How to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Connecticut

No one begins their day expecting to suffer a serious injury, yet preventable injuries happen every day, often resulting from another party’s negligence, reckless behavior, or intentional wrongdoing. When someone else’s actions cause you significant harm, you shouldn’t be left responsible for the consequences. These consequences of injuries are called “damages” in a personal injury lawsuit in Connecticut.

No one should take on the legal challenges of filing a personal injury lawsuit in Connecticut alone. An experienced Connecticut personal injury lawyer can help protect your rights and best interests throughout your claim. Understanding the process is an important first step forward.

Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Connecticut

When a person or a business entity acts in a careless or reckless manner, they are responsible for the damages they cause to others. Common personal injury claims in Connecticut include injuries from the following accidents and incidents:

• Car accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Workplace injuries
• Medical malpractice
• Defective product injuries
• Dog bites
• Acts of criminal violence

If an injury caused by negligence results in death, the personal injury claim becomes a wrongful death claim in Connecticut so close surviving family members can gain compensation.

Proving Liability in a Connecticut Personal Injury Lawsuit

We all owe a general duty to take reasonable measures to prevent causing injuries to others. Before a claim can move forward, an injury victim in Connecticut has the burden of proving the at-fault party’s liability for their damages by showing that they violated this duty. Proving liability requires demonstrating the following:

• That the at-fault party owed a duty of care to others to prevent injuries through reasonable actions
• They violated this duty through an act of negligence, recklessness, or wrongdoing
• The breach of duty directly caused an injury
• The injury victim experienced damages from the injury

It often takes a skilled attorney to prove a negligent party in an injury liable for damages by investigating all aspects of an injury, interviewing eyewitnesses, and examining photos, videos, and accident reports. Then the attorney presents the evidence to the insurance company of the at-fault party in a demand package along with a careful calculation of your damages.

What Damages Can I Claim in a Connecticut Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Experienced personal injury attorneys can examine your medical reports, review your medical bills, related expenses, and lost income, and then calculate an amount of compensation for some or all of the following common damages:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Future income loss
• Diminished earning capacity due to disability
• Pain and suffering
• Any other non-economic damages that might apply in your case such as disfigurement, limb loss, loss of enjoyment of life, or loss of consortium

Once your attorney calculates your damages they’ll file a claim against the appropriate insurance company such as a negligent driver’s auto insurance or a negligent store owner’s premises liability insurance.

Navigating a Settlement or Court Award for Damages

A New Haven personal injury attorney will negotiate from an evidence-based position of strength with the insurer to gain an ample settlement for your damages. Nearly 95% of personal injury claims resolve with a settlement from the insurance company so the victim never has to see a courtroom. The claim becomes a lawsuit in court only if the insurance company fails to offer a sufficient settlement. If a personal injury claim requires a trial, it must go to court before the state’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims expires.