$1.6M Award for Connecticut Man Injured in Icy Road Accident

December 27, 2011

A jury has awarded $1.6 million to a Thomaston, Connecticut, man who sued the state Department of Transportation over injuries he suffered in a 2007 accident on an icy road.

The Superior Court jury found the state agency was at fault for not making the black ice on Route 8 safe for drivers.

The plaintiff, 56-year-old Gary Merrill, said he suffered debilitating back injuries when the car carrying him and three other people overturned.

Witnesses testified during the trial that state police had reported icing more than an hour before the crash as water from melting ice froze on the road, and Merrill’s attorneys argued the state agency did not take appropriate measures.

An attorney for the Department of Transportation told jurors the response time that night was reasonable given the road conditions.

Topics Connecticut

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Latest Comments

  • December 30, 2011 at 12:28 pm
    Mrs Dean Wormer says:
    Agree with above. Also, how does one make black ice safe? Just thought that was pretty strange wording!
  • December 29, 2011 at 2:57 pm
    Ken says:
    Terrible ruling, jury trial or bench? Must have been jury. I can not believe it. God, I hope this gets over turned. When is nonsence like this going to stop?
  • December 28, 2011 at 5:22 pm
    Reasonable Personal says:
    That is a terrible ruling. So it was the DOT's fault he needed to drive in inclement weather? In that case, let's all go out in bad weather. You can sue the state and win!

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