can bring some financial relief after a wreck, but sometimes this does not do enough to cover damages — physical, emotional or material.

In these cases, you may be able to file a lawsuit to seek compensation, but act quickly. State law allows certain windows of time when your claim may be eligible.

Statute of limitations

As FindLaw explains, the statute of limitations in Connecticut for a personal injury claim is two years in most cases; for a property lawsuit, the limit is three years. Missing this window generally disqualifies you from seeking damages. However, in some cases, you may gain up to an additional year if you discover new evidence.

This is not license to put off your claim if you think you have reason to file a lawsuit. The sooner you bring your claim, the more favorably courts tend to respond; the integrity of evidence and witness statements generally degrade over time.

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 Posted on June 25, 2020 in Workers' Compensation

Working in the health care field is dangerous. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, health care employees reported a higher incidence of work-related illness and injury than any other private industry in 2017. Risks include workplace violence, musculoskeletal injuries, exposure to infectious illnesses and hazardous chemicals.

If your spouse has been helping to support your household and something goes wrong, your family is bound to suffer. Workers risk their health and put their lives on the line; they deserve thanks and respect. When things go wrong, workers and their families deserve compensation.

Illness or injury benefits

If you sustain an injury on the job in Connecticut, workers’ compensation covers related medical expenses. The same is true if you become sick due to your job. Workers’ compensation also covers a portion of your lost wages that result from your inability to work as you recover. Additional benefits are available, including prosthetic limbs and vocational rehabilitation.

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 Posted on June 17, 2020 in Car Accidents

There are many factors that affects how a person drives. From bad weather to being late for work to noisy children in the car, a variety of issues can impact a driver’s choices. These factors might tempt some drivers to take shortcuts when it comes to following the rules of the road.

However, when a driver "bends the rules," they are actually violating critical traffic laws. Regardless of any other circumstances, drivers need to follow the law. Even laws that seem unnecessary to some drivers serve an important purpose.

Drivers often fail to take traffic laws seriously

Some of the most common traffic violations that might seem minor to some Connecticut drivers include:

• Running a red light
• Failing to stop completely at a stop sign
• Speeding
• Failing to properly use turn signals
• Changing lanes without checking blind spots

Some of these traffic violations create serious dangers because the driver might not see a pedestrian or vehicle in their path. The other traffic violations are hazards because the driver would not be able to react in time to prevent a crash, such as in the case of speeding.

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