A broken or dark traffic light can set the stage for a serious crash. If you were hit at an intersection where the signal was out or showing conflicting displays, you may be wondering whether the city that owns and maintains it bears any legal responsibility for what happened.
Understanding government responsibility
For the city or town to potentially be liable, your claim must establish the following:
- The traffic signal was broken, dark or showing conflicting displays at the time of your crash
- The city did not repair the signal within a reasonable time after learning of the issue
- The signal failure was a proximate (legal) cause of your crash
Furthermore, you must prove that the city had prior knowledge of the defect and failed to take timely action. This concept is known as “notice” and to demonstrate this, you will typically need evidence such as maintenance logs, dispatch reports or records of prior citizen complaints.
Outlining Connecticut’s rules for municipal lawsuits
Suing a city or town in Connecticut is fundamentally different from suing a private party. The state’s governmental immunity doctrine protects municipalities from lawsuits tied to discretionary acts, decisions that require official judgment and planning. This immunity, however, is not absolute.
An important exception applies to ministerial duties, which are routine tasks the government must carry out in a set, defined way without the exercise of judgment. Traffic signal maintenance often falls into a gray area between discretionary and ministerial duties, and state courts have had to carefully draw that line in various cases.
Another hurdle is that, if the court legally classifies the broken signal as a “highway defect” under the Defective Highway Statute, you must prove the city’s negligence was the “sole proximate cause” of the crash. This means if you or another driver shares even a fraction of the blame for the collision, the municipality may avoid liability entirely.
Filing your claim against a government entity
If you file a claim against the city, you must submit a formal written notice to the municipality within 90 days of your injury. This notice must explicitly describe the defect, the nature of your injury and the precise details of the incident. Filing late or omitting vital details will typically cause the court to dismiss your case.
