If you were hurt while working, give your employer written notice within 90 days and, if benefits are disputed, file an Employee's Report of Claim (Form WC-117) with Michigan's Workers' Disability Compensation Agency within 2 years. For the apartment-case part, the key proof depends on where you fell and what was wrong with the stairs.

If the fall happened in a common area - shared stairs, entry steps, or a parking-lot walkway - you need proof the landlord or management company controlled that area and had notice of the hazard. The best evidence is photos and video taken the same day, before repairs. Get wide shots and close-ups showing broken nosing, loose handrails, poor lighting, or ice. Save the incident report, your lease, and any maintenance requests, texts, or emails about the stairs. In Ann Arbor, apartment complexes near the hospitals and campus often use third-party maintenance, so ask for the property manager's name and the contractor's name too.

If the issue was ice or snow, Michigan cases often turn on whether the danger was open and obvious and whether the owner should have treated it. That means time-stamped weather records matter. Save photos showing black ice, slush, refreeze, salt spread or not spread, and footprints or tire tracks. If you were leaving a shift before sunrise, note the lighting conditions. Witness statements from neighbors, delivery drivers, or coworkers are useful because they can confirm the stairs or lot were untreated for hours.

If the stair defect was more structural - rotted wood, uneven risers, missing handrail, loose concrete - you need proof it existed before your fall. Ask for preservation of security footage, inspection logs, repair invoices, and prior complaints. Medical records should match the mechanism of injury, so make sure the chart says stair fall at apartment complex, not just "leg pain." If emergency responders came, request the run report from the responding agency and keep any photos taken before the hazard was fixed.