How To Claim For Injuries Caused By Falling Down The Stairs?

Falling Down The Stairs Claims Guide?

By Megan Cullen. Last Updated 20th December 2022. Has falling down the stairs caused you to sustain an injury? Are you wondering whether you are able to file a personal injury claim? This article will help guide you through the common causes of falling down a set of stairs, the types of injuries you could suffer, who may be liable for your injury and how much compensation you could be eligible to receive.

Falling down a set of stairs can be a harrowing experience and suffering an injury can be an unsettling feeling. The types of injuries you could receive from such an accident can range from minor to major changes to your quality of life. It can impact your physical activities, mental health and even your ability to work in your current employment.

Contact our advisors today if you want to make a claim for injuries caused by falling the down stairs, they can determine whether you have a valid claim and could pass it to a No Win No Fee solicitor. They will be able to provide you with guidance and can help begin the claiming process. You can get in touch with our advisors by:

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What Is A Staircase Accident?
Common Causes Of Falling Down Stairs
Types Of Injury You Could Suffer
Who Could Be Liable For You Falling Down Stairs?
Average Payout For A Slip And Fall In The UK
Talk To Us Today About Your No Win No Fee Claim

What Is A Staircase Accident?

Different types of accidents can happen on stairs. These accidents can happen anywhere there is a set of stairs, this includes at work, in public, while in restaurants or hotels. Many places have a set of stairs that are used frequently by employees or members of the public. However, to make a claim you need to prove a third party owed you a duty of care, that they subsequently breached, and this negligence caused your injury.

There are 4 main areas where you are owed a duty of care:

A duty of care refers to an employer’s responsibility to provide a reasonably safe working environment for their employees. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 this outlines the practicable steps an employer can take under their duty of care to provide their employees with a safe and healthy workplace. When employers fail to provide a duty of care causing you to sustain an injury you may be able to claim. If you fall down the stairs at work because your employer was negligent about general housekeeping, such as obstructions or wet floors at work you may be eligible to claim for any injuries and financial losses caused.
Through the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code road users owe each other a duty of care not to cause avoidable accidents.
In medical settings, such as hospitals, GP’s, dentists and pharmacies, patients are owed a duty of care by medically trained professional not to cause harm that could be avoided.
And lastly, those who are in control of places the public can visit owe those that frequent these places a duty of care applied by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

As fallen down the stair accidents are more likely to happen at work or public places we have chosen to use these as the two main examples for this article.

Common Causes Of Falling Down Stairs

Employers and those occupiers of public settings should follow the guidelines established by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) surrounding stair safety, ensuring they keep their employees and members of the public adequately safe. To ensure safety on a set of stairs is achieved ensure the area is:

Well lit
Have handrails that are well-secured and at appropriate heights
Edges should be clearly marked
Have good slip resistance, particularly on the leading edges as loose carpet and tiles can cause trips.
Free from obstacles, obstructions and other trip hazards

Types Of Injury You Could Suffer

Falling down stairs can result in a variety of injuries ranging from minor, like surface abrasions and cuts, to major, fractures and dislocations. You could suffer the following injuries after falling down a set of stairs:

Head injuries – Concussions.
Back injuries – Soft tissue injuries or damage to the discs.
Knee injuries – Skin scrapes to dislocations.
Wrist injuries – Soft tissue injuries to sprains.
Neck injuries – Whiplash injuries to possible fractures.

However, if you have been injured due to an accident then ensure to get medical advice. Our advisors can help assess the possible slip, trip and fall compensation you could potentially receive.

Who Could Be Liable For You Falling Down Stairs?

As we previously mentioned, all employers owe their employees a duty of care in the workplace. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states that employers should under take risk assessments to assess and control hazards if they cannot be removed. If an employer fails to carry out the assessments this suggests that they have not fulfilled their duty of care.

Under the Occupier’s Liability Act OLA 1957 controllers of spaces such as supermarkets, retail shops, council run facilities, bus stations, restaurants but to name a few must ensure that the areas the public can attend are safe as can be reasonably expected and do not pose avoidable risks.

Contact our advisors if you have any more questions about the concept of a duty of care today.

Average Payout For A Slip And Fall In The UK

Compensation for successful claims for a fall or trip could include general and special damages. General damages compensate you for your injury from falling down the stairs. This includes the pain and suffering your injury has caused you, as well as how it has impacted your quality of life.

Below, we have created a table to help you gain a clearer idea of how much you could receive in compensation for your injury. We have used the compensation figures listed in the 16^th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when creating this table. The JCG is a document that outlines compensation brackets for different injuries. It is also used by many legal professionals when valuing claims. However, the figures shown are not a guarantee.

We cannot provide an average payout for a slip and fall in the UK. This is because the specific factors of your claim could affect how much compensation you receive.

Injury	Notes	Compensation
Moderately Severe Brain Damage (b)	The level of award is affected by ability to communicate, life expectancy, dependence on others and risk of epilepsy.	£219,070 to £282,010
Severe neck injuries (iii)	Fractures or dislocations or severe soft tissue damage and/or tendon ruptures lead to a notable permanent disability. The level awarded depends on symptom amelioration, prognosis and extent of treatment.	£45,470 to £55,990
Hand injury (f)	Severe fracture of fingers that may lead to partial amputation and may impair the hand's grip.	Up to £36,740
Moderate ankle injury (c)	Fractures, ligament tears leading to difficulty walking on uneven ground, difficulty with prolonged standing or walking, awkwardness on stairs, metal plate irritation and scarring.	£13,740 to £26,590
Moderate knee injury (i)	Dislocation, torn cartilage or meniscus with minor instability, weakness, wasting and or mild disability in the future.	£14,840 to £26,190
Arm injury (d)	Simple fractures to the forearm.	£6,610 to £19,200
Minor Achilles tendon injuries (d)	Turning of the ankle causing tendon damage and feeling unsure of ankle support.	£7,270 to £12,590
Wrist injury (d)	Complete fracture or soft tissue injury recovery takes longer than 1 year.	£6,080 to £10,350
Less severe post-traumatic stress disorder (d)	Recovered within one to two years with minor persisting symptoms over longer periods.	£3,950 to £8,180
Minor back injury (ii)	Full recovery without surgery between one to two years.	£4,350 to £7,890

Special damages compensate you for the financial losses you have accrued due to your injury. This could include:

Loss of earnings, both past and future.
Travel expenses to medical appointments.
Home adaptations to cope with your injuries.

To help support your claim for special damages, you should provide evidence of your financial losses. This could be your payslips, receipts and invoices.

Contact one of our advisors today if you would like more information on how to start a personal injury claim.

Talk To Us Today About Your No Win No Fee Claim

Contact our advisors If you want to start your claim today. They can help determine whether your case has a chance and they may pass it to a No Win No Fee solicitor.

A No Win No Fee agreement, otherwise known as a conditional fee agreement, is very beneficial when hiring a legal representative for your personal injury claim. Your lawyer requires no immediate cost and if your claim fails then you will have to pay nothing to your solicitor for their service.

If your claim succeeds, your lawyer will take a small, legally-capped percentage of your compensation as their success fee to cover their fees. If you want to start a claim today, please get in touch with our advisors by: