PERSONAL INJURY: Appellate Court holds plaintiff failed to show existence of unmarked crosswalk at location where he was struck by defendant’s vehicle

The plaintiff, during the course of employment as a delivery driver, was struck and seriously injured while crossing the street at night, during a heavy rainstorm.  The defendant was a state employee driving a state-owned vehicle and did not see the plaintiff.

The plaintiff sued the state, alleging that there was an unmarked crosswalk at the location where he was stuck.  The Superior Court found that the plaintiff was at least 60% contributorily negligent for the accident, which barred plaintiff’s recovery.

The plaintiff appealed and the Appellate Court held that the trial court properly determined that there was no unmarked crosswalk, and even if there was, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that he was in or very near that crosswalk when he was hit. 

Pettiford v. State of Connecticut, 179 Conn.App. 246 (2018)