Many staircase injuries here occur in places people don’t think of as “high risk” until something goes wrong:
- Rental and multi-unit buildings: handrails, lighting, and stair-well maintenance can be inconsistent between tenants, contractors, and property managers.
- Properties used by visitors: businesses and short-term stays often see rapid turnover—maintenance issues may be documented late, or not at all.
- Older structures and renovations: in coastal areas, repairs happen in phases. Uneven steps, mismatched tread heights, or temporary construction lighting can contribute to falls.
- Outdoor access leading to indoor stairs: wet entries and tracked-in debris can make stair treads slick, especially when cleaning routines don’t account for safe footing.
In these situations, the key question becomes: what did the property owner or operator know (or should have known), and what did they do about it?


