Tripping On Stairs: 4 Case Elements to Help Prove Negligence & Get a Settlement

Slip and fall accidents may seem like a scam or joke on television shows and in the movies, but they are all too real. When you're involved in a slip and fall accident that takes place on a dangerous location like a set of stairs, the injuries could be severe. You could be dealing with broken bones, injured necks, and damaged backs. One way to help with this is by hiring a lawyer to break down the case and help you get some compensation for your pain and suffering.

When considering injuries on stairs, there are several elements to look at. This can make cases extremely complicated. By learning about four different case elements, you can receive legal advice from a lawyer and help build your case against any liable parties.

Stair Conditions

One of the more important aspects of a slip and fall case on stairs is the condition of the stairs. A lawyer will want to look into whether any of the stairs are in poor condition. This includes broken elements, chipped elements, or cracked parts of the stairs. Other elements of a staircase will also be considered. For example, the hand rail may be loose and unstable. If you tried to grab the hand rail, you may have lost your balance and fell down the stairs.

It's also important to consider extra items used on a staircase. For example, a running carpet may have come loose or feature worn down sections. This could have lead to your slip and fall accident. A mix of images and videos will be used by the lawyer to help prove your case and showcase how unsafe the stairs actually were.

Personal Activities

It's not just the stairs that will come into factor for your case. Your personal actions will be a huge element in any type of settlement that you try and receive. Other parties will look at whether you were using a device like a phone, distracted in any way, or if you were going at a fast speed as you headed down the stairs. This is where the help of a lawyer can come in.

A lawyer can help breakdown the whole incident and showcase how your personal actions played into the fall. A lawyer can help prove that the incident was unavoidable due to the negligence of the property owners. By having legal help on your side, you can prevent the case from being quickly dismissed.

Weather Elements

Even indoor staircases have to deal with the brunt of bad weather. Rain, snow, and ice can easily be tracked into a business and create a mess on the stairs. If employees or a janitorial crew is not there to clean up the mess, then it can create hazards on stairs. Even the lack of a "wet caution signs" could be enough to prove negligence. If the bad weather has been occurring for a while and you slip and fall without proper warning, then you probably will have a case on your hands.

If the accident could have been avoided if the proper safety protocol, then you have evidence to bolster your case.

Past Cases

In some cases, you may find that there have been past incidents of slip and fall injuries at the same location. If there is a pattern to these injuries, then you may have a better case on your hands. A lawyer can use incident reports, police reports, and other civil suits to help show precedence for the case. This can help prove negligence in your case and allow you to get a proper settlement. A slip and fall lawyer can do a lot of the research and get this work done for you.


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