Falls in stairwells are particularly dangerous. Your likelihood of sustaining serious injuries increases when you fall on stairs as opposed to a flat surface.
When you are injured in a fall on the stairs on someone else’s property, you may have a legal claim against them. Our attorneys at Phillips Law Group frequently represent the victims of stairwell accidents in Peoria. We have been serving Arizonans for nearly 30 years, and you can rely on us to provide aggressive and effective representation.
When you bring a lawsuit for injuries you suffered in a Peoria stairway accident, an injury attorney must prove specific elements for your claim to be legally viable. If you cannot satisfy all the required elements, your claim will fail.
You must have evidence demonstrating that someone else’s negligence caused your injury. In legal terms, negligence means that someone breached a duty and their failure directly caused you to suffer losses. In a stairwell accident case, negligence means that the property owner did not meet their obligation to maintain a safe stairway, and your accident was caused by that failure.
Finally, you must have suffered actual harm to bring a legal claim. You can prove actual harm by showing that you suffered injuries requiring medical treatment, missed work because of your injuries, and your daily routine was or still is impacted by pain, disability, or other effects of your injury.
The owners of premises open to the public have a duty to maintain their property so that it is reasonably safe for visitors. They must inspect the property regularly to identify hazards and correct them as soon as possible. If immediate repairs are not feasible, they must warn visitors of the hazard and restrict access until the stairway is safe.
Poorly maintained or constructed stairways pose a significant danger. Some common stairwell hazards include:
A property owner could be found negligent if one of these conditions causes you to get hurt.
Owners of residential property do not have an obligation to inspect their premises or make immediate repairs to protect their social guests. However, they must warn visitors about any known hazard that is not open and obvious. An attorney could review the circumstances of a Peoria stairway accident to determine whether there is evidence that the property owner was negligent.
A stairwell accident could be due to a combination of a dangerous condition plus your carelessness. If you were distracted, ignored a warning sign, or were running on the stairs, you may be partially responsible for your injuries.
Arizona Statute §12-2505 allows you to seek compensation from a negligent property owner even when you are partially responsible for the accident. A court will reduce your damages in proportion to your percentage of responsibility.
The property owner’s insurance company might try to unfairly shift blame to you. A Peoria attorney from Phillips Law Group will advocate for your position and try to limit your allocation of responsibility for the stairwell accident as much as possible.
Cases involving falls on stairs can be complicated. You must establish that the property owner failed in its duty and protect yourself against unfair accusations that your conduct caused the accident.
Contact Phillips Law Group for a free case review. Our experienced attorneys know how to obtain a favorable result in cases involving stairwell accidents in Peoria.