A Laurel Road woman is seeking damages from the town after slipping on an icy platform at the New Canaan train station in February and fracturing her hip, according to a notice filed this month.
At about 6:10 p.m. on Feb. 5, the woman fell “on an accumulation of snow and ice on the concrete sidewalk walkway connecting the train station platform” with the Lumberyard Lot, according to a notice filed with the Town Clerk on April 7 by attorney Anastasios Savvaides of Stamford-based Tooher Wocl & Leydon LLC.
“The snow and ice defect was located all along the concrete sidewalk walkway which made it very slippery and dangerous,” the notice said.
Under state law, a person injured because of a defective road must notify the town responsible for its upkeep within 90 days.
The woman in this case needed surgery for her fractured hip, and also suffered abrasions and contusions and other pain and injuries, the notice said. It isn’t clear how much she’s seeking.
An officer dispatched to the scene on a report of a woman who had fallen on the ice said in an incident report that, arriving there, “I observed a woman lying face up on the sidewalk leading to the parking lot of the Lumberyard.”
The New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported her to Norwalk Hospital, the report said.
When the woman slipped, her keys fell into a storm drain, it said, and someone was able to retrieve them.
Police notified New Canaan highway officials about the icy conditions.
“Both the pavement and cement walkway areas were very slippery,” the police report said.
If the reason for this lawsuit is that the woman’s insurance didn’t cover her bills, this incident is a good argument for universal healthcare.
There are two basic questions to answer. Who owns the land abutting the sidewalk and how long had the ice and snow been there?
The law cited in the article, Sec 13a-149 does not cover snow and ice removal. Sec 7-163a does and relieves a municipality of liability unless it owns the land that abuts the sidewalk, “other than land used as a highway or street.”
Cusick v. City of New Haven held that the city was not responsible when a pedestrian fell at 6:45am after a night of snow and ice.
Schroeder v. City of Hartford held the city responsible because the sidewalks had been icy for 5 days.
Even if her insurance did cover her bills, they would go after the town’s insurance.
While this accident caused bodily harm and suffering, a New Canaan cannot be held liable for damages. A town cannot reasonably be expected to clear sidewalks during or immediately after a snow storm. Slippery passage ways, including train platforms, are a natural hazard and pedestrians should tread at their own risk.