Complete Guide to Causes of Stair Trip & Fall Accidents

Photographs of all kinds of stair and step & walk defects illustrate a wide range of causes of falling down the stairs - stair trip and fall hazards and injury sources
- Worn, Loose, Damaged Steps & Stair Fall Hazards
- Narrow Tall Stair Steps, Slippery Stair Tread Surfaces
- Curved, Angled, & Winder Stair Trip Hazards
- Discontinuous, Awkward, Stairs & Steps
- Curved, Tapered Steps & Stair Hazards
- Lack of Visual clues to Indicate Presence of a Step or Stair
- Is it a Step or a Passage? A rug at the top of the stairs is a fall hazard.
SLIP TRIP & FALL HAZARD LIST, STAIRS
SLIPS , TRIPS & FALLS, EXTERIOR STAIRS - separate article
SLIPPERY STAIRS, WALKS - separate article
Questions & answers on details about recognizing common stair trip and fall hazards.
References

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Stair tread & step construction or maintenance mistakes can create a wide range of serious stair fall hazards. Using illustrations from around the world, we illustrate many common causes of stair falls and injuries such as uneven or damaged steps and stairs, missing or unsafe railings, loose, crooked treads, or lack of visual cues that tell a walker that she is approaching a step. We include the classic mistake: a loose throw rug at the top of a stairway. Additional stair trip and fall hazards are described in each of the stair topics linked-to at Related Topics .

Photographs & Sketches of Stair Tread Defects, Trip Slip & Fall Hazards

Worn, Loose, Damaged Steps & Stair Fall Hazards

Our page top photo illustrates a stunningly-worn and unsafe wooden stairway. At below left you can see an occupant stepping out through a door that opens out over an exterior stair where a platform was needed. Be sure to notice that the stone steps are supported on wobbly, tipping and falling-over clay blocks.

Also see Exterior Stair Falls for an extensive illustrated list of common slip trip and fall causes on exterior stairs and walkways.

Stair trip slip and fall hazard example - using color cues (C) Daniel Friedman

For a complete list of articles on stairs, railings, and ramps, their inspection, trip hazards, and good design, see STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS - INSPECTIONS, CODES. Or see these detailed articles on specifications for proper dimensions for stairs, railings, platforms

Stair dimensions: width height &c
  STAIR HEADROOM
  Stairway landings
  Stair Rise & Run Calculations
  Stair stringer defects
  Step riser dimensions
  STAIR TREAD DIMENSIONS
  Stair tread nose dimensions
HANDRAILS & HANDRAILINGS

Our photo ( left) illustrates a stair fall hazard more common than the severely worn steps at page top.

The safety tread on these stairs in a New York City gallery have broken away at the tread nose.

Even more serious a fall hazard are sections of stair tread nosing that are still in place but that have become split, cracked, loose or fragile.

The steps shown at below left (Spain) were uneven in surface, had no side railing, were too narrow, a bit steep, and had that interesting little swing-out gate (with no platform) leading up to an upper balcony with not much of a railing, as our friend Nuria was contemplating. At below right the author (DF) considers how to walk around a corner on triangular stone stairs in the historic (and long empty of its original occupants and builders) Jewish quarter of Murcia, Spain.

Spanish steps unsafe (C) Daniel Friedman

Narrow Tall Stair Steps, Slippery Stair Tread Surfaces

At below left, the stair treads are too narrow - a single 2x6 was used, making these treads only 5 1/2" deep. There are other troubles too, discussed at Stair stringer defects. At below right are wooden steps in a 1790 home restored by the author (DF) in the 1970's. Coating the antique, hand-sanded pine stair treads left a beautiful deep red-brown surface. But use of high gloss varnish or (in this case) polyurethane on wooden steps leaves a hard, durable, but slippery surface.

Stair tread surfaces of glass, tile, or painted wood surfaces are slippery, especially when wet, and more-so on outdoor steps that are not protected from rain, snow, ice, or algae growth. More information on slippery stair treads and landings due to moss, ice, water or algae is found at Exterior stairs and at Stairway landings.

Unsafe exterior stair stringer and riser height (C) Daniel Friedman

Curved, Angled, & Winder Stair Trip Hazards

Angled stairs in Manhattan (C) Daniel Friedman

Angled or Curved stair treads are a particular trip hazard, especially because of the lack of uniformity and because the tread width at the inside of the curve can be too small for safe walking.

Discontinuous, Awkward, Stairs & Steps

Our photos below show two different sorts of difficult-to-use stairs. At below left the steps are familiar to locals and visitors to San Miguel de Allende, the side steps to the Parroquia. Construction on the Parroquia, began in the 1600s, and its current facade was completed by a master mason whose sketches, drawn in the dirt in the 1860's resulted in a unique and widely loved neo-gothic facade.

The steps shown appear to date from that epoch. At below right we begin illustrating scarier stairs in the same city.

Broken stone steps, irregular, no rails (C) D Friedman

At above right the stair, located in a private home in San Miguel de Allende, is used to access a tiny rooftop patio. The climbs a narrow metal stair, then from a tiny platform, leap onto a step where you can see my left foot, then ascend to the patio. The builder included an overhead "grab rail" (below left) to give users a small chance at surviving access to the upper patio space.

But as our two photos below show, hazards remained. A curtain hung from the grab rail interferes with grasping it, and finally, even getting on or off of the metal stairway includes another discontinuous "partial" step near the stair bottom, as our friend Rebecca demonstrated during our visit in 2005.

Curved, Tapered Steps & Stair Hazards

Finally, in the same home and to complete one of the worst stairways we've encountered, check out the combination of a rounded step with one that tapers to a point, giving the walker almost nowhere to step comfortably nor safely.

Do not expect an elderly or disabled person to consider using stairs by Machete Ken, the builder of these interesting climbers.

Lack of Visual cues to Indicate Presence of a Step or Stair

The presence or absence of visual cues that can inform a walker that she is approaching a step. Examples of "do's and "don'ts" in visual clues that can help prevent stair falls are detailed at Color / Lighting Cues Avoid Trip Hazards. Examples of some of the most egregious stair trip mistakes due to lack of visual cues are shown just below.

The floor at below left has a 4-inch step up. The same color tiles were used on the floors at both levels as well as on the step riser, making it harder to see the presence of a step, especially in low light and especially for new visitors to this hotel room in Mexico.

Is it a Step or a Passage?

Stairs and steps often try to use a color change or a tile layout change to indicate a change. But tile patterns alone can be confusing. Is the photo at left showing a passage between two rooms whose floors are on the same level, or is there as step up or down?

In our photo left (Rhinebeck, New York) it is not clear what's going on.

Slippery Stairs: A Rug at the Top of the Stairs?

Do not place slippery items such as a rug or towel on a smooth floor at the top of steps or stairways such as the steps shown in our photo (left).

Slippery Stairs: stair treads with algae, ice, polish, snow, or water or other slippery surfaces

Landscape tie stair trip hazard (C) Daniel Friedman

Do not permit stair treads to remain coated or covered with materials that make the steps slippery. Various industry, ANSI, ASTM, OSHA, ADA standards recommend a static coefficient of friction (SCOF) of 0.5 or higher (ADA 0.6 or above) and define surfaces with SCOF of 0.4 or lower as "low traction", i.e. "slippery".

Indoor stair tread slip hazards include high gloss polyurethane coated wood treads, polished stair treads, carpets on stairs, wet stair treads. Other interior stair slip trip fall hazards such as damaged or improper treads are detailed at STAIR TREAD DIMENSIONS.

Outdoor stair trip hazards include algae, especially wet algae, ice, snow, water, loose dirt or sand.

See Algae, Ice, Fungus, Wet Surfaces & Other Stair Slip, Trip & Fall Hazards for details. Also see Exterior Stair Falls for a catalog of causes of falls on stairs that includes surface conditions and other defects.

Unsafe, Improper, Missing or "Removed" Stair Handrails or Guardrails

At left we indicate a stair railing mistake that you may encounter in a home where a narrow stairwell has made it difficult to move furniture in or out of a room. Someone removes the railing to move large items up or down the stairs - and doesn't bother to replace it.

There are so many ways to foul up a handrail on steps and stairs that we have collected railing specifications and examples of mistakes in a separate article - see HANDRAILS & HANDRAILINGS .

CONTACT US to contribute images of other types of unsafe stairs or railings. Contributors who wish to remain anonymous may do so. See Privacy

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Causes of Stair Falls

Question: Someone fell down the stairs when the rail bracket came out of the wall. Is the landlord responsible?

There is a lease provision requiring out of possession land-lord to do structural repairs. Several years before an accident a new stairway was constructed in a building between the main level and basement level. including required handrail.

While using the steps, someone fell the 12 stairs when the bracket holding the upper left handrail came out of the wall. Was the landlord responsible for this failure; i.e. is a hand-rail part of land-lords requirement to make structural repairs, keeping in mind that the landlord paid for and hired the contractor to install the hand-rail. - R.S. 8/2/12

Reply:

A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem with stairs, railings, and other conditions that can cause or contribute to a fall - not something I can assess by a brief email text message. That said, here are some things to consider:

the affixing of responsibility for steps, rails, maintenance, and installation details is a legal question for the attorneys and code officials in your city and on the case
in my OPINION in general a property owner is expected to provide safe steps and railings. That responsibility may or may not be spelled out in your property lease under the legal definitions of safe or habitable - questions for an attorney
around stair fall cases there is often considerable argument about who was responsible for what, including an argument about use of the word "structural"

In my OPINION stairs form an integral and critical part of a structure as obviously one cannot access certain areas without them.

But beware that a strict engineering definition of "structure" pertains to supporting elements of a building, not its stairs (except for their own structural support - which can be adequate while stairs and rails may still be unsafe and improper).

So the use of the term structural is one that, when spoken or written without care, can cause trouble for everybody. For example, in a proper or engineering sense, a handrailing is not a structural component of a building. It is not holding the building up. To be perfectly clear, a handrailing is part (a component) of the structure, but it is not structural.

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' home inspection education products include
- The ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program, and Commercial Building Inspection Courses
- The Home Inspection Home Study Course, and publications such as
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
  Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a ten percent discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Just enter HRBUS10 in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. Note: InspectAPedia.com ^® editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference eBook, an electronic version for PCs, the iPad, iPhone, & Android smart phones
- Home Inspection Report writing materials, including the Horizon Software System that manages business operations, scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors
[2] Stair Construction Requirements for Residential Decks, 2007 California Building Code, 1009.3 and 1013.2, Mono County Community Building Department, POB 347, Mammoth Lakes CA 93546, 760-924-1800, web search 12/25/11, original source: monocounty.ca.gov/cdd%20site/Building/documents/MonoCountyRes-DeckStairConstr.pdf
[3] CHAPTER 5: GENERAL SITE AND BUILDING ELEMENTS, original source: access-board.gov/ada-aba/comparison/chapter5.htm
[4] "The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
[5] "Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
[6] Access Ramp building codes:
- UBC 1003.3.4.3
- BOCA 1016.3
- ADA 4.8.2
- IBC 1010.2
[7] Access Ramp Standards:
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Public Law 101-336. 7/26/90 is very often cited by other sources for good design of stairs and ramps etc. even where disabled individuals are not the design target.
- ANSI A117.4 Accessible and Usable buildings and Facilities (earlier version was incorporated into the ADA)
- ASTM F 1637, Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, (Similar to the above standard
[8] "Fall Injury episodes among noninstitutionalized older adults: United States 2001-2003", Schiller JS, Kramarow EA, Dey AN, Division of Health Interview Statistics and Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville MD 20782, USA, Adv. Data 2007 Sep 21;(392);1-16. [Book] Abstract comments:
Objective—This report presents national estimates of fall injury episodes for noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged 65 years and over, by selected characteristics. Circumstances surrounding the fall injury and activity limitations and utilization of health care resulting from the fall injury are also presented.
Methods—Combined data from the 2001–2003 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), were analyzed to produce estimates for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Data on nonfatal medically attended fall injuries occurring within the 3 months preceding the interview were obtained from an adult family member.
Results—The annualized rate of fall injury episodes for noninstitutionalized adults aged 65 years and over in 2001–2003 was 51 episodes per 1,000 population. Rates of fall injuries increased with age, and were higher for women compared with men. Non-Hispanic white older adults had higher rates of fall injuries compared with non-Hispanic black older adults. Older adults with certain chronic conditions and activity limitations had higher rates of fall injuries compared with older adults without these conditions. The most common cause of fall injuries among older adults was slipping, tripping, or stumbling, and most fall injuries occurred inside or around the outside of the home. Nearly 60 percent of older adults who experienced a fall injury visited an emergency room for treatment or advice. Nearly one-third of older adults experiencing a fall injury needed help with activities of daily living as a result, and over one-half of these persons expected to need this help for at least 6 months. A similar percentage experienced limitation in instrumental activities of daily living as a result of fall injuries.
Conclusion—Fall injuries remain very prevalent among older adults and result in high health care utilization and activity limitations. Rates of fall injuries vary by demographic and health characteristics of older noninstitutionalized adults.
Keywords: National Health Interview Survey c injury episodes c injury prevention
[9] Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention: A Practical Handbook, Second Edition, Steven Di Pilla, CRC Press; 2 edition (July 28, 2009), ISBN-10: 1420082345 ISBN-13: 978-1420082340, Abstract:
More than one million people suffer from a slip, trip, or fall each year and 17,700 died as a result of falls in 2005. They are the number one preventable cause of loss in the workplace and the leading cause of injury in public places. Completely revised, Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention: A Practical Handbook, Second Edition demonstrates how, with proper design and maintenance, many of these events can be prevented.
This well-illustrated and carefully researched volume covers standards and best practices for facility design, effective management control programs, test methods and standards relating to pedestrian safety, and slip resistance methods in the U.S. and abroad. It includes checklists, handouts, case studies, rich online resources, and an extensive bibliography.
The Circular Staircase, Mary Roberts Rinehart
Construction Drawings and Details, Rosemary Kilmer
Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438
"Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers ^ Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code. [copy on file as http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf ] -
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Alvin S. Hyde, Cindy A. LaRue, Lawyers and Judges Publishing; ISBN-10: 1933264012 ISBN-13: 978-1933264011
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
The Staircase, Ann Rinaldi
Common Sense Stairbuilding and Handrailing, Fred T. Hodgson
The Art of Staircases, Pilar Chueca
Building Stairs, by pros for pros, Andy Engel
A Simplified Guide to Custom Stairbuilding, George R. Christina
Basic Stairbuilding, Scott Schuttner
The Staircase (two volumes), John Templar, Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1992
The Staircase: History and Theories, John Templar, MIT Press 1995
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
"The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.

Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
Decks and Porches, the JLC Guide to, Best Practices for Outdoor Spaces, Steve Bliss (Editor), The Journal of Light Construction, Williston VT, 2010 ISBN 10: 1-928580-42-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-928580-42-3, available from Amazon.com
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
- How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
- What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
- How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
- What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked
...


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