MOTOR VEHICLE LAW: Defendant in motor vehicle accident found not liable for plaintiff’s ailments following trial

A bench trial was held before Judge Swienton in which the plaintiff claimed she began to experience traumatic injuries she sustained from a motor vehicle accident where her vehicle was rear-ended by the defendant’s vehicle at a red light. The defendant’s personal representative admitted that defendant operated his vehicle negligently but denied causing the injuries. At trial, the court heard from the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s daughter who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and the plaintiff’s husband, as well as video depositions of both plaintiff’s and defendant’s expert witnesses. In addition, the plaintiff submitted medical records from other treating physicians. A couple of months after the accident, the plaintiff allegedly began to experience “weird sensations” in her head and strange electric shock feelings and pressure behind her eye, but did not report the symptoms until over a year later when the plaintiff mentioned them to a physician who ordered an MRI of her brain and a spinal tap, both of which indicated no abnormalities. At another visit with a doctor, the plaintiff mentioned that she experienced other ailments five years prior, before the accident involving the defendant. Over the next year, doctors could not pinpoint any specific cause for the plaintiff’s complaints. The court agreed that when considering all of the evidence consisting of medical records, testimony by doctors, testimony of the plaintiff and testimony of witnesses, no causal connection between the negligence of the defendant and the resulting injuries to the plaintiff could be made. Therefore, the court finds in favor of the defendant. DiMauro v. Cote, No. CV-18-6019559, 2022 WL 17261153 (Conn. Super, Ct. Nov. 22, 2022)