When exiting a shopping center, parking garage, or any other public premises, you may forgo the elevator or escalator and turn to the more health-minded option of taking the stairs. However, this seemingly trivial decision may turn catastrophic if the stairway you take is cluttered with faults or otherwise unsafe features. That is, you may take a tumble down the stairs, leading to quite serious bodily injuries. For more, please continue reading to learn what to do if you fall down broken or faulty stairs and how an experienced Toronto stairway accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you resolve the aftermath of this incident accordingly.
How do I know if stairs are broken or faulty?
As a pedestrian, you carry a certain threshold of care in remaining conscious of your whereabouts. Specifically, before taking one step up or down a stairway, you must observe it and confirm its safety. Without further ado, you may deduce that these stairs are broken or faulty, and proceed with another exit strategy, after noticing the following:
- The stairway may be missing one or more steps in its pattern.
- The stairway may have noticeably uneven spacing between each step.
- The stairway may have one or more steps damaged from cracks or water damage.
- The stairway may be missing a handrail, or the one present is loosely hanging on.
What should I do if I fall down broken or faulty stairs?
Unfortunately, even with being abundantly observant and careful, you may still be unable to identify a broken or faulty stairway. This may be especially true if the stairway is not roped off to ward off approaching pedestrians. Or, if the premises have inadequate or insufficient lighting and you cannot see these faults with your naked eye alone.
In any event, if you fall down broken or faulty stairs, you should fight back with a slip and fall accident claim against the negligent property owner. With this, you may have to track down the property owner, or a manager or worker at the premises, who may conduct an incident report on your behalf. You may also ask this person to supply you with a copy of the security camera footage that possibly captured your fall.
This may have to be in addition to calling a law enforcement officer to the scene to write up an accident report on your behalf. While waiting for an officer to arrive, you may take photos of the unsafe stairway condition that prompted your fall. And if any witnesses are present, you may ask them to stick around so that they may provide a statement to the responding officer, as well.
If you are unsure of the next step, turn to a skilled Toronto slip and fall lawyer for guidance. Our team at Merricks Law Group, P.A. will jump in whenever you give us the word.
