When you’re thinking about dangerous things in your home, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A hot oven? Sharp knives? You may be surprised to know that, according to a study by the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, more than a million people seek treatment at the hospital after being injured on stairs every year.
While anyone can fall victim to an accident on the stairs, the study shows that younger children, women, and older folks are the most likely to be injured. A number of injuries can result from incidents on the stairs, including broken bones, bumps, sprains, and strains. If you have stairs in your home, then it’s up to you to keep them safe both for yourself and for those who visit you. Not doing so could result in you being sued for a premises liability accident.
About half of the homes in the United States have stairs
According to statistics available from the Census Bureau, about half of the house in the U.S. have stairs. Data shows that injures on stairs cost people in the United States more than $90 billion each year. After looking at these stats, it’s easy to see why there should always be prevention measures in place to keep people safe on the stairs.
More details on the studies
According to researchers, who looked at info from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, about 25 million people went to the emergency room due to injuries in stairs between 1990 and 2012. This comes out to about 38 stair-related injuries for every 10,000 people in the United States. These numbers dropped about 13% from 1990 to 1996 but went up 24% between 1996 and 2012. 60% of those injured on stairs were women. 60% of those injured were injured at their own home.
If you were injured on someone else’s stairs then you may have legal recourse
Have you suffered an injury due to someone else not keeping their stairs safe? Were you injured on the stairs owned by a government building or a business? There are many conditions that can be considered negligence by the owner of a property, including not having enough light, icy stairs, icy sidewalks, wet floors, and more.
Remember that winning a premises accident lawsuit doesn’t require proof that the owner of the property deliberately caused an action that led to a safety issue. In fact, they don’t even have to have been aware of the safety issue. What your personal injury attorney must prove is that they should have known about it and had a legal responsibility to fix the issue or have clear warning signs.
If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property then it’s time to reach out to an attorney. Call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas to talk to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas about a free legal consultation. We can help you get the fair treatment you deserve. Don’t assume you have no resource. We know how difficult any injury can be and we are here to help.
