I performed the study to empirically address these issues in support of a litigation case for which I was retained as a forensic human factors expert witness. The fall allegedly occurred while the plaintiff was descending a staircase at work. According to the plaintiffs account, he caught his trailing foot on a vinyl accent strip, which, at the time of the incident, may have been uplifted by as much as 1/8 inch off the surface of the tread. The uplift was observed to be located about 4 to 5 inches away from the right handrail (descending).