Falls on Stairs & Lighting Issues with Slip & Fall Injuries

Falls on staIrs

A staircase or stairwell must be well-lighted and it should have sturdy handrails on each side; and the handrails must be of a safe height for the average person. A person using the stairwell should have one hand on the handrail at all times when going up or down the stairs. The steps should have the same rise and depth; they cannot alternate in this height. This is not always the case, and is a major factor which can produce serious inju- ries in a fall down the steps. It is possible that you have experi- enced some times you have started to go down a stairway, only to find that, as one foot went down, it either struck the step below more quickly or later than you anticipated, so that you were momentarily off balance, but were able to catch yourself. If this happened to you, then you were indeed fortunate. Those who are not so fortunate often wind up in the emergency room due to a fall accident. The stairs should be clean, and free of any kind of debris. If you have things to carry up or down steps, making more trips with smaller packages and lighter packages enhances your safety.

Lighting Issues with Slip/trip & falls

Lighting can disguise a defect or hazardous condition. A change in the normal walking environment must be visible to the pedestrian and stand out from background stimuli. Glare issues and too much or too little contrast in the walking environ- ment can reduce the efficiency of the eye. The walking surface should be evenly illuminated and should have a brightness level of at least 20 foot candles - a basic quantitative unit of light measurement. And the contrast (ratio of dark to light) should be no less than 3-1 and no more than 20-1. The measurement of luminosity and contrast requires a simple photographic light meter calibrated to read in foot candles.

Photographs of the accident scene can help the investigator evaluate the effect of light on the mishap. It is important to photograph the site properly, making sure the photographs represent the accident point from the eight compass positions. These photographs often provide unexpected insights. The camera should be held level and pointed straight ahead, instead of at the floor. An example of the usefulness of photographs can be shown in the case of a woman who fell while walking through a bank. An examination of the photographs showed what had been missed during previous inspections of the scene: a dip in the floor, where a wall had been removed, which could not be seen from the area of traffic flow used by the victim.

Mark C. Blane is a San Diego Slip and Fall Attorney, and the managing lawyer of the Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, a San Diego, California Premise Liability Law Firm devoted to representing families of injured persons of slip and fall or premise liability accidents. If you or someone you love, has been injured or killed in San Diego County, or Southern California, due to the negligence of another, please order your FREE copy of Mr. Blane's book, The ULTIMATE California Slip & Fall Injury Legal Survival Guide, and don't forget about The 10 Secrets You Need To Know About Your Injury Case, BEFORE You Call A Lawyer a>, and he has eight other publications that might fit your need. The books are extremely information and they are full of helpful information, insights, and secrets that will help you protect your legal rights. They normally sell for around $16.95; however, it is free to all California residents, or those injured in a California accident! Take advantage of free legal information to help you make an informed decision on your specific slip and fall injury case!

More Legal Questions About San Diego California Slip and Fall Accidents?

Do you have more legal questions about San Diego slip and fall or premise liability accident cases? Return to the Slip and Fall Accidents in California Frequently Asked Legal Questions page.

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