Fell on a Worn
Stair Runner
Injury Law Made Personal®
A stair runner does not wear through overnight. It thins a little at a time, at the front of the same steps, for months — which means somebody walked past it every day and decided it could wait. Illinois asks the building a fair question: how long had that been true before it took somebody down? Ankin Law has fought for injured Chicagoans for over 35 years.
Call 312.600.0000 Free Case ReviewThe Question Is Not Whether It Was Worn. It Is How Long
The Step Everyone Steps Over
Carpet on a common staircase wears out where every foot lands: the front edge of each step. A thinning nose, a frayed edge, threads pulled loose — every one of those is visible for a long time before anybody falls.
It Only Has to Catch Once
You are carrying something, you are on the stairs you use every day, and your heel catches on a worn edge instead of landing clean. There is no recovering from that on a staircase. The step you trusted was worn through, and it was worn through because nobody had replaced it.
Somebody Was Paid to Walk These Stairs
In a building with a landlord, a management company or an association, common stairs are somebody’s job. What they saw, when they saw it, and what they did about it is the whole case — and it is written down in their own paperwork.
Is a Free Consultation Really Free?
Howard Ankin answers your questions directly.
What Illinois Law Says About Common Stairs
Under the Illinois Premises Liability Act an owner or occupier owes every lawful entrant reasonable care under the circumstances. In nearly every Chicago apartment and condominium the common staircase is the building’s responsibility, not the tenant’s
What creates the duty is knowing. Actual notice is a complaint or a work order. Constructive notice is a defect that had been there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it — which is exactly what a runner slowly wearing through is
is the Illinois deadline for an injury lawsuit — shorter if a city or public housing authority is a defendant, and longer only for a minor
Who Pays — and What You Can Recover
The Owner and the Management Company
The entity that owns the building and the company paid to run it both answer for the state of the stairs, the carpet and the handrails. Their work orders, their complaint log and their vendor invoices are the first things Ankin Law asks for.
The Association, or Whoever Took the Job On
Illinois holds you to what you actually undertook. A condominium association that maintains the common areas, a contractor hired to re-lay the carpet, a janitorial service on a schedule — once they take the job on, it has to be done with reasonable care.
What You Can Recover
Medical treatment and surgery, lost earnings, and what a staircase fall actually costs you — pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of a normal life. Illinois reduces a recovery for your own share of fault, which is exactly why that share gets fought.
Why Ankin Law Is the Right Call After a Stairway Fall
A Worn Runner Is a Quick Fix
It is very often replaced the same week you fall, and once it is replaced the hazard no longer exists to photograph. Pictures taken that day, and the building’s own maintenance file, are what keep the case real.
Expect to Hear It Was Your Fault
You will be asked whether you were holding the handrail, what you were carrying, what shoes you had on, why you did not look down. You were walking down your own stairs. Those questions are a strategy, not an investigation.
No Fee Unless You Win
You pay nothing to start and nothing unless Ankin Law recovers for you. The consultation is free and confidential, and there is no obligation to hire anyone. Howard Ankin has been doing this for over 40 years.
Get Your Free Case Review
Hurt on your building’s stairs? If a worn runner, a loose tread, a missing handrail or a dark stairwell put you on the floor, the building’s maintenance records and the repair that follows are already counting down. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with no obligation.
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