When you are in a shopping mall, restaurant or other private premises, you expect to be kept safe at all times as long as you behave safely yourself. In fact, this is essentially true under the law, since all premises owners have the legal duty to keep their visitors reasonably safe while they are in their premises.
Stairs falls and other slips and falls are extremely common on private premises; however, they rarely occur without a reasonable cause. For example, a person may fall down the stairs because he or she has had a large quantity to drink, which would unlikely be a reason to blame the establishment, unless they negligently served their patrons. Alternatively, a person may fall down stairs because of a wet floor, a defected staircase or because of poor lighting.
How does poor lighting cause stair falls?
When a hallway is very dark and not adequately lighted, it can make it difficult for guests at the property to see where they are going. As a result, the guest will possibly not realize that a staircase is ahead of him or her, because he or she cannot see it as a result of poor lighting.
This is a very dangerous situation, and can cause people to suffer serious falls that result in prolonged injuries. Property owners have the responsibility to foresee incidents such as this and ensure that their establishment is lighted well to avoid accidents and injuries.
If you have suffered a fall at a premises in the state of Arizona, it is important to take action so that you can claim back medical costs and other damages.
Source: FindLaw, “Slip and Fall Accidents Overview,” accessed May 23, 2018