Student at Londonderry High School Seriously Injured After Falling 15 Feet Down Stairs
LONDONDERRY, NEW HAMPSHIRE (October 16, 2026) – A student at Londonderry High School was injured after falling 15 feet down a flight of stairs inside the school.
Londonderry police officials are saying that the accident occurred on Monday, October 12. For undetermined reasons, the student fell down the flight of stairs and reportedly sustained orthopedic injuries.
He was airlifted to a hospital in Boston. First responders reportedly placed the school on a temporary hold. School officials did not provide additional comment on what may have contributed to the fall.
A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident remains ongoing at this time.
DiBella Law remains committed to improving public safety and increasing transparency through our Free Police Report program. If you’ve been involved in any type of accident that required a police response, we can help you get a copy of the police report created at no cost or obligation to you.
Liability for Londonderry School Accidents
Schools in New Hampshire have a legal obligation to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. They must protect students and other visitors from dangerous conditions that could threaten their safety, and this is especially important on stairways. For public schools, RSA 507-B:2 allows injured victims to bring claims for bodily injury caused by fault in the maintenance or operation of a governmental unit’s premises.
Courts will consider a number of factors when evaluating liability for any stairway accident.
- Stair Defects: Uneven risers or damaged treads can make a fall more likely.
- Railings: Whether the railings were properly secured and whether barriers were in place to help prevent a fall.
- Lighting: Poor lighting and visibility on the stairs can play a critical role in a trip and fall.
- Inspection Records: Inspection and maintenance records can show whether school officials knew about a dangerous condition.
If a property owner has actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition on their premises and fails to act, this could form the basis of a negligence claim. Consider, for example, Sargent v. Ross, 113 N.H. 388 (1973). A four-year-old child died after falling from a steep outdoor stairway at a two-family home, and the jury found the landlord negligent in the stairway’s construction and maintenance. The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the verdict, pointing to the stairway’s steepness and a railing too low to keep a child from falling, and held that landlords must use reasonable care like anyone else.
What to Do After Accidents at New Hampshire Schools
Falls on stairs remain a major cause of preventable injury across age groups in the United States. A study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that about 24.8 million people were treated in U.S. emergency departments for stair-related injuries from 1990 through 2012, more than 1 million every year. Several steps should be taken after any stairway accident at a school.
- Medical Treatment: Victims should seek medical treatment as early as possible. Injuries from a fall can turn out to be more severe than first suspected, especially if the victim hit their head.
- Photographs: Photographs of the accident site should capture each step, any potential defects, and the lighting conditions at the time.
- Maintenance Records: Maintenance records for the stairway should be carefully reviewed. Unfinished work orders can indicate that a school knew about a dangerous condition.
- Legal Options: The family of any child injured at school should carefully consider their legal options with a team experienced in premises liability claims.
Many accidents at schools are preventable and involve safety lapses that should have been addressed. Schools and their insurers may argue that an injured student was responsible for their own injuries. Parents should understand that they have rights in these situations and may be able to seek some measure of accountability through a personal injury claim.
Getting Legal Help After Being Injured at School
We at DiBella Law extend our best wishes to the student injured at Londonderry High School and to his family.
Any person who may have more information about what happened should reach out to the police. When were these stairs and railings last inspected? Have other students fallen in this location?
Have you or a loved one been injured in an accident at a school in New Hampshire? You may be entitled to significant financial compensation. Our team of experienced premises liability attorneys is here to support you. We are committed to helping victims get the medical and financial assistance that they need to recover and move forward with their lives. Whether you just have legal questions or need any other type of support, we are here to help you. You can reach out to us anytime at 617-600-0000.
Get in touch with us today to get a free consultation.