When people trip or fall on stairs, injuries are often minor, but not always. Some people suffer severe, permanent, or even fatal injuries in stairwell accidents in Tucson.
If you were badly injured or your loved one suffered a fatal fall on stairs, contact the skilled premises liability injury attorneys at Phillips Law Group. We can assess your legal options and pursue all possible sources of compensation for your injuries.
An adult in prime physical condition might sometimes lose their footing on stairs. For children, the elderly, or anyone suffering from balance issues or stiff joints, stairwells can be even more hazardous. Property owners must keep stairways reasonably safe for their visitors.
Dangerous conditions in stairwells can result from poor design choices or shoddy maintenance. Some common hazards that can lead to stairwell accidents include:
All of these conditions are easy for a property owner to discover, prevent, and repair.
Someone who is injured in a stairwell accident should try to make a mental note of what caused them to slip or fall. If possible, taking photographs can be helpful to support an injury claim. A Tucson injury attorney could use them to prove a property owner failed in their duty to keep their premises safe, resulting in a preventable stairwell accident.
When someone is injured in a stairwell accident, they must prove that the property owner was negligent. Proving negligence requires a demonstration that the property owner had a duty to the injured person. Under Arizona’s traditional interpretation of the law, business owners have a different duty toward their customers than property owners have toward social guests.
When someone is injured in a stairwell in a store, office building, apartment building, or any structure open to the public, they are likely an invitee. The property owner, or the person who controls access to the stairwell, has an obligation to regularly inspect the premises, remedy any dangerous conditions, and post warnings until repairs are complete. When a Tucson attorney can prove that a property owner did not uphold their duty and their failure resulted in a stairwell accident, the property owner is liable to anyone who suffered injuries as a result.
Social hosts do not have an obligation to inspect the premises or make repairs, but must warn their guests of dangerous conditions that they know about. If a host does not warn a guest about a dangerous stairwell and they are injured, the host may be liable for the guest’s injuries.
When someone suffers injuries because of a property owner’s negligence, they are entitled to compensation of all current and future losses. These include medical expenses, lost wages, diminished future earnings, and various incidental expenses.
They are also entitled to compensation for the the injury’s impact on their quality of life. These are called pain and suffering damages, and may be paid to compensate physical pain, emotional anguish, disability, scarring, and lost enjoyment of life.
When the injured person was partially responsible for their injuries, they may collect reduced compensation. Arizona Revised Statutes §12-2505 requires an allocation of fault between the parties, and an injured person can collect a percentage of their damages equal to the other party’s portion of fault.
If you were hurt in a stairwell accident in Tucson, schedule a free case evaluation with the team at Phillips Law Group. We have been obtaining maximum compensation for injured Arizonans for more than three decades, so contact us today.
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