New Haven Connecticut Legal Blog

Distracted driving involves more than cell phone use

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, December 13, 2018.

It is hard to do anything while distracted. A parent may struggle to make dinner while their child pesters them with questions, and a worker may fight to get their tasks done when their boss continually adds more responsibilities to their workload. When a Connecticut resident's attention is split between different objectives, they can make costly mistakes with regard to everything they are trying to do.

This is especially true when one of the tasks that a person is attempting to accomplish is driving. Driving is a necessary part of many people's days, but unfortunately, a time when some choose to engage in other activities as well. It is not uncommon for New Haven residents to see other drivers sending text messages or making cell phone calls while driving down local roads and highways.

There are many reasons that workers' comp claims are rejected

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in workers' compensation on Thursday, December 6, 2018.

An on-the-job injury can force a New Haven resident to miss time from work and to lose the pay they need to meet their obligations. When such accidents and incidents happen, workers may have options to seek workers' compensation to get relatively quick payments to keep them going until they can get back to their jobs.

However, not every claim for workers' compensation will be approved. This post will look at some of the common bases for rejection that workers' compensation requests receive.

When beverages burn

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm on Saturday, December 1, 2018.

As temperatures grow more frigid, customers will swap out their regular iced tea drink orders for warmer options, like coffee or hot chocolate. Eager for that first sip, many of us have accidentally burnt our tongue on a hot drink around this time of year.

However, the small annoyance of these minor burns doesn’t compare to the severe pain that a scalding drink could cause. Unfortunately, more than 500,000 people suffer scald burns each year in the United States.

Fatal car accident kills one on Thanksgiving Day

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, November 29, 2018.

On a day when many Connecticut residents were visiting with friends and reconnecting with distant family members, another family was grieving for the loss of a loved one. On Thanksgiving Day, a 29-year-old woman was killed when the vehicle she was riding in was hit by another car. That driver failed to slow down for traffic in front of them.

The tragic accident happened on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in North Haven. The car the victim was in was one of several vehicles struck by the negligent driver. An additional four other individuals suffered injuries in the fatal multivehicle crash.

The holidays are here and so are more delivery trucks

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, November 22, 2018.

Connecticut residents who are ahead of the holiday gift-buying game may have already finished making their purchases for their friends, family members and co-workers. Everyone else, though, may be waiting for Black Friday deals and the rush of last-minute shopping that so many people undertake each and every December. While some may still walk into brick-and-mortar stores to make their gift selections, more will shop online and have their purchases delivered to their doors.

As online buying increases, so too may the prevalence of delivery trucks on local New Haven roads. Delivery companies like UPS, FedEx and others often hire extra drivers and delivery personnel to keep up with the demands of their services and the crush of packages that must make it to their destinations before Christmas day.

Pedestrian crashes on highways can complicate to litigation

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, November 15, 2018.

Though it can happen, it is not common for Connecticut residents to see pedestrians on the state's interstate highways. When individuals are spotted out of their vehicles and on or near high speed roads it is usually because they have been involved in accidents or because their vehicles have become disabled and they are not able to drive. More rarely, individuals may enter on to highways to cross them or because they provide a direct route to the pedestrians' destinations.

It is generally against the law to walk along a highway or freeway since it is very dangerous for individuals to be that close to fast moving automobiles. When accidents happen or vehicles become disabled it is generally recommended that motorists stay out of the roads and in or near their vehicles so that they may remain visible to others. However, just as accidents between vehicles can happen on highways, so too can collisions between cars and people when pedestrians are present.

Why is excavating so dangerous to workers?

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in workers' compensation on Thursday, November 8, 2018.

In order to build a tall structure, a construction project may begin with the digging of a hole. This is because many buildings require foundations and sufficiently stable bases in order to bear the weight of the structures that will be built on top of them.

In Connecticut, construction crews may have to take on significant excavation work before they can even think about putting up the walls of the buildings they are hired to construct.

External factors that contribute to dangerous truck accidents

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, November 1, 2018.

Many of the truck accidents that happen on Connecticut roads are caused by drivers who are simply negligent in the operation of their vehicles. Like the drivers of small vehicles, truck drivers can succumb to distractions, exhaustion, and frustration while behind the wheels of their rigs and can make poor choices that cause them to put the lives of themselves and others in danger.

Truck accidents, though, can be caused by external factors as well. These factors, if present, may give truck accident victims additional defendants to include in their lawsuits for damages and greater opportunities to seek the recovery of their losses. For example, one external factor that can cause truck accidents is the unrealistic expectation of companies that drivers will be able to make speedy deliveries.

What should I do after a slip-and-fall accident?

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, October 25, 2018.

A serious slip-and-fall accident can leave a Connecticut resident with broken bones, pulled muscles and lingering discomfort and pain. Whether their incident occurs inside of a building or outdoors, there is a good chance that if negligence played a role in their fall that the victim may have rights to seek compensation for their losses through a civil personal injury lawsuit. In the wake of a slip-and-fall accident, there are some steps that victims can take to help their cases when they go to trial.

One of the most important things that a victim should do is seek medical help for their accident-related ailments. A slip-and-fall accident can leave a victim with injuries that do not become apparent immediately and that may get worse over time. In addition to helping a victim recover, a doctor can also create records of the harm the victim suffered shortly after their accidents happened which may later help them demonstrate their losses and suffering.

Driver demonstrates how many can be in danger of one hit-and-run

On behalf of Gillis Law Firm on Wednesday, October 24, 2018.

Standard procedures for a car accident in every state requires both drivers to pull their vehicles over to the side and let other drivers pass as they attempt to sort their mess out. If the damage is too much, they will have to stay in place and wait for the police and possibly ambulance to show up to help clean up the crash. Unfortunately, some people who still have a moving car after a crash may have a different idea in mind.

Guilty motorists that flee the scene after crashing into someone put multiple people at risk. The victim did not get their insurance information and will have to endure a tedious process of acquiring coverage through a different method. However, drivers that flee a crash have a higher chance of creating more victims in the process. Evidence of this is present from a reckless driver’s failed escape attempt in Hartford earlier this week.