New Haven Connecticut Legal Blog

Drivers responsible for preventing pedestrian collisions

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Friday, September 14, 2018.

An accident between a pedestrian and a vehicle may cause serious harm and trauma to the victim who is traveling on foot. In Connecticut, pedestrian accidents happen with some frequency and can often be prevented by the use of proper care by drivers. Many factors can contribute to the occurrence of pedestrian accidents and when drivers are mindful of their operating practices they may play an active role in lowering their rate of collisions with walkers, runners, and other individuals who travel under their own power.

One way that drivers may help reduce pedestrian accident incidents is by avoiding distracted driving. Distracted driving causes collisions between vehicles, but it also causes crashes between pedestrians and cars. When drivers fixate their attention on their phones, maps, food, or hygiene, they may lose the ability to see what is in front of them, including pedestrians crossing roadways in crosswalks.

Advocates for Connecticut personal injury victims

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, September 6, 2018.

When a vehicle accident or serious slip-and-fall incident causes a victim to suffer painful injuries, they may feel like their situation is completely unfair. In many such situations, victims are innocent bystanders or unsuspecting casualties of other people's negligent conduct. Even when a person tries to stay safe and do everything right, they may still suffer when others disregard their duties of care and put others in the path of danger.

A personal injury victim is right to feel as though their situation is wrong. They may be stuck with all of the costs of their recovery even though they had nothing to do with the cause of their pain and suffering. It is through the law and the courts of Connecticut that victims may find their justice and the repayment of their losses from the parties who caused them.

What are the costs of living with a spinal cord injury?

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, August 30, 2018.

Spinal cord injuries are serious medical conditions that can leave victims with life-long medical problems. Depending upon the cause of the injury, the treatment the victim receives after their incident, the location of their harm on their spinal cord and a number of other factors, a person may be forced to live their entire life without the capacity to move certain parts of their body. That is because paralysis is associated with spinal cord injuries and this post will inform Connecticut residents of the expected and unexpected costs that may be incurred when a spinal cord injury happens.

First, a person who suffers a spinal cord injury will likely have to spend time in the hospital, visit with specialists, and possibly undergo surgeries and other procedures to improve their chances of achieving a full recovery from their harm. These medical costs can reach into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Preventing burns among restaurant workers

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

While many industries in Connecticut carry the risk of burns for their workers, few can match the amount of burn hazards seen in a restaurant. With how quickly cooks must operate at, there is a high possibility that they can slip and dump dangerously hot liquid on their face or misplace their hand on a hot handle or fryer.

There are a couple of tasks that cooks can perform to avoid major burn injuries that could impact their living condition or their ability to work. Learning these could protect both yourself and your fellow restaurant employees as you make these actions feel more natural in your daily routine.

Head injuries can result from motor vehicle accidents

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, August 23, 2018.

Injuries to the head and brain can be very serious and can leave victims with long-term and permanent conditions. These types of injuries can happen in many different ways, but Connecticut residents who suffer trauma in motor vehicle accidents may sustain traumatic brain injuries from their involvement in such crashes. The information offered in this post is not intended to be used as medical or legal advice but rather an introduction to one very serious form of harm car accident victims can sustain.

Even when a person is properly restrained by a seatbelt or car seat they can still suffer a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. This is because the impact of a person's head hitting an interior vehicle surface, such as a steering wheel, dashboard, window or windshield may cause enough damage to their brain to result in a traumatic injury. Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by impact injuries such as those just described and penetration injuries which involve foreign particles entering victims' brain tissue.

What is a repetitive stress injury?

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in workers' compensation on Thursday, August 16, 2018.

It is a misconception to believe that the only types of injuries that construction and warehouse workers face are those that result from large-scale events, such as falls, crushing injuries and heavy equipment incidents. In fact, individuals who work in these lines of employment may suffer serious workplace injuries that parallel those often suffered by office and desk workers. Workers in a variety of fields can suffer repetitive stress injuries and can lose time from their jobs because of them.

A repetitive stress injury is one that occurs when a particular motion or movement is repeated and wears on a part of the victim's body. Carpal tunnel syndrome is often associated with repetitive stress injuries because many computer workers suffer from it from using desks that fail to provide their wrists and hands with enough support.

Hardships can follow an auto-pedestrian crash

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.

Car accidents happen often throughout Connecticut, but from time to time New Haven news outlets will cover the disturbing stories of vehicles colliding with pedestrians. These crashes can involve fatalities and often involve serious personal injuries suffered by the unfortunate individuals who were struck by moving automobiles. In the wake of an auto-pedestrian accident, a victim or their family may face a number of challenges.

Pedestrians who are injured in vehicle collisions can face long roads to recovery in order to mend their accident-related ailments. It can take months or longer for a person to rehabilitate a serious injury, such as one to the spinal cord and, in some cases, the damage inflicted from a collision with a car can be permanent. When full recovery is not possible a victim may need to hire help or seek assistance with managing their everyday needs.

How a third-party may be responsible for a personal injury

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Wednesday, August 1, 2018.

When an accident occurs it is oftentimes expected that one of the parties acted negligently and that the other party suffered harm as a result of that negligence. This can be the most general structure of a motor vehicle accident lawsuit or practically any other negligence-based personal injury case, such as a slip-and-fall lawsuit or a pedestrian collision. However, victims of personal injury accidents in New Haven should know that, in some cases, liability may lie with parties other than those directly involved in the injury-causing incidents.

Take, for example, an accident between a semi-truck and a small passenger vehicle. The big rig may be owned and operated by a company that uses the rig to deliver its goods all across the country. The company may employ a driver to operate the truck and to follow the schedule set by the company for getting its products into stores in a timely way.

5 FAQ's on bicycle safety laws in Connecticut

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm on Friday, July 27, 2018.

Generally, bicyclists must obey the same rules of the road as motorists, such as stopping at red lights, signaling turns and complying with legal limits for alcohol use. However, unlike driving a vehicle, operating a bicycle does not require gaining a license or taking a test.

Whether you are considering using a bicycle as a more regular mode of transportation or you are unsure how to treat bicycles you encounter while driving, the following frequently asked questions may help familiarize you with bicycle safety laws in Connecticut.

What is a wrongful death?

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

A wrongful death can result from any negligence-based incident. Commonly, they occur when motor vehicle accidents are fatal and families are left without the love and support of individuals they care about. Under personal injury law, surviving family members may be able to seek damages.

A wrongful death generally involves the negligence or recklessness of another person. They are not the result of self-inflicted harm, but rather they happen when other people make mistakes or act carelessly and someone else loses their life. As mentioned, car accidents are a common type of event that can result in wrongful deaths, but they can also happen from products liability accidents, slip and fall incidents and even allegedly criminal conduct.