Connecticut Jury Awards $2.9M to Bicyclist for Collision

A Connecticut jury has awarded $2.9 million to a bicyclist who was injured when she hit a gate on West Hartford land owned by a regional water and sewer agency.

Maribeth Blonski of Rocky Hill sued the Hartford-based Metropolitan District Commission over the 2002 incident. She alleged the agency endangered people by placing the steel gate on a trail near a reservoir in the Talcott Mountain Recreation Area.

The MDC’s lawyer says agency officials were surprised by Friday’s verdict in Hartford Superior Court and will appeal.

Blonski broke four vertebrae in her neck when she hit the gate, which was erected to keep cars away from the reservoir. She had been an avid cyclist and hosted a local-access television program about mountain biking before the collision.

Latest Comments

• May 31, 2010 at 5:02 am

  wudchuck says:

  i agree wholeheartedly and like an early statement, what if there was a kid there? would she have swerved and missed the kid and then sue the child or parents because they wer... read more
• May 30, 2010 at 8:16 am

  Joe says:

  I can see if the gate mysteriously swung out and hit her, I just don't understand the basis of the law suit since she hit the gate, what about a bicyclist running into a build... read more
• May 20, 2010 at 1:22 am

  WH red biker says:

  The gate is bright yellow with a big stop sign on it... I couldn't believe it when someone pointed out to me this was the gate she hit. There is no reason the MDC should be pa... read more