Van Welden v. Ramsay's Inc.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Hatcher, C.:

This was an action for damages resulting from injuries sustained from a fall down the stairs extending from the first floor to the basement of a retail department store.

The defendant, Ramsay’s Inc., operates a retail department store in Atchison, Kansas. The store building has a basement floor which is reached from the first floor by a stairway facing to the west. The stairway extends ten steps down to a landing, makes a turn and continues a few more steps to the basement floor. There is a handrail for the entire length on the south side of…