Botka v. Estate of Hoerr

Susan Botka, a hospice nurse, brought this negligence claim against the estate of Raymond Hoerr for injuries sustained when she fell down an elevator shaft at the Hoerr residence. The defendant estate argued that Botka was a trespasser and that the deadman’s statute barred her from testifying to her conversations with the decedent. Botka argued that she had permission to enter in the manner that she did, and that the estate waived the protection of the deadman’s statute. The trial court held that Botka was a trespasser as a matter of law, found that the defendant did not waive the deadman’s…