CONN. TOWN’S SLIPPERY SLOPE:

Town officials in wealthy Greenwich are considering banning sledding after a $6 million jury verdict against the town. First Selectman Jim Lash said he regretted that officials would consider the ban, but said the town has to protect itself from future liability and increasing insurance premiums. “There’s a trend in society to expect institutions to protect people from bad things, and that has a cost,” Lash told the Greenwich Times. The town is also considering restricting ice skating on frozen ponds, he said. A Superior Court jury last month awarded $6 million to a local surgeon whose sled slammed into a drainage ditch in 2000. Nicholas Stroumbakis claimed that the town failed to warn residents that the uncovered ditch was dangerous. His injuries required 12 days of hospitalization and caused him to miss five months of work. The town will have to cover $500,000 of the jury award. The rest will be covered by insurance, officials said. Greenwich pays $2.2 million a year in insurance premiums, according to the town’s risk manager. (Associated Press)