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HARTFORD — — The state Supreme Court has upheld a $2.9 million judgment against the Metropolitan District Commission, saying the regional water and sewer authority was not entitled to immunity from a claim filed by a bicyclist who was seriously injured on its property more than a decade ago.
The ruling resulted from an appeal of a lawsuit filed by Maribeth Blonski, who was biking on a trail on MDC property in 2002 when she struck a gate that blocked a path in the Talcott Mountain Recreation Area in West Hartford. The MDC had decided to keep its gates closed at all times after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Blonski broke her neck. She "suffers from chronic pain, difficulty breathing, a permanent disability in her neck and other ailments," according to the judges’ opinion.
Edward Jazlowiecki, Blonski’s lawyer, said his client had to have a rod placed in her neck. She is able to walk, he said, but "she’s lucky she didn’t die."
"She’s extremely happy" about the ruling, he said.
A Superior Court jury awarded Blonski $2.9 million in May 2010.
Summing up the MDC’s argument, Jazlowiecki said, "The MDC is saying that they should have sovereign immunity because they’re a quasi-state agency."
In an opinion released Friday, the Supreme Court found that "the trial court properly determined that the defendant was not entitled to immunity from the plaintiff’s claim."
The trial court also "properly denied" the MDC’s motions to set aside the verdict, the opinion states. It was written by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers; Judges Richard N. Palmer, Dennis G. Eveleigh and Andrew J. McDonald concurred.
The MDC released a written statement which said: "The MDC is disappointed in the decision affirming the verdict for Ms. Blonski.
"The District has allowed free recreational use of its reservoir facilities. The court found that the legislature did not include municipalities when it originally enacted immunity for those who provide these types of free benefits to the public. Fortunately, the General Assembly has corrected this inequity for not only the MDC, but all municipalities."
What kills me is how she incurred the injury:
On May 16, 2002, Blonski rode a bicycle on the road to videotape a segment on mountain biking for a cable television show she hosted, the justices said, citing court testimony. After taping the segment, she and a friend went for a bicycle ride.As they headed back to the parking lot at the end of their ride, Blonski rode her bike in the wrong direction on Red Road, about 20 mph to 30 mph, with her head down.
"The plaintiff testified that the pipe gate suddenly appeared in front of her ‘out of nowhere,’ and she attempted to slide underneath it," the opinion states.
"She was unable to do so and struck her head on the pipe, thereby incurring severe injuries to her cervical spine, including a burst fracture of the last cervical vertebrae, as well as other injuries."
If that’s not bad enough, check this:
Despite her injuries, Blonski has recovered and can ride a bike again, Jazlowiecki said. She was at the beach Friday.
Doesn’t sound all that debilitating of an injury to me…
Jazlowiecki said he and his client are happy about the decision.
"I’m ecstatic. I’m glad for her, I’m glad for Mike," he said of Michael Stratton, who tried the case. "It’s the right decision."
Hartford attorney Steven D. Ecker prepared the appeal for Blonski. It was the second victory for Ecker before the Supreme Court this week. Ecker represented an anonymous child abuse victim for whom the court upheld a $2.75 million verdict against St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center on Wednesday.
Source: http://articles.courant.com/2013-07-05/ … pholds-mdc
I mean, if you’re not paying attention, and have your head down while descending at 20-30 mph, maybe you deserve to break your neck. Just my 2 cents.
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The reason why skiing and many other high risk sports cost a lot and at times not allowed in areas "lack of personal responsibility" This is another example of the new American get rich scheme, do something disregarding responsibility and sue for your stupidity.
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The U.S. courts are a lottery system for both the stupid and dishonest. Absolutely nothing new here.
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I guess since I have osteoarthritis in my neck due to an accident because I was stupid enough to go 65 mph around a blind curve (with a caution sign of 25 mph) I should be able to sue Nissan for making a car that will go that fast around a very tight curve. Oh and while I’m at it I guess should sue the State for not warning me a mile before the curve.
IMHO stupid should hurt. 😆
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"ScribbleJ" wrote
I guess since I have osteoarthritis in my neck due to an accident because I was stupid enough to go 65 mph around a blind curve (with a caution sign of 25 mph) I should be able to sue Nissan for making a car that will go that fast around a very tight curve. Oh and while I’m at it I guess should sue the State for not warning me a mile before the curve.
IMHO stupid should hurt. 😆
Great comparison, and yes it should!
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"The plaintiff testified that the pipe gate suddenly appeared in front of her ‘out of nowhere,’
Sounds plausible to me. I know darn well everything from Junipers to vicious Cholla Cactus to jagged rocks have jumped out of nowhere to cause me bodily harm.
Geez, if I had just $2.9 million dollars for every time a trail obstacle caused me down time . . . .
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"mtbgreg1" wrote
I mean, if you’re not paying attention, and have your head down while descending at 20-30 mph, maybe you deserve to break your neck. Just my 2 cents.
Dude….that is sooooo freaking COLD!?!?!? 😕 Really dude????? 😏
"brianW" wroteThis is another example of the new American get rich scheme, do something disregarding responsibility and sue for your stupidity.
Gotta agree with you on this one ‘brianW’, but even then, no sense in wishing pain or even death upon someone like cold hearted ‘mtgregg1’ so elegantly noted…. 😏 This is the norm of the world these days, and will only get worse. 😉
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He never wished anything upon anyone. He simply said that if you’re stupid enough to ride at 30mph while looking down at the ground instead of where you’re going, you deserve what you get instead of a $3 million dollar reward for being a complete idiot.
I tend to agree.
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We will lose trails because of this rediculous judgement. If I owned property with trails on it, no one would be allowed to ride for just this reason. Courts have lost their minds! Schwim nailed it with the lottery for the stupid and dishonest!
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"schwim" wrote
He never wished anything upon anyone. He simply said that if you’re stupid enough to ride at 30mph while looking down at the ground instead of where you’re going, you deserve what you get instead of a $3 million dollar reward for being a complete idiot.
I tend to agree.
Yes, exactly–I believe in natural consequences for your actions. Thanks schwim.
And I agree, nothing new here as far as America goes… I just hope that by pointing out the idiocy of occurences like this, we can at least encourage others in the MTB subculture to take responsibility for their actions, so we [i:36squ15j]don’t[/i:36squ15j] start losing access to trails.
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Time and time again people are rewarded for being dumb. This dumb "expletive" is what causes us to lose our privileges to enjoy the outdoors. In many cases it is just easier to not allow access to certain areas than allow people to use them. Think about it… if you are a land owner do you want to pay outrageous insurance premiums to allow strangers to use your land? No, but if you don’t, you get a dumb "expletive" like this woman that wants to sue your ass for her own stupidity! I’ve seen this in many aspects not only with mountain biking, but hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, white water rafting, skiing and pretty much any other outdoor activity you can think of! 😠
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I agree. Who rides that fast without looking at the trail in front of you?
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Schwimm for Attorney General!
Great posts everyone. Lets see Strava gets sued for someone getting killed trying to become KOM. $2.9 million for running into a gate. USFS not able to keep up with maintenance of trails. Great excuse for them to close trails so they don’t get sued for dumbing them up. Heck someone may not be able a hop over a 3 inch tree across the trail.
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"MTI" wrote
Lets see Strava gets sued for someone getting killed trying to become KOM.
They already have. More than once, including this case where a person was killed. In this case the lawsuit was thrown out.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/06/ … ath_289714
The silver lining in the MDC case is this part:
The court found that the legislature did not include municipalities when it originally enacted immunity for those who provide these types of free benefits to the public. Fortunately, the General Assembly has corrected this inequity for not only the MDC, but all municipalities.So at least going forward no one else will be able to cash in on their injuries, at least not on municipally owned properties in the state of MD.
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Hello your MTB riding accidents happen and sometime gates are closed. Its people like this that hurt us getting new trails
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"ScribbleJ" wrote
I guess since I have osteoarthritis in my neck due to an accident because I was stupid enough to go 65 mph around a blind curve (with a caution sign of 25 mph) I should be able to sue Nissan for making a car that will go that fast around a very tight curve. Oh and while I’m at it I guess should sue the State for not warning me a mile before the curve.
IMHO stupid should hurt. 😆
😮 You may have a case Mr.Kramer! Contact Jackie Childs ,Atty./Law.
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Sigh. It’s so sad when we reward stupidity in this country…
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"Fitch" wrote
Sigh. It’s so sad when we reward stupidity in this country…
I couldn’t agree more. This country is going to implode on itself and there will be no one to blame. It was predicted decades ago by a well know Russian leader. It seems he knew a thing or two.
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"ScribbleJ" wrote
[quote="Fitch":eqj0n9hw]Sigh. It’s so sad when we reward stupidity in this country…
I couldn’t agree more. This country is going to implode on itself and there will be no one to blame. It was predicted decades ago by a well know Russian leader. It seems he knew a thing or two.[/quote:eqj0n9hw]
Actually, anyone that’s ever cracked a history book understands that empires eventually collapse upon themselves. This one will be no different. It’s human nature to strive to move away from the very things that keep society healthy and concentrate on more and more selfish goals. There eventually comes a time when the have-nots can no longer support the desires of the haves and you end up with either a revolt or simply a shift in power as another country picks up the slack and starts buying SUVs, iPhones and 58" led TVs when ours can no longer do it.
When that finally happens here, I’m moving to Atlantis.
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"ScribbleJ" wrote
I couldn’t agree more. This country is going to implode on itself and there will be no one to blame. It was predicted decades ago by a well know Russian leader. It seems he knew a thing or two.
Actually, anyone that’s ever cracked a history book understands that empires eventually collapse upon themselves. This one will be no different. It’s human nature to strive to move away from the very things that keep society healthy and concentrate on more and more selfish goals. There eventually comes a time when the have-nots can no longer support the desires of the haves and you end up with either a revolt or simply a shift in power as another country picks up the slack and starts buying SUVs, iPhones and 58" led TVs when ours can no longer do it.
When that finally happens here, I’m moving to Atlantis.[/quote]
Rome is a perfect example of that although their demise was an external source (ie: the vikings) but they certainly were heading down the same path. Historically democracy’s only last about 200 years so maybe the U.S.A is seeing the beginning of its fall. It’s a very sad thing to witness.
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"schwim" wrote
Actually, anyone that’s ever cracked a history book understands that empires eventually collapse upon themselves.
Ahh, the old wise words of truth…. "Kingdoms come, Kingdoms go!"
More wise words…
No one is perfect, especially myself or anyone else in existence in this fallen world. That my friends is THE cold hearted fact, and no one here is innocent of this by far. Yes, stupidity does not deem a reward, but fact is fact and truth is truth….
"No one, and I mean not one soul is perfect and your hands are not clean. So never point your fingers until your hands are clean."
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"SCHucker" wrote
"No one, and I mean not one soul is perfect and your hands are not clean. So never point your fingers until your hands are clean."
Heavy man… and as soon as I sue someone for millions of dollars because I’m a retard, I’ll stop doing that thing with my fingers that I’m not supposed to do but until then, all 8 of my fingers are pointing over at that complete asshat that is doing so.
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"schwim" wrote
Heavy man… and as soon as I sue someone for millions of dollars because I’m a retard, I’ll stop doing that thing with my fingers that I’m not supposed to do but until then, all 8 of my fingers are pointing over at that complete asshat that is doing so.
^^^ The normal mentality of this world…. 😆 😏
Its not like all of you are innocent of doing something stupid either, but rejection seems to be the norm of this so fallen world. Rejection is the mantel of peoples hearts these days, which leads to one consistent thing…
"Immorality"
Cannot not argue or debate with this worlds vast wisdom & rich philosophy… 😏
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I hope you’ve got handrails on your soapbox. I’d hate for you to fall while cleaning up your next nosebleed.
The silver lining of course to this is that if it does occur, you can sue ACME soapboxes and be set for life.
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