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Falling down the stairs can be an exceptionally painful experience, resulting in significant injuries and damage. When you use the staircase in someone’s home or at an establishment, you expect a certain level of safety. As such, if you sustain injuries and subsequent damages as a result, you should immediately document the scene, report the condition, seek medical attention, and connect with an Essex County personal injury attorney to discuss your legal rights.
Premises liability is the law that makes property owners liable for accidents and injuries that take place on their property. Any time a person who is lawfully on a property becomes injured due to a hazard or dangerous condition, the property owner can be held responsible for the resulting expenses and other damages.
Under premises liability law, property owners have a legal responsibility to maintain a reasonably safe environment for guests, visitors, consumers, etc. This law includes private homeowners, grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. Hazards and unexpected dangers can arise at any time, but property owners are expected to address and resolve them in a reasonable timeframe.
In New Jersey, premises liability claims are ultimately dependent on whether or not the property owner knew about or should have known about the dangerous staircase prior to the incident.
When an owner is negligent in the upkeep of their property, many issues can arise. When regular maintenance is not done on a property or issues are put off for weeks and then months, various hazards can arise, increasing the risk of a slip and fall down unsafe stairs.
It’s also important to understand that stairs may be inherently unsafe if they are in violation of local building codes, such as having treads that are too narrow or risers that are too high.
Whether you suffer a slip and fall down the stairs in your East Orange apartment complex or you are injured due to debris left negligently in the stairwell of a Montclair restaurant, understanding how to proceed is critical to protecting not only your health and well-being, but also your right to file a claim for compensation.
In the event you have slipped, tripped, or otherwise fallen down unsafe, defective, or broken stairs in New Jersey, you may sustain a number of serious physical injuries. Unfortunately, slips down stairs can result in multiple points of impact and striking hard surfaces during the fall.
While some may be able to walk away from a fall down the stairs with minor injuries, others, including older adults, are more susceptible to serious harm.
Understanding liability for a stair-related accident is critical to recovering the compensation you deserve. Due to the nature of these accidents, responsibility generally falls on the entity that owned, controlled, maintained, or remedied the property where the accident occurred. In some instances, this means that multiple parties can share liability for the injuries and damages you’ve suffered.
Unsafe stair accidents occur in apartment buildings, parking garages, corporate offices, retail stores, and other locations throughout Essex County and the surrounding New Jersey communities, meaning there are a number of individuals who can ultimately be held liable for damages.
In order to prove that a party is responsible for the damages you’ve suffered, you must prove the following elements:
After sustaining an injury in a staircase accident, it is imperative that you understand your legal rights and options. You may be able to file a claim or lawsuit against the property owner for negligence and obtain compensation for your associated expenses. However, at Berliner, Cohen, Accardi & Grossman, LLC, we understand how difficult these matters can be for injured individuals in Essex County, which is why we will do everything in our power to help you navigate these complex times and fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about your options.
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