Traffic accidents happen every day throughout the State of Connecticut. These accident involve cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, taxis, tractor trailers, mopeds, bicycles and pedestrians. The Connecticut Department of Transportation is in charge of maintaining  the state system of highways that serves the towns of CT. The causes of CT highway defect accidents are quite varied but can involve defective roadways and negligent care and maintenance of these roadways many of which are under the care, custody and control of the state.

CT's state highway system consists of roads listed on the their official map and highway log. Currently, the CT State highway system is made up of a total of 3,719 miles of roads that does not include entrance and exit ramps and connectors. These roadways consist of approximately one fifth of all roads in the State of CT. All state highways, with the exception of four miles that are locally maintained, are state-maintained. All U.S. highways and Interstates in the State of CT are part of the our state highway system.

CT has three interstates that traverse the state:

I-91  enters from NY and then traverses the state from the southwest shoreline and then proceeds in a northerly direction along the Connecticut river, going into Massachusetts;

I-95 enters from NY state in an east-west direction running along the CT shoreline into Rhode Island; and

I-84  enters from NY and runs along the interior of the state in a  diagonal  southwest to northeast direction into Massachusetts.

In CT there is a statute that deals with State Highway Defect Cases that sets forth certain requirements that must be proven to have a liable case against the state. Those requirements as set forth in the CT Jury Instructions, in relevant part, are as follows:

State Highway Defect Case - § 13a-144

Note: This statute applies to highways, bridges or sidewalks. This instruction uses a highway as an example. There is a statute that provides that a person who is injured by means of any defective highway that is the duty of the state commissioner of transportation to keep in repair may recover damages from the state. In making a claim under this statute, the plaintiff must prove all of the following elements by a fair preponderance of the evidence:

• that (he/she) gave the required statutory notice of injury;

• that the highway was one that the commissioner of transportation and not some other person or entity, had a duty to maintain or repair;

• that the highway was defective; that is, that it was not reasonably safe for travel;

• that the state had notice of the defect;

• that the state failed to exercise reasonable care to remedy the defect; and

• that the defect was the sole proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries; that is, no other cause was a substantial factor in causing (his/her) injuries.

If you have been injured in any type of CT accident due to a CT highway defect you need experienced representation on your side. Put our decades of legal experience to work for you. Let our Harvard Law School trained negotiator deal with the insurance company. Let us worry about your case so you can do everything you need to do to get better. Get a copy of  our FREE book "The Crash Corse on Personal Injuries Claims in Connecticut"  right now by visiting www.hcwlaw.com or call us toll free at (888) 244-5480 to get answers right away. You can even fill out our online form and we will contact you. The call, the book and the consultation are all FREE.