It is extremely easy to slip on stairs, or to trip and fall on stairs, especially if the stairs do not conform to building codes, or if the stairs are broken or faulty in any way. Building codes for stairs cover riser height, tread depth, step riser slope and step riser uniformity, among other items. The injuries that can result from tripping and falling on stairs can be very serious due to the extra distance a person may fall.
Our client tripped and fell on stairs while exiting a building in Queens. At trial, we produced an expert who was “an engineer with extensive knowledge of the Building Code, who testified that defendant’s building violated several sections of that code,” and that those violations were the cause of the accident. The trial judge refused to give the jury the building code violations, and the jury then found that the defendant was not negligent.
We appealed, and the Appellate Division, First Department found that “it was error for the court to deny the … request to charge the Building Code violations to the jury” and that a new trial was needed. The case was later settled.