Netanya woman gets NIS 45,000 compensation over 'grave' fall

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
A 70-year-old Netanya woman, who was injured when she tripped over an uneven step in the city's Shikun Vatikim cemetery, has been given NIS 45,000 in compensation by the local Hevra Kadisha burial society, reports www.mynet.co.il. The woman's right shoulder and right knee were broken when she fell, and she was unable to walk and was forced to use a wheelchair for six weeks after the accident. According to the report, the woman had been attending a memorial service when she tripped over the uneven step and fell hard to the ground. She was taken by ambulance to Laniado Hospital, where her injuries were treated. The report said the woman had required extensive physiotherapy and had been forced to rely on her family for help for weeks after the accident. Her lawyer wrote to the Hevra Kadisha saying that the accident had been caused by "neglect and negligence." The letter said the uneven step was a severe safety hazard that the burial society had known about but had simply ignored, and it had failed to put up any warning signs or to arrange any alternative path. The report said both sides agreed to compensation of NIS 45,000, and the sum has already been paid.