Court Finds Plaintiff's Allegations of Reckless Speed Insufficient
by
Joseph C. Maya on Apr. 12, 2017
Accident & Injury Accident & Injury Personal Injury Accident & Injury Car Accident
Summary: Blog post detailing the requirements to successfully allege a claim of reckless speed in a car accident case.
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The majority of Connecticut Superior Courts require that a plaintiff plead that a defendant's violation of a specific motor-vehicles statute constituted a "substantial factor" in causing the plaintiff 's injuries, in order to allege statutory recklessness.
The plaintiff sued the defendant, alleging that the defendant's motor vehicle collided with the plaintiff on Nov. 28, 2010, and that the defendant was negligent and reckless. The defendant moved to strike the plaintiff 's statutory recklessness count. The defendant argued that the plaintiff 's complaint failed to adequately allege an extreme departure from ordinary care and that the defendant's alleged conduct was a "substantial factor" in causing the plaintiff 's injuries. The majority of Connecticut Superior Courts have held that to allege statutory recklessness a plaintiff must allege: 1.) that the defendant deliberately or recklessly violated one of nine motor-vehicle statutes; and 2.) that the defendant's violation was a "substantial factor" in causing the plaintiff 's injuries, damages or death. A minority of Connecticut Superior Court have held that to allege statutory recklessness, a plaintiff is only required to plead specific facts that constitute recklessness, in addition to facts that constitute negligence, and is not required to use the phrase "substantial factor."
Here, the court followed the majority of Connecticut Superior Courts and found that although the plaintiff met the first requirement, because the plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated Connecticut motor-vehicle statutes that govern speed, reckless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road, the plaintiff 's complaint did not allege that the violation of motor-vehicle statutes was a "substantial factor" in causing the plaintiff 's injuries. The plaintiff 's complaint was insufficient, because it alleged only that "[a]s a result of the defendant's reckless disregard for the substantial and unjustifiable risk that serious injury would result, the plaintiff . . . was caused to suffer serious personal injuries," the court found. "The plaintiff," wrote the court, "did not allege that the violations of §§14-218, 14-222 and 14-230 were a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff 's injuries as required by §14-295." The court granted the defendant's motion to strike.
At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.
Source: J. Woods, Recklessness Count Omitted 'Substantial Factor' Language, 31 CT. L. TRBN. No. 31 (July 30, 2012)
