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Premises Liability- Loose Handrail

I was reading about an interesting case recently- it involved a woman who was descending a set of stairs at an apartment complex. She supposedly began to slip on some mud which had accumulated on the steps, at which time she grabbed the handrail. However, the handrail was loose and twisted, thereby preventing her from regaining her balance. She fell, sustained fairly serious injuries and the jury made a 6-figure award.

At first glance, it would seem that the loose handrail did not actually cause her to lose her balance- but, evidence was produced at trial which reflected that the property owners knew about the loose handrail prior to this incident and failed to make the necessary repairs. The lesson here is that when a commercial property owner fails to rectify a known defect in its property, a jury will look very cynically at the owner’s efforts to cast blame elsewhere.

Here at Harris & Associates, we are happy to meet with you for a free consultation and discuss your legal rights and remedies.