If you fell on an interior stairway inside an older commercial building in Upper Darby, the property owner may be legally responsible for your injuries. Pennsylvania law requires owners to keep shared stairways in reasonably safe condition. A hollowed stone tread, a handrail nobody can hold, or a dark landing can each lead to a personal injury claim for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
At Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer, our Upper Darby slip and fall accident lawyers handle falls on the stairs and landings of older commercial buildings. We look at the condition of the stairway and at who was responsible for maintaining the property.
The Older Commercial Buildings Around 69th Street in Upper Darby
Terminal Square, which grew around the Market Street Elevated after 1907, was not built around cars. Upper Darby had 8,956 residents in 1920 and 47,145 by 1930, more than five times as many. By then, this Delaware County township held the region’s second-busiest shopping area, behind only Center City.
Four-story terra-cotta blocks from those years still line 69th Street and Market Street. The McClatchy Building opened in 1928 with Saks Fifth Avenue on its ground floor. The 69th Street Title & Trust Building stands next door.
Commuters still pour into the district from the 69th Street Transportation Center, the second-busiest transfer point in the SEPTA system. Many of them end up inside these buildings, on stairways that are a century old.
Why Do Wide Stairways in Upper Darby Buildings Leave Walkers Without a Handrail?
Because a stairway built to move crowds is often too wide for a handrail to help. The rails run along the walls, so anyone climbing up the middle has nothing to hold. These stairs were sized for shoppers moving between selling floors. That width still shapes how people use them, and commuters spread across the full flight instead of hugging one side.
Height and placement matter as well. Rails in these buildings went in long before current standards, and some sit low or end short of the top step. A rail that stops at the last riser leaves a walker unsupported where footing changes.
Why Does Lighting Matter on Upper Darby Interior Stairways?
Because these stairways depend on the building’s own lighting. The buildings sit wall to wall along 69th Street, which boxes the stair shaft inside the floor plan.
People rely on light to see where one step ends, and the next begins. Treads, risers, and landings here are often one continuous color of stone. The edge of each step reads clearly only when the flight is well lit, and one dead bulb over a landing can darken a whole run. Uneven light causes its own trouble. A bright landing next to a dim flight hides the first step down, which is the step people miss most often. Half-turn landings also cut off the view of what comes next.
Evidence That Supports a Stairway Fall Slip and Fall Claim in Upper Darby
What the stair looked like that day is the center of the case. That condition can change within days, so photographs taken the same day matter, shot from the direction you were walking. Note which stairway and which flight, since a four-story building on 69th Street may have two or three. Management records matter just as much. Work orders, cleaning schedules, inspection reports, and earlier tenant complaints show how long a condition had been there. In a building with several tenants, those papers are kept in more than one office. A management company, a tenant, and a cleaning contractor may each hold part of the story.
Our Upper Darby slip and fall accident lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer request those records early. Camera footage from a lobby or a landing is often recorded over within weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stairway Slip and Falls in Upper Darby
- Does a Building Owner Have to Keep an Interior Stairway Safe in Upper Darby?
Yes. A property owner or other party responsible for maintaining a shared interior stairway generally must take reasonable steps to keep it safe, including addressing hazards it knows about or reasonably should have discovered. If a dangerous stairway condition causes an injury, the resulting claim may fall under premises liability, which covers injuries caused by unsafe conditions on someone else’s property.
- Does It Matter Whether I Was a Customer, a Guest, or a Delivery Worker?
Pennsylvania protects people who are there for the owner’s business the most fully, which includes customers and delivery drivers. A tenant’s guest on a shared stairway is treated almost the same way, whereas someone in the building without permission is owed far less.
- Does Reporting the Fall Later Hurt My Claim?
Telling building management that night helps, because it ties your injury to that stairway while the condition is still there. A later report makes that link harder to show, and the owner may say the fall happened elsewhere, but the claim can still proceed.
After a Fall, Speak With Our Upper Darby Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer
A fall on a hard stairway can cost you months of work and a long recovery. Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer looks at the condition of the stairway and at the records behind it. Tenants, customers, and workers hurt inside these older buildings can talk with our Upper Darby slip and fall accident lawyers. Call 215-985-0138 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Located in Philadelphia, as well as Cherry Hill and Marlton, NJ, we assist clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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