Personal Injury Lawyer Wins $3.7M Settlement for Traumatic Brain Injury Victim after Fall from a Boat Ladder

A $3.7 million settlement was reached by a personal injury lawyer on behalf of a 48-year-old New Jersey woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury when she fell from a boat ladder at a marina in 2014.

The victim, Jennifer Brashears, was aboard a boat as it was being lifted out of the Hudson River on a hoist at Edgewater Marina in Edgewater, N.J., on July 22, 2014, and she fell as she tried to climb down a ladder from the boat, according to a story by NJ.com. Brashears “fell after placing one of her feet on the top step of the ladder,” and then she “somersaulted down and hit her head on the pavement,” the story reported.

After the 10-foot fall, Brashears, 48, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove a portion of her skull and damaged brain tissue, according to the report. She later underwent five additional surgeries to treat bleeding on her brain.

Brashears fell from off the 54-foot-long recreational boat as it was being removed from the river for repairs using a Marine Travelift hoist, the report states. The boat was owned by Dean Borghi, who climbed down the boat ladder to safety just before Brashears fell to the pavement.

The negligence lawsuit filed on behalf of Brashears stated that “safety warnings on the crane and marina policies state no one should be on board while the boat is being hoisted,” the story reported. Borghi had just maneuvered the boat from its slip to a service area where it was to be lifted from the water and repaired.

Since her injury six years ago, Brashears has not been able to go back to work, according to her attorneys. A special needs trust was created by the victim’s mother to provide care for Brashear, whose cognitive and physical abilities are permanently limited, according to the story.

The Travelift used to remove the boat from the Hudson River is owned by the Edgewater Marina and Edgewater Borough, where the incident occurred. The borough paid $3 million of the settlement, while Borghi paid the remaining $700,000, the story reported.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of personal injury cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a personal injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of injury, slip and fall, pedestrian injury, workplace injury, car crash or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Talk to a Philadelphia personal injury attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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