Healthcare Worker Gets $160,000 Settlement for Slip and Fall Injury

Lawyers reached an arbitration settlement of $160,000 in the personal injury matter of Boltersdorf v. Whitehead Business Center (Docket No. MER-L-2727-02), in which plaintiff Donna Boltersdorf slipped and fell on the ice in the parking lot on her way into the Ewing office of the Community Blood Council of New Jersey where she was employed. The incident occurred on January 10, 2001 at approximately 8:00 A.M. At the time of the injury, Ms. Boltersdorf was 28 years old and a resident of Levittown, PA.

As a result of her fall, Ms. Botersdorf suffered significant and enduring injury to her shoulder, and has not been able to return to work. She has been treated for limited mobility and pain.

Neither party denied that she fell and was injured, but they disagreed on who was responsible. Ms Boltersdorf’s lawyer contends that maintenance of the parking area was a responsibility shared between her employer, Community Blood Council of New Jersey, and the owner of the building, the defendant Whitehead Business Center. The defendant’s attorney contended that maintenance was the responsibility of Community Blood Council. According to her lawyer, this was an important distinction. If her employer were solely responsible, then the case would be limited to New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Law and her damages covered only by her employers workers’ compensation insurance company. However, if the building owner were responsible, then Ms. Boltersdorf, and her employer, have recourse to New Jersey Premises Liability Negligence Law (personal injury law) against a third party contributing to the injury.

“Negligent property owners force victims to file law suits. If the owners invested in responsible maintenance, then they would save themselves a lot of money, the employers a lot of premium dollars, the victims a lot of pain, and the legal system a lot of time,” says plaintiff’s lawyer, Thomas R. Smith, a partner specializing in personal injury law in the Princeton based law firm of Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman.

Attorney Edward H. Keiper, of the Law Offices of Edward H. Keiper in Haddonfield, NJ represented the defendant.

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