$150,000 Settlement for Elizabeth, New Jersey Mother Who Fell Down Steps at a Residential Property in Union County

On January 26, 2020, a 43-year-old mother of 4 children, twisted her left ankle and fell down while walking down the exterior steps while visiting friends at an owner-occupied 2 family residential property in Elizabeth, NJ.

Due to her pain, soon after her fall, she was taken to St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, where she was evaluated and found not to have any fractures.  She continued treatment for her left ankle by receiving physical therapy.  Months later an MRI revealed a ligament sprain and a partial tear in her left ankle.

Lazaro Berenguer, Esq., of Clark Law Firm, PC., filed the case in Union County in December 2021; the Docket Number for this case was UNN-L-4107-21.  Throughout this hard-fought litigation, the Defendant’s orthopedic medical expert opined that the plaintiff only sustained a mild sprain and strain of her left ankle and indicated that her ankle functioned normally with no permanent injuries.  However, the injured woman’s orthopedic medical expert opined that she sustained a partial ligament tear in her left ankle, which necessitated further treatment.

The plaintiff’s liability expert concluded that the Plaintiff was caused to fall because of a hidden pedestrian fall hazard due to the excessive running slope of the cement step and the lack of markings and visual cues to highlight the cement step to pedestrians.  Further, he concluded that the cement step where she fell was a hazardous condition as it was in violation of local and nationally recognized safety standards, including the City of Elizabeth’s Housing Code.

The defendant, through its insurance company, agreed to settle the case for $150,000.

After this settlement, Lazaro Berenguer, Esq., said, “The plaintiff has endured a long recovery process and we are glad that we were able to obtain a successful result on her behalf, for this mother of four children.”