Stairs frequently create the perfect environment for slips, falls and trips, which leads to many injuries each year. If you slip and hurt yourself on the stairs of someone else’s property, you may be able to file a personal injury claim with their insurance. You have to determine if the property owner was at fault for the hazard on the stairs that caused you to fall, which can be easier said than done. Here’s how personal injury works on another person’s property and what to do after the accident.

 

How Liability Works

Liability for falls stems from hazardous scenarios that the property owner ignores. This is a form of negligence and the reason that you can potentially seek a claim against them. In order to file a legitimate claim, you must be able to prove that the owner or an employee caused an area on the stairs to be slippery or ripped up and knowingly did nothing to fix it. The problem should be obvious enough that the owner could have easily discovered it and fixed it. Since stairs are more hazardous simply by design, you may have to investigate them more closely for flaws, too.

 

How Your Own Negligence Comes Into Play

If you slip and fall on another property, it isn’t always assumed that the property owner is at fault. The insurance company will do a thorough investigation of your actions as well. This is to see if you were acting negligent at the time of the accident. If you were, you may be blamed for causing your own injuries and obtaining compensation will be extremely difficult.

 

What to Do After an Accident

There are a few important things to take note of if you have an accident. Take photos of where you fell to prove there was a slippery surface or other problem that caused your fall. Get the contact and insurance information of the property owner, and speak to anyone who witnessed the accident. Make sure the property owner is aware that an accident has occurred, and have them write down a report of it. Get medical attention immediately so that a doctor’s report can verify your injuries were caused by the accident.

 

If you aren’t sure whether your injuries can be covered by a personal injury claim, contact a personal injury lawyer, to help with your case. There may be things you’ve missed or laws you don’t know about that could impact the success rate of your claim.