NEW SCOTLAND — The town of New Scotland and Albany County are being sued for negligence by a Schenectady County woman over injuries sustained during an October 2024 motor-vehicle collision.

According to the Oct. 15 court filing, April Carbone alleges that the county-owned New Scotland South Road, near its intersection with the town-maintained Game Farm Road, was obstructed by “foliage, brush, shrubs, bushes, trees, debris, bulk,” which she claims hindered “vehicle passage and the traveling public and blocked the view of roads, intersections, signage, conditions, vehicles and hazards," causing her to be “struck by a honda motor vehicle.”

Carbone claims that the county, town, and their respective highway departments had a duty to keep the roads safe. Specifically, she claims, they failed to clear foliage and debris that blocked views of the road and signage.

The complaint alleges that, by allowing trees and brush to accumulate at the intersection of Game Farm Road and New Scotland South Road, the town and county created a “trap” for the traveling public.

Carbone also claims the town and county “reasonably knew or should have known about” the overgrown conditions but failed to fix them in a reasonable amount of time to prevent the accident.

Albany County declined comment, citing the pending litigation. 

New Scotland in its Oct. 31 answer to the suit denied the allegations made in the filing and asked that it be dismissed. Supervisor Doug LaGrange, while noting the incident occurred on a county-owned road, said it’s “certainly a disappointing situation,” but “one that will be played out in the courts.”

Carbone is seeking damages “in an amount that exceeds the jurisdictional limits [$50,000] of all lower Courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction.”