A woman who tripped while climbing stairs at a regional Queensland hospital has been awarded $1.6 million in damages for her injuries.

Amelia Anne Covey, who worked as a physiotherapist at the Charters Towers Hospital in the state's north, suffered neck and arm injuries during the fall in May 2010.

Two engineers told the Supreme Court in Townsville the vertical gaps between steps on the staircase were inconsistent and outside tolerances allowed in the building code.

They said her stumble was consistent with what could happen when heights of staircase risers varied too much.

Ms Covey, now 34, said she continued to suffer regular pain and headaches since the fall.

She had been climbing up the staircase when she tripped.

"I lost my balance, I grabbed the rail, and my balance was all put off," she said.

"I just kept travelling awkwardly up the stairs, and then fell.

"But I had my hand on the rail, and my arm was yanked, basically to the side, backwards."

'No evidence employer turned its mind to safety'

The court heard two other people had injured themselves on the same stairwell after Ms Covey, leading the hospital to install non-skid strips on each step.

Justice David North said Ms Covey had been walking at a regular pace and was not negligent when her fall occurred.

He said one of the hospital's responsibilities was accident prevention and to ensure the safety of its staff.

"There is no evidence the employer, through its servants or agents, turned its mind to the safety of the stairway or sought advice," he said.

Ms Covey told the court that surgery to her arm had failed, and she was unable to continue working as a physiotherapist due to her injuries.

She changed careers and began studying law, and was admitted as a legal practitioner in April 2016.

In a decision handed down this week, Justice North ordered the State of Queensland to pay Ms Covey about $1 million for past and future lost earnings in her line of physiotherapy work.

Other payments totalling about $600,000 included compensation for damages, pain and suffering, and for future care and assistance.