You probably take the stairs on a daily basis. Whether at home, work, or around town running errands, you don’t think much about it. Yet stairs, despite being commonplace, can become your worst nightmare during an accident. Injuries can be devastating and the life changes afterward can be overwhelming.
If you were injured from falling down stairs at someone’s home or business, you may have the right to bring a premises liability claim to recover compensation. To learn more, contact our Chicago premises liability attorneys at Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. at (312) 236-2900. We offer free initial consultations to get to know you and review your legal options.
If you fall down a broken stairway, you can suffer serious and debilitating injuries – far worse than if you’d simply slipped and fallen to the ground. You may suffer from a number of different injuries after falling down stairs. However, this type of incident often causes:
To recover compensation from a landowner after being hurt on their stairs, you should speak with an experienced Chicago premises liability attorney. There are a number of elements you must establish during a claim to recover your medical expenses, lost wages, disability, disfigurement, and pain and suffering.
These elements include:
To recover compensation through a premise liability claim, you must show the home or business owner had a legal duty toward you. If you were lawfully on the land, such as if you were a house guest or a customer at the business, then the landowner had a duty of care toward you and others. If you were trespassing, the landowner probably does not have a legal duty toward you.
The landowner’s duty is to exercise ordinary care so that the property is reasonably safe for the use of those lawfully on the property. Landowners have a responsibility to keep their premises reasonably safe for you and other guests. This can include inspecting the premises for hidden defects, regularly maintaining the premises, making necessary repairs, putting up warning signs, or blocking off dangerous conditions.
It does not mean landowners must ensure their property is in perfect condition at all times. Owners should pay enough attention to their property to determine when there are hazards that need to be addressed. However, conditions that could be problematic, yet are open and obvious, do not make the owner liable for your injuries.
After determining the landowner owed you a duty of care, you must be able to demonstrate that the owner failed to uphold their duty. The issue that caused your injuries must have been a hidden hazard that the owner knew about or reasonably should have known about and did not fix. For example, if you fell down a steep flight of stairs that did not have a handrail, you could demonstrate that the owner was aware of the lack of a handrail and that this created an unreasonable risk on steep stairs.
Once you have evidence that there was a duty and a breach of that duty, you and your attorney must show that this breach led to your injuries and that you can be compensated for your injuries. The landowner’s action or inaction that you state was a breach of their duty to you must be the reason you are hurt. For example, if you fell down stairs because you tripped on a tear in old carpet, you must show that this tear was negligent. You cannot say that the owner was negligent for not having a railing, yet you were injured due to the carpet.
Demonstrating your injuries to an insurer or court can require your personal testimony, witness testimony, and expert witnesses. Your physicians or medical experts will also need to speak in regard to the type and extent of your injuries. How much your injuries are worth will depend on a number of factors your attorney can explain.
If you were injured in a fall down stairs, do not hesitate to reach out for legal help. At Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C., we have years of experience representing individuals in premises liability claims. Call us at (312) 236-2900 to schedule a free consultation and learn about your rights and options.
When you’re fighting for maximum compensation, we know what it takes to get it.
