Puglia v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Illinois, 2023 WL 8059335 (Sup. Ct. New Haven, Nov. 15, 2023)

This matter involved a simple uninsured motorist claim and damages dispute between the insured plaintiff and her insurance company. The 79-year-old plaintiff offered evidence that indicated she was “remarkably healthy” prior to the incident and subjective claims that, as a result of the accident, she was a changed person and could not attend to daily living activities, such as dressing and gardening. Despite clear mitigating factors—age and life expectancy, age-related physical decline unrelated to the incident, etc.—the court essentially accepted all of the subjective complaints at face value and provided $235,000 in pain and suffering value to a relatively minor set of injuries.