Landlord Liability for Defective Common Stairways

The general rule is that a landlord must take reasonable care to maintain a property’s common areas in a reasonably safe state for those who have a right to use the premises when she retains control over those areas. These shared spaces frequently have stairs or steps that are accessible to all inhabitants.

What Are the Property Owners’ Obligations Regarding Care?

According to the law, property owners must maintain and take reasonable care of their properties to keep them free from hazards. It is significant to highlight that the owner’s responsibility may alter based on how someone enters the property.

An individual’s duty of care falls into one of three general types, which are as follows:

• The guest;
• A permittee; and
• A stranger.

Premises liability is the legal obligation placed on a property owner to protect visitors from suffering a significant injury while they are on the property. It is crucial to understand that states do differ on the obligations owed to people entering a property and how they should be classified.

For the effective application of the laws governing a property owner’s obligations and responsibilities, it is helpful for a person to research local laws in their state. The owner of a property must also regularly inspect it, make necessary repairs to any harmful situations, and issue warnings about any such conditions.

A property owner may still be held responsible for any injuries caused by a dangerous condition on the property even if they are not aware of it and fail to address it.

How Do I Know What Kind of Duty Is Due?

There are three primary groups of people who enter a property, as previously said, and the owner’s responsibility will change based on the group they belong to. The group of people who owe the highest care obligation is an invitee.

Individuals who are invited to a property for professional reasons are known as invitees. According to this regulation, it is the property owner’s responsibility to address any known risks.

Additionally, the owner is required to check the portions of the property that invitees may access for any potential unsafe circumstances, identify them, and remedy them. For instance, store owners are responsible for ensuring that consumers may securely use the restrooms on the property.

A licensee falls within the second group. An individual who is on the property for their own or social purposes is known as a licensee.

A licensee receives less care than an invitee does. Property owners require only taking reasonable precautions to safeguard licensees from known hazards on the site.

However, the property owners don’t need to check for and identify any hidden threats. A guest is regarded as a licensee on the premises, for instance, if they are invited to a party held at a private residence.

Trespassers, or people who enter a property without authority, make up the final group. A trespasser who enters a property owner’s property is not entitled to any rights or obligations. The trespasser cannot, however, be intentionally hurt by the property owner.

It’s crucial to be aware that if there are regular trespassers on their property and the owner is aware of the trespassing, the owner may be held accountable for injuries a person suffered as a result of a hazardous situation on the property.

For a property owner to be accountable for trespassers, specific circumstances must exist, including:

• Because the property owner kept it up or made it dangerous, it exists.
• The dangerous situation was likely to result in serious injury or death; and
• The proprietor neglected to alert the intruders about the situation and the risk involved.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that these rules are altered when children are involved in trespassing. For instance, the property owner may be liable if a youngster wanders off and suffers harm as a result of a hazardous condition on the premises.

As a result, a property owner must make sure that their land is free of any dangers that can draw children from the neighborhood to it. The property owner is responsible for checking the property for safety and fixing any known unsafe circumstances.

What Constitutes a Dangerous Stairway?

Courts that have held landlords accountable for stairwell injuries have identified typical factors that contribute to their danger. These consist of:

• Lack of a railing or banister along the stairs
• Uneven or worn step surfaces
• Stair carpets that are sagging, ripped, or loose

What Qualifies as a Secure Stairway?

Generally speaking, courts have determined that a landlord is not liable if they took reasonable measures to preserve a stairway’s safety. Some maintenance tasks consist of:

• Regular waxing or cleaning of a staircase.
• Preventing slippage by covering a stairway with an abrasive surface
• Adequate illumination

What Other Elements Must Be Present for a Court to Hold a Landlord Accountable for a Stairway Injury?

Courts will, above all else, consider whether the landlord knew of the stairway issue. According to some courts, the obligation to exert reasonable care to find a problem extends beyond the obligation to make repairs.

Can a Tenant Be Held Accountable for an Accident on the Stairs?

Courts frequently assess whether the injured party acted properly when evaluating a personal injury case. Numerous variables are considered in situations where a tenant assumes the risk of stairway harm. These consist of:

• Understanding the surroundings
• The need to move quickly
• If other route options are available.
• The presence of light

To evaluate whether the tenant was at fault rather than the landlord in the personal injury lawsuit, courts consider whether the tenant acted properly in light of all the facts and circumstances involved.

Are Local Governments Responsible for Accidents on Public Steps?

Yes. The following three requirements must typically be met in order for a local authority to be held accountable for damages:

• The local government failed to build or maintain the stairway in a fairly safe manner for all residents, which is normally a responsibility of local governments when doing so: Most courts at least demand that a stairway be free from flaws, though opinions on what qualifies as “reasonably safe” can differ. A municipal government is deemed negligent if it neglects to make a staircase reasonably safe.
• The key factor leading to the injury was careless stairway construction or maintenance: For instance, it is evident that the damaged stairway primarily brought on the harm if a person trips over a major crack on it and breaks their arm. On the other hand, you might contend that the damaged stairs had little to do with the injuries if the individual was pushed off them by another person.
• The injured party did not take any risks or contribute to their own injury: At this approach, courts can prevent local governments from being held accountable for citizens who put their own lives in jeopardy needlessly. For instance, someone who decides to race down a flight of stairs with “wet floor” signs all around or who skateboards along a stairwell rail.

Can Local Governments Rely on Government Immunity to Protect Themselves?

Yes, there are regulations in place in many states that shield municipal governments from legal responsibility for injuries sustained while carrying out their regular duties. Some states have protected local governments from liability for injuries by classifying the building and upkeep of public stairways as a government function.

Do These Indicate Poor Recovery Chances?

No, not always. Even in states where government immunity protects public stairways, some statutes provide for exclusions when the stairway’s flaws are unreasonably dangerous and immediately apparent (i.e., the unsafe conditions on the stairway are obvious enough that the local government should have known about it).

What Legal Services Can I Get?

Get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to find out your legal possibilities if you were hurt because of a flaw in a public stairway. A lawyer might research your state’s government immunity laws to see if financial compensation for your harm is available. Based on the three criteria mentioned above, an attorney can also assess the strength of your case.

Does My Personal Injury Case Need an Attorney?

In your lawsuit, a knowledgeable landlord-tenant attorney might be helpful. These situations can get highly complicated and can involve numerous small aspects. An attorney will represent your interests and guide you through the legal procedure.