Legal Rights Stairway Accidents

What Are Your Legal Rights When You Fall Down the Stairs in an Office Building?

Accidents from people falling, slipping, or tripping on stairs happen daily. Thousands of people are injured every year from stairway accidents. Some injuries are minor, and others can be severe enough to cause permanent disabilities. What are your legal rights when you slip and fall on a stairway in an office? If negligence was a factor in causing your stairway accident and injuries, you might have the right to seek compensation from the building owner.

Liability for all Slip and Fall Accidents Requires Proof of Negligence

All property owners owe a duty to keep the premises, including stairways, reasonably safe for their tenants and visitors. When that duty is breached, and the breach causes an accident and injuries, the owner can be responsible for paying compensation to the victim. For example,
A building owner must take reasonable steps to ensure stairways are free of debris. You slip on a spilled cup of coffee on the stairs and suffer a broken ankle. You can try to prove the property owner was negligent because no one cleaned the stairway promptly after the spill.

Most commonly, landlords fail to provide proper railings on staircases. In some situations, the stairs are wide and should have railings on both sides but do not. On other cases, railings do not run the full length of the stairs, leaving people without adequate safeguards at the top or bottom. In other situations, the railing may be defective, not providing the protection required.

You must show that the office building owner caused, knew about, or should have known about the condition on the stairs that caused you to fall. If you can prove negligence, you might be able to collect compensation in the form of an insurance settlement or trial verdict. Compensation can cover things such as medical costs, financial losses, and emotional distress that resulted from your injuries.

Stairway Slip and Fall Accidents Involve Hidden Dangers

Stairway accidents do not always occur because of something as evident as spilled coffee. Stairs often have hidden dangers. You must find a premises liability lawyer who understands how to determine the cause of your fall. This way, you can enforce your right to collect damages from the party who was negligent.

Hidden dangers in office stairways that often cause people to fall include:

• Lack of railings or improperly maintained railings
• Worn down carpet runners
• Highly polished surfaces
• Building code violations
• Improper stair height
• Improper railing height or installation
• Improper stair depth
• Uneven steps
• Ice or snow on outdoor stairways
• Water on stairs from mopping
• Poorly lit stairwells

If one of these factors contributed to your fall down the stairs, you might have the legal right to seek compensation from various parties. Liable parties can include the building owner, the landlord, a maintenance company, construction company, architect, and/or building inspector.

Contact Our Premises Liability Lawyer in New York Irene H. Gabo. Find out more about your legal rights after falling down the stairs in an office building. Call us today at (800) 560-0214.