How Does Recovery for Personal Injury Work in Connecticut?

Whether you are an injured individual seeking recovery in an injury case, or an insurance company or an insured defending against a claim, it is helpful to understand Connecticut negligence law. Both plaintiffs and defendants in a claim can use the help of personal injury lawyers to protect their rights.

The plaintiff is the injured person bringing the lawsuit. Negligence is wrongdoing or inaction that causes injury. Under Connecticut statute §52-572h, someone who suffers injury because of another’s negligence has the right to recover economic and non-economic damages. The statute defines economic damages as losses that include the following costs:

• Reasonable and necessary medical care
• Rehabilitative services
• Custodial care
• Loss of earnings or earning capacity

Non-economic damages include:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental suffering
• Emotional suffering

Based on this statute, contributory negligence determines how the courts view fault or negligence in an injury cases. The combined negligence of the parties subject to the lawsuit must be greater than the injured party's negligence. In the legal world, this type of contributory negligence is called the 50 percent rule. Injured parties cannot be 50 percent or greater at fault for causing their own injuries. Also, the court reduces their recovery of damages by their percentage of fault.

The outcome of a personal injury case often rests with how well a personal injury lawyer can prove negligence when representing a plaintiff, or defend against claims of negligence when defending an insurance company or its insured.

Coyne, Von Kuhn, Brady & Fries, LLC has extensive personal injury experience handling cases that involve both plaintiffs and defendants.