Jury Awards $900K to Veronica Delandro in Safeco Case

Case Background

This civil action arose from a night-time traffic collision in New Britain, Connecticut. The Plaintiff, Veronica Delandro, was driving westbound on Broad Street around 10:13 p.m. on August 8, 2022, when another vehicle, later identified as stolen, sped through a stop sign at Silver Street and struck her car. The driver fled the scene, leaving Delandro injured and without a responsible at-fault party.

At the time of the accident, Delandro was insured under an automobile policy issued by Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois. Her policy included uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage limits of $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. After learning that the driver was never identified and that no liability coverage applied, Delandro filed a claim under her policy for uninsured motorist benefits. When the insurer failed to pay, she brought this lawsuit.

Cause

Delandro’s complaint claimed that the collision was caused by the negligence and carelessness of the unidentified driver. She alleged that the driver had operated the stolen vehicle recklessly, ignored a stop sign, and drove at an excessive speed. The complaint listed multiple statutory and common law violations ranging from distracted driving and failure to keep a proper lookout to using a handheld mobile device while operating the vehicle.

Because the at-fault driver remained unknown and uninsured, Delandro sought to recover damages directly from Safeco under Connecticut’s uninsured motorist statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. §38a-336, which allows policyholders to recover compensation when injured by uninsured or hit-and-run drivers.

Injury

The crash caused Delandro significant physical and emotional harm. She suffered injuries to her face, neck, back, abdomen, left hand, and right leg. Her doc