New York Stairway Accident Lawyer

A single broken step, a wobbly handrail, or a dim stairwell can turn an ordinary trip up or down the stairs into a life-altering injury. Whether the fall happened in an apartment building hallway, a commercial storefront, a parking garage, or a public building, New York premises liability law requires property owners to keep stairways in a reasonably safe condition — and when they don’t, injured victims have the right to pursue full compensation.

For more than 45 years, Hill & Moin LLP has represented victims of stairway falls, slip-and-fall accidents, and premises liability claims throughout New York City and beyond, recovering millions of dollars for clients hurt by dangerous stairs, uneven steps, and negligent building maintenance. Our attorneys understand exactly what property owners, landlords, and management companies are legally required to do — and how to prove it when they fail.

If you or a loved one was injured in a stairway fall, call (212) 668-6000 for a free, 24/7 consultation. There is no fee unless we win.

Stairway Falls Are Common, Serious, and Often Preventable

Stairway accidents are frequently dismissed as minor mishaps, but the data tells a very different story. Falls remain one of the most significant sources of preventable injury and death in the United States, and stairs are one of the most common places where those falls happen.

According to the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts, 48,308 people died in falls at home and at work in 2024 — accounting for roughly 24% of all preventable injury-related deaths in the United States that year.
The CDC reports that over 14 million adults age 65 and older — about 1 in 4 — report falling every year, and roughly 37% of those falls cause an injury serious enough to require medical treatment.
The age-adjusted fall death rate among older adults rose 21% between 2018 and 2024, climbing from 64.7 to 78.4 deaths per 100,000 older adults, according to CDC data.
The National Safety Council reports that 43,020 adults age 65 and older died from preventable falls in 2024, with more than 3.85 million treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries the prior year.
Falls, including stairway falls, have long been recognized by the National Safety Council as one of the leading causes of unintentional injury in the United States, second only to motor vehicle accidents in some analyses, with stair and step falls consistently producing well over a million injuries nationwide each year.

Behind these numbers are tenants, shoppers, employees, and visitors who trusted that the stairs they used every day were safe — and were let down by an owner who ignored a hazard that should have been fixed. If a dangerous stairway condition caused your fall, an experienced premises liability lawyer can help you determine exactly what went wrong and who should be held accountable.

Common Causes of New York Stairway Accidents

Stairway accidents rarely happen for no reason — they’re almost always tied to a specific hazard that a property owner knew about, or should have known about, and failed to fix. At Hill & Moin, we regularly investigate cases involving:

Broken, cracked, or uneven steps that create tripping hazards or crumble underfoot
Loose, missing, or improperly installed handrails that fail to catch a falling person or that detach entirely during use
Poor or inadequate lighting in stairwells, hallways, and landings that hides hazards from view
Slippery surfaces, including wet or icy steps, freshly mopped floors without warning signs, or worn, overly polished stair treads
Worn or damaged stair treads and nosing, including missing anti-slip strips required in many commercial and multi-family buildings
Inconsistent riser height or step depth, which violates building code and disrupts a person’s natural walking rhythm
Loose carpeting, rugs, or floor coverings on stairs that bunch up or slide
Debris, clutter, or storage items left on stairways or landings
Missing or inadequate warning signs for known hazards, such as wet floors or ongoing repairs
Structural defects in the staircase itself, including inadequate support or code-noncompliant construction

These hazards show up across very different types of properties, and each brings its own liability considerations:

Apartment buildings and multi-family housing: Landlords are responsible for maintaining safe common-area stairways, including interior stairwells, building entrances, and fire escapes. Neglected repairs, burnt-out hallway lighting, and deferred maintenance are common culprits.

Commercial properties and retail spaces: Business owners must keep customer-facing stairs safe and free of hazards, including spills, torn carpeting, and broken steps, and must warn of temporary hazards like wet floors during cleaning.

Public spaces and government buildings: Municipal stairways, subway station stairs, and public building entrances must comply with building and accessibility codes, though claims against government entities carry unique and much shorter filing deadlines.

Landlord and Property Owner Liability in New York

Under New York premises liability law, property owners, landlords, and management companies have a legal duty to maintain their premises — including stairways — in a reasonably safe condition for anyone lawfully on the property. To hold an owner liable for a stairway fall, an injured person generally must show one of the following:

The owner created the dangerous condition (for example, improperly repaired or altered a step)
The owner had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition and failed to fix it within a reasonable time
The owner had constructive notice of the condition — meaning the hazard existed long enough, and was visible enough, that a reasonable inspection should have discovered it

New York courts have long recognized that a property owner cannot simply ignore a dangerous stairway and claim ignorance if the hazard was present for a meaningful length of time or was the product of a recurring, unaddressed problem, such as a chronic leak that repeatedly makes a step slippery. Property owners are also generally required to inspect their premises on a reasonable schedule and to document those inspections, which is why maintenance and inspection logs are often central pieces of evidence in a stairway case.

Liability may extend beyond just the primary owner. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may also be brought against:

A property management company responsible for day-to-day maintenance
A commercial tenant who leases and controls the space where the accident occurred
A maintenance or cleaning contractor whose negligent work created the hazard
A construction or renovation contractor, in cases involving a defectively built or altered staircase

New York Building Code Requirements for Stairways

New York City and New York State building codes set specific, detailed requirements for how stairs must be built and maintained, and code violations are frequently central to proving a stairway accident claim. Relevant requirements generally address:

Uniform riser height and tread depth, since inconsistent step dimensions are one of the most common causes of trips and missteps
Handrail requirements, including proper height, graspability, and continuous coverage along the length of the stairway
Adequate lighting levels in stairwells and on landings
Slip-resistant tread surfaces and required anti-slip nosing on commercial and multi-family stairs
Minimum stairway width and headroom clearance
Guardrails on open sides of stairs and landings to prevent falls over the edge
Proper maintenance of fire escapes and exterior stairways, which are subject to their own inspection and repair requirements

A documented building code violation — whether identified through a Department of Buildings complaint, a violation notice, or an expert engineering inspection after the fact — can be powerful evidence that a property owner failed to meet the legally required safety standard, strengthening a negligence claim considerably.

Evidence Needed to Prove a Stairway Accident Claim

Stairway cases often come down to what can be proven about the condition of the stairs and how long that condition existed. Strong claims are typically built on:

Photographs and video of the hazardous condition, taken as soon as possible after the fall and before repairs are made
Surveillance footage from building or business security cameras, which is often overwritten within days or weeks unless preserved through a prompt legal request
Incident or accident reports filed with the building owner, landlord, or business
Maintenance, repair, and inspection records showing whether the owner knew about or should have discovered the hazard
Prior complaint records, including 311 complaints, Department of Buildings violations, or tenant complaints about the same hazard
Witness statements from other tenants, employees, or bystanders
Medical records documenting the injury, treatment, and prognosis
Expert engineering or architectural analysis, particularly in cases involving inconsistent step dimensions, defective handrails, or building code violations
Weather and maintenance logs, in cases involving snow, ice, or water on stairs

Because surveillance footage and physical evidence of a hazard can disappear quickly — a broken step gets repaired, a security system overwrites its footage — it’s critical to contact an attorney immediately so a preservation letter can be sent before evidence is lost.

Comparative Negligence: How It Can Affect Your Recovery

New York follows a “pure comparative negligence” rule, meaning an injured person can still recover compensation even if they were partially at fault for their own fall — but their total recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault. For example, if a court or jury finds you were 20% responsible for a stairway fall (perhaps because you were looking at your phone) and the property owner was 80% responsible for the hazardous condition, your compensation would be reduced by 20%.

Insurance companies frequently try to shift blame onto the injured person to reduce what they have to pay, arguing the victim wasn’t looking where they were going or was wearing inappropriate footwear. An experienced stairway accident attorney can push back on these tactics, gather evidence showing the hazardous condition was the real cause of the fall, and fight to minimize any comparative fault assigned to you.

Common Injuries from Stairway Falls

Because stairway falls often involve multiple points of impact and greater fall distances than a same-level slip and fall, the resulting injuries tend to be more severe. Injuries we frequently see in stairway accident cases include:

Traumatic brain injuries, ranging from concussions to more severe closed head injuries, particularly common when a fall involves striking the head against a step, wall, or railing
Spinal cord injuries, including herniated discs, fractured vertebrae, and in the most serious cases, partial or complete paralysis
Fractures, especially of the wrist, ankle, hip, and arm, from instinctive attempts to break a fall
Soft tissue injuries, including sprains, strains, and torn ligaments that may require extended physical therapy
Shoulder and rotator cuff injuries from grabbing at a handrail or bracing during a fall
Facial injuries and dental damage from head-first falls

Given the severity of many stairway fall injuries, it’s important to work with attorneys who understand how to properly value long-term medical needs. If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury or a spinal injury, the cost of ongoing care, lost earning capacity, and diminished quality of life must be accounted for fully in any settlement or verdict.

Compensation Available After a Stairway Accident

Depending on the severity of your injuries and the facts of your case, compensation in a New York stairway accident claim may include:

Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation
Past and future lost wages and diminished earning capacity
Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
Permanent disability, disfigurement, or scarring
Costs of home modifications or assistive equipment for permanent injuries
Loss of consortium for spouses in appropriate cases
Wrongful death damages for surviving family members, in cases where a stairway fall proves fatal

Every case is different, and the right amount of compensation depends on factors including the severity of your injuries, your prognosis, your lost income, and the strength of the evidence establishing the property owner’s negligence.

Steps to Take Immediately After a Stairway Fall

What you do in the moments and days after a stairway accident can significantly affect both your health and your legal claim. If you’re able to, take the following steps:

Seek medical attention right away, even if your injuries seem minor. Head, neck, and back injuries aren’t always immediately apparent.
Report the accident to the property owner, landlord, building superintendent, or business manager, and request a written incident report.
Photograph the hazard that caused your fall — the broken step, missing handrail, poor lighting, or slippery surface — before it can be repaired or removed.
Identify witnesses and get their names and contact information.
Preserve your clothing and footwear worn at the time of the fall, as insurers sometimes argue footwear contributed to the accident.
Avoid giving a recorded statement to a landlord’s or business’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney.
Send a written request to preserve surveillance footage as soon as possible — many systems automatically overwrite recordings within days or weeks.
Contact an experienced New York stairway accident lawyer promptly so an investigation can begin, evidence can be preserved, and your legal rights protected.

Why Choose Hill & Moin LLP for Your Stairway Accident Case

Hill & Moin LLP has spent more than 45 years fighting for injured New Yorkers, recovering over $400 million for our clients across premises liability, slip-and-fall, and construction accident cases, including a $10 million fall recovery, a $3.5 million sidewalk fall settlement, and a $1.8 million recovery for a senior who tripped over a mislaid mat. We know how insurance companies for landlords and commercial property owners operate — deny, delay, and shift blame — and we build cases designed to counter those tactics from day one.

Our attorneys work with engineering experts, medical specialists, and accident reconstruction professionals to establish exactly how a stairway hazard formed, how long it existed, and why the property owner is responsible. We are fluent in Spanish, Russian, French, Yiddish, and Ukrainian to serve New York’s diverse communities, and we handle every case on a contingency-fee basis: there is no fee unless we win.

We also regularly represent clients in related matters, including general slip and fall and trip and fall accidents, broader premises liability claims, and construction accident cases involving unsafe stairways at active job sites, giving our clients a single experienced team no matter where their fall occurred.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for a stairway accident in a New York apartment building? The property owner and, in many cases, the management company responsible for maintaining common areas can be held liable if they knew, or should have known through reasonable inspection, about a dangerous stairway condition and failed to fix it within a reasonable time.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault for my fall? Yes. New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule, meaning you can recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for the accident, though your total recovery will be reduced by your assigned percentage of fault.

What if I fell on a staircase in a commercial building or store? Commercial property owners and business tenants have a legal duty to keep customer-facing stairways safe and free of hazards. If a store, restaurant, or office building failed to maintain safe stairs or failed to warn of a known hazard, you may have a valid premises liability claim.

How long do I have to file a stairway accident lawsuit in New York? Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the accident. However, claims involving government-owned property carry much shorter deadlines, often requiring a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Because these deadlines vary, it’s important to consult an attorney as soon as possible.

What evidence do I need if there were no witnesses to my fall? Even without witnesses, cases can be built using photographs of the hazard, surveillance footage, maintenance and repair records, prior complaints about the same condition, and expert analysis establishing that the stairway violated applicable building codes.

Can I sue if the stairway hazard was caused by weather, like ice or snow? Yes, in many cases. Property owners generally have a duty to address snow and ice within a reasonable time after a storm ends, and failing to do so, or creating a hazardous condition through improper snow removal, can support a premises liability claim.

What types of injuries typically result in the highest stairway accident settlements? Cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and injuries requiring surgery or long-term care generally involve higher compensation, since these injuries carry substantial future medical costs and a greater impact on earning capacity and quality of life.

Injured on an Unsafe Staircase? Call Hill & Moin LLP Today

A dangerous stairway shouldn’t cost you your health, your income, or your peace of mind — and it shouldn’t be on you to prove your case alone against a landlord’s insurance company. Hill & Moin LLP has spent over four decades holding negligent property owners accountable for New Yorkers hurt by unsafe conditions. Evidence disappears fast after a stairway fall, so the sooner you call, the stronger your case will be.

Call (212) 668-6000 now for a free, 24/7 consultation. There is no fee unless we win.

Contact Hill & Moin LLP