Stairs present a number of special
dangers, some obvious, some hidden, that cause thousands of people to trip or
slip and fall every year. With the more obvious defects a torn or loose carpet,
or a step or handrail that breaks the liability of the property owner is
usually clear. With things that have been spilled or dropped or left on stairs,
the responsibility of the owner is the same as described above in any slip or
trip accident.
But in addition to normal considerations
of things spilled or left on stairs, there may have been additional dangers
with stairs that made your fall more likely. Some defects in stairs may remain
hidden even after your accident. As for these, you may have to make an effort
to figure out what happened and how the stairs should have been constructed or
maintained differently.
Slippery
Surfaces :A common hidden stair danger is worn-down
carpet or wood that makes the “run” part of a stair the part your foot lands on
dangerous, both going up and coming down. Even a slightly worn stair or carpet,
particularly on the edge of a step, can be perilous because a person is not
likely to notice slight wear and may be even more likely to slip than on
obviously worn stairs. Some stairs may have a tile or highly polished wood
surface that is more slippery than stone, painted wood, or carpeted stairs. If
so, the owner may have sacrificed safety for beauty and may now be liable
because of that choice.
Wet or
Icy Outdoor Stairs :Many people slip and fall when rain, snow,
or ice collects on outdoor stairs. The first response of an insurance adjuster
is often to say that the property owner is not responsible for the weather, and
that everyone must be extra careful when it has been cold, raining, or snowing.
While this is partly true, it does not end the question of the owner’s
negligence. Outdoor stairs must be built and maintained so that water or ice
does not build up excessively on the stairs. If there was an extra buildup of
rain, snow, or ice on which you slipped, the step was dangerous and the owner
should be liable. Further, an outdoor step must have a surface that does not
become extra slippery when wet or icy. If an outdoor step does not have an
anti-slip surface, the owner has not taken reasonable safety precautions and
may be liable if you slip and fall.
Building
Code Violations :Every state, and virtually every county,
has a building code that must be followed by builders and owners when constructing any building, including the stairs.
Your city or county building permit department, any local law library, and
perhaps your local public library, will have a copy of your state and local
building codes. Check the stair requirements of the codes to see if the stairs
on which you fell fail to meet any specifications. If your fall occurred on, or
was made worse by, the part of the stairs that fails to meet the code, the code
becomes very strong support for your argument that the stairs were dangerous. A
building code stair violation might be measured in no more than quarter inches.
But even a very small violation can make a set of stairs dangerous. You need
not use technical or legal language in citing a building code violation to
support your injury claim. The code simply provides you with an official
declaration of the minimum of safety for a set of stairs. If the stairs you fell on did not meet the standard set by the building
code, you have a very strong argument that the stairs were not reasonably safe,
regardless of how, or even whether, the building code actually applies.
Handrails - Most building codes require one or more
handrails on stairs of a certain width or a certain height; some building codes also have different
requirements for commercial premises, multiple unit apartments and private homes. Building codes also
require that handrails be installed properly that is, firmly attached and at a certain height.
Reaching for a handrail that is at the wrong height can actually cause you to
fall when nothing else is wrong with the stairs.
Improper stair height or depth - The vertical and horizontal part of each
step are called the “riser” and the “run,” respectively. Building codes
prescribe a maximum and minimum riser height for each step, and a maximum and
minimum depth for the part on which you put your foot, the run. If you have
slipped or taken a sudden and unexplained fall on a stair, measure the stair’s
risers and runs, and compare the measurements with the minimums and maximums in
the building code. If either the riser or the run violates the code, the stairs
were defective. The question then becomes whether the defect caused your fall.
But once you have established that the stairs were defective in a basic way the
wrong height or depth you have gone a long way toward showing that the stairs
were dangerous. Unless the building owner’s insurance company can show clearly
that you fell because of your own carelessness, the improper stair alone will
normally be enough to gain a settlement for you.
Uneven stair height or depth - Building codes not only set maximum and
minimum stair heights and widths, they also set a maximum variance from one
step to another that is, the differences permitted in the heights and depths of
any one step from another. The variance standard is important because when we go up or down stairs, our brains remember how far the last
steps were and automatically tell our legs to move the same distance the next time. If the leg
moves the same distance but the step isn’t in the same place even slightly we
may lose our balance and fall. So, even if each riser and run is within the
code limits, variance from one step to another may violate another section of
the code and create a dangerous set of stairs.
