Lost Your Car Accident Case at Trial in Connecticut? Here Are Your Legal Options.

By M. Ray Arvand, Esq. | The Law Office of M. Ray Arvand, P.C.

You were seriously injured in a Connecticut car accident. You did everything right — you hired an attorney, you built your case, and you went to trial. Then the jury ruled against you.

Is it over?

The answer is no. Connecticut law gives injured plaintiffs real options after a trial loss, and a verdict is not always the final word. What matters now is moving quickly, because the deadlines are strict and they do not bend.

Here is what you need to know.

Option 1: Motion to Set Aside the Verdict

Under CT Practice Book Section 16-35, your attorney can ask the trial judge to set aside the jury's verdict entirely. This is not an appeal — it is a direct challenge to the verdict at the trial court level.

If the evidence presented at trial does not support the result the jury reached, the court has the authority to reverse it. The judge who presided over your trial reviews whether the verdict is legally supportable given the record. If it is not, the verdict can be thrown out.

The deadline is 10 days. This motion must be filed within 10 days of the verdict. Missing that window closes the option entirely.

Option 2: Motion for a New Trial

A motion for a new trial asks the court to wipe out the original trial and start over. Grounds for this motion include:

• Improper jury instructions — if the judge misstated the law when instructing the jury, that error may have infected the verdict

• Wrongly excluded evidence — if key evidence that should have been admitted was kept out, the jury decided your case on an incomplete record

• Juror misconduct — if a juror behaved improperly during deliberations or was not truthful during jury selection

Under Connecticut General Statutes Section 52-270, you may also petition for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence — evidence that was not available at the time of trial and that could not have been discovered through reasonable diligence beforehand.

Important: The deadlines and procedural requirements for a motion for a new trial differ depending on the specific grounds being raised. Do not assume you have time. Consult with your attorney immediately after a verdict.

Option 3: Appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court

If the trial court made legal errors — in its rulings on evidence, in how it instructed the jury, or in other decisions that affected the outcome — you can take your case to the Connecticut Appellate Court.

The deadline to file a notice of appeal is 20 days from the date of the judgment.

If the Appellate Court finds reversible error, the case goes back to the trial court for a new trial. If the Appellate Court denies relief, you may petition the Connecticut Supreme Court for further review — though the Supreme Court has discretion over which cases it accepts.

Appeals are not a second chance to re-argue the facts. They are a review of whether the trial court applied the law correctly. The strength of an appeal depends on what errors were preserved in the record during trial, which is one reason having the right attorney from the beginning matters.

Why Deadlines Are Everything in Post-Trial Litigation

The three options above operate on different timelines, but they share one thing in common: none of them wait for you to decide whether you are ready. The 10-day window for a motion to set aside the verdict begins running the moment the verdict is entered. The 20-day window for a notice of appeal begins running from judgment.

In post-trial litigation, delay is not a neutral choice. It is a decision to give up options you may not be able to recover.

If you or someone you know has received an adverse verdict in a Connecticut personal injury case, the time to act is now — not after the shock wears off, not after the holidays, not next week.

ArvandLaw represents personal injury plaintiffs throughout Connecticut, including in post-trial motions and appeals. If you received an adverse verdict and want to understand your options, contact Ray Arvand directly.

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M. Ray Arvand, Esq. is a personal injury attorney at The Law Office of M. Ray Arvand, P.C., representing injured clients throughout Connecticut.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Post-trial deadlines are jurisdictionally specific and procedurally strict. Consult a qualified Connecticut personal injury attorney immediately after an adverse verdict to understand your options and applicable deadlines.