Can I Claim For Falling Down Stairs At Work?

By Stephen Kane. Last Updated 12th May 2023. If you have recently been injured because you fell down the stairs at work, you may be wondering “Can I claim for falling down stairs at work?” If the accident was caused by your employer acting negligently and you were injured as a direct result of the accident, you may be eligible to claim accident compensation. For example, if your employer did not replace or repair the broken handrail when they had been made aware of it which caused you to slip and fall down the stairs, you may be owed compensation for your injuries.

Fall down stairs at work compensation claims guide

If you wish to claim accident compensation for falling down stairs Advice.co.uk can help you. You could call our claims team for free claim advice or you can view this guide here accident at work claim. If our advisors can see that you are owed compensation by your employer, our panel of knowledgeable personal injury solicitors could handle your claim for compensation. Begin your compensation claim for injuries caused by falling down the stairs today. Call us on 0161 696 9685 for your free consultation. Alternatively, use our online claims form to reach us.

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A Guide On If You Can Claim For Falling Down Stairs At Work
What’s The Average Payout For A Slip And Fall In The UK?
Causes Of Falling Down Stairs At Work
Potential Injuries From Falling Down The Stairs
What Is My Employer’s Duty Of Care?
How To Report An Injury In The Workplace
No Win No Fee Claims For Falling Down Stairs At Work
More Information

A Guide On If You Can Claim For Falling Down Stairs At Work

When you are at work, your employer owes you a duty of care. This means that if you are injured because of a health or safety hazard at work you could potentially claim personal injury compensation for your injuries. Can you sue for falling down stairs at work? If the accident was caused because your employer breached their duty of care towards you and your injuries happened as a direct result of the accident you could be able to claim compensation.

In this guide to claiming compensation if you fell down from the stairs we will answer questions you may have about these types of accidents, including, what are some common injuries from falling down stairs?, and how to recover from a fall down the stairs? We will also explain how to begin your claim, your compensation payout and look at the benefits of No Win No Fee solicitors.

To begin your compensation claim, contact us online or call us today and ask an advisor, “Can I claim for falling down stairs at work?”.

Our advisors will be happy to speak with you in-depth about your claim and can offer you free legal advice about claiming compensation for an accident at work. If we can see that you are eligible to claim compensation you could be connected to a solicitor As an alternative keep on reading this guide to learn more on the subject.

Injuries From Falling Down The Stairs

Falling down the stairs at work could cause a variety of injuries. Below you’ll find common injuries from falling down stairs:

Broken or fractured bones, for example, a broken ankle
A head injury, including brain damage
Internal bleeding
A back injury, such as spinal cord damage
A sprain or strain injury
Lacerations, cuts and grazes
Psychological damage, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

If you have suffered from an injury, such as back pain, after falling down the stairs at work, you could potentially be eligible to claim if it was due to negligence. Get in touch with an advisor to find out if you are eligible to start a claim for injuries from falling down the stairs at work.

What’s The Average Payout For A Slip And Fall In The UK?

There is no general or average payout for a slip and fall in the UK. Any compensation you receive would be based on how you were specifically affected by your injuries.

You could seek two types of compensation in a personal injury claim. The first is compensation for your pain and suffering which is awarded under the head of general damages.

We have included a table below that shows how compensation could be awarded in a slip and trip claim. We have taken these figures from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines, which legal professionals use when calculating compensation in your claim.

Injured Body Part	Severity Of The Injury	Notes On This Injury	Compensation Settlement
Severe Leg Injuries	Serious (iii)	Prolonged treatment with an inability to bear weight for this time and extensive scarring from compound or comminuted fractures.	£39,200 to £54,830
Neck Injury	Moderate (i)	Dislocations and fractures of the neck.	£24,990 to £38,490
Thumb Injury	Very serious	Very serious thumb injuries where the thumb was severed at the base and then reattached but leaving it deformed and non functional.	£19,600 to £35,010
Thumb Injury	Moderate	A thumb injury which impairs function and sensation in the thumb as well as its usage.	£9,670 to £12,590
Hand Injury	Less serious	A crush injury which significantly impairs the hands function.	£14,450 to £29,000
Hand Injury	Moderate	Soft tissue injury, crush injury or a penetrating wound.	£5,720 to £13,280
Back Injury	Moderate (ii)	This might cover a very wide range of different injuries.	£12,510 to £27,760
Ankle Injuries	Moderate (c)	Less serious disabilities from fractures and ligamentous tears.	£13,740 to £26,590
Elbow Injury	Moderate to minor	The majority of elbow injuries will fall into this category.	Up to £12,590
Toe Injury	Moderate	A straightforward fracture or an injury which exacerbates any pre-existing conditions. Might also include lacerations and other injuries.	Up to £9,600

However, the figures we have presented are not a guarantee of what you would receive. Your award will be determined by a medical assessment of your injuries, and any other pieces of evidence you could present to show how you were affected – such as your personal testimony, or pictures of your injuries.

Special damages is another type of compensation you could seek. This is compensation for any financial losses and needs that your injuries have led to. To give you examples, you could request compensation for:

Any loss of income you had suffered
Any monetary spending you had made towards your treatment or care
Your injury-related purchases, such as aids like a wheelchair

You can reach out to one of our advisers for a free compensation estimate of your slip and trip claim.

Causes Of Falling Down Stairs At Work

Businesses and other organisations should follow the guidelines to ensure that staircases in the workplace are safe for their employees. Here are some examples of steps that employers should take to protect their employees from falling down the stairs.

Maintaining handrails and bannisters and making sure they are secure. It is also important that the handrails and bannisters are put up at an appropriate height.
The floor should have anti-slip properties, especially the edge of the stair. Carpets with wear and tear or polished tiles can cause pedestrians to slip and fall on the stairs.
Similarly, carpets should be well fitted as loose carpets can cause a slipping accident.
Not allowing objects to be left on the escalator or stairs.
Ensuring that staircases are well lit. when pedestrians can’t see they can lose their footing on the stairs.
Marking the edges of stairs to ensure that people do not miss a step.
“Wet floor” signs should be put up if the following occurs on the stairs: the stairs are being cleaned, there is a leak or spillage or there is ice and snow on outdoor steps. Slippery wet steps are a serious safety hazard that can cause an employee to slip and fall down the stairs.
Ice and snow on outdoor stairs should also be gritted.
Spillages and leaks should be cleaned up immediately to avoid slipping accidents on the stairs.

You can also refer to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidelines for keeping staircases in workplaces safe.

Potential Injuries From Falling Down The Stairs

People falling down the stairs could suffer injuries of varying severity. What happens when you fall down the stairs could depend on how far you fall and what, if any, obstacles are in your path.

Tripping down the stairs could result in:

Head injuries.
Back injuries.
Neck injuries.
Broken bones.
Lacerations and bruising.
Soft tissue injuries.

Slipping down the stairs because of employer negligence could mean you are eligible to make an accident at work claim. In the next section, we investigate employer negligence further. To make a claim for tripping down the stairs, you will be expected to prove that employer negligence caused your injuries.

Call our advisors if you fell down the stairs due to employer negligence.

What Is My Employer’s Duty Of Care?

As we have mentioned your employer owes you a duty of care when you are at work. This is applied by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Part of the employer’s responsibility includes conducting regular health and safety risk assessments to identify and remove or minimise hazards. If an employer breaches their duty of care towards you and you are injured as a result, they could be held liable for your injuries.

In order to claim compensation for falling down stairs your claim will need to prove the following:

That you work or worked for your employer and were therefore owed a duty of care.
That the employer breached their duty of care towards you by acting negligently.
That this negligence led to an avoidable accident and you were injured as a direct result of your accident.

Evidence For Claiming After You Fell Down The Stairs At Work

In order to make a successful compensation claim after you had a fall down the stairs at work, you will need evidence to support the case. Collecting sufficient evidence could help prove that your employer was liable for the accident, and the severity of the injuries you suffered.

Examples of evidence that could be gathered may include:

Medical records that confirm the injuries you suffered due to your fall and the treatment you’ve received for them.
Photos of the accident scene and your injuries.
Any video footage (such as CCTV footage) that shows the accident that caused your injuries.
Contact details of any witnesses that saw the work accident.
A copy of the accident report from your employer’s work accident book.

If a solicitor is supporting your claim, then they should be able to assist you with gathering evidence. Contact our advisors if you would like more advice on collecting evidence for a work accident claim. Additionally, they may connect you with a solicitor from our panel, who could help you with your case.

How To Report An Injury In The Workplace

If you have suffered an injury in the workplace because you fell down the stairs at work, it is very important that you report your injury to the correct parties. Firstly you should inform your colleagues as others may be injured by the same hazard on the stairs. Secondly, you will need to tell your manager or supervisor. They are responsible for ensuring that the dangerous area is closed off and the hazard is fixed as soon as possible.

If you have an injury that is reportable to the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) your workplace will be responsible for reporting this incident. We recommend you follow up with an email to your manager so your report is in writing.

Your workplace should also have an accident log book. You should report your injuries to the HR department or the person responsible for writing entries in the accident log book. Ensure the details of the accident and your injuries, date, time and place of your accident are all accurate. This will ensure that there is a record of your falling down the stairs accident in the company files.

If you are too seriously injured to report your accident at work at the time of your accident, a colleague can do this for you. Can follow up later when you have received medical treatment.

No Win No Fee Claims For Falling Down Stairs At Work

If you have been injured at work because you fell down the stairs, you may be owed compensation. If you are worried about paying legal fees upfront it may be a good idea to use a No Win No Fee solicitor. Also, if the claim is not successful, the claimant will not be charged by their solicitor. This is formalised in the Conditional Fee Agreement that the claimant will sign.

What are the advantages of No Win No Fee solicitors?

You will only have to pay a success fee if your solicitor wins your claim. This greatly reduces the financial risk involved for you.
You don’t need to worry about finding the funds upfront to pay for your solicitor. The fee will be deducted from your compensation package.

For free legal advice about making a claim using a No Win No Fee solicitor, call us today for your free accident at work compensation claims consultation.

Contact Us

We hope this guide has answered the question, “Can I claim for falling down stairs at work?” If you believe you are owed compensation for falling down stairs, contact Advice.co.uk using the details below.

Call us on 0161 696 9685.
Use our Live Support feature to chat with an advisor.
Use our online personal injury claims form to write to us.

More Information

Below, you can find links to lots more guides on accidents at work:

You may also find these guides helpful for learning more about health and safety in the workplace. The NHS guide looks at how to recover from a fall.

Accident At Work Claims

Road Traffic Accident Claims

Public Place Claims

Medical Negligence Claims

Personal Injury Claims

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