Dutcher v. Town of Middletown (Filed Middletown in 2012)
In 2009, laborers tore up portions of Pine Street in Middletown to do some underground pipe work. When they finished, they filled in the hole and used asphalt to haphazardly patch it. Over time the patch became depressed in relation to the rest of the road and large fissures developed allowing bike tires to easily get caught. No repairs were made to this depression or the fissures despite the obvious nature of the problem. Our expert street repair consultants concluded that the repairs were done in a dangerous way, and easily could have been remedied. They were not. On July 2, 2011, the plaintiff biked into town. As she rode down Pine Street her bike became stuck in the cracks surrounding the depression. She lost control, fell over, and broke her neck.