A 50-year-old person slips on ice at a friend’s home resulting in a broken ankle, a 40-year-old person trips and falls on a bunched up area rug in City Hall resulting in a broken ankle, a 15-year-old person slips on water on a hallway floor in a high school resulting in a broken ankle.
To the average person, the difference between the above scenarios is the person’s age, to a lawyer, the difference is location, location, location.
Property values are not the only variable that makes a huge difference, Liability and Notice Periods also hold great weight when determining if someone has a case.
In the event an accident occurs on private property, such as a friend’s home, liability is established if one can prove the defendant was negligent in providing a reasonably safe premise as per section 3(1) of Occupiers Liability Act. The lawyer must be able to prove that such failure caused your injuries. In this situation, the injured person generally has a maximum of 2 years to provide notice of the accident and institute legal proceedings.
If your slip and fall occurred on the municipal property such as a bridge, highway, or City Hall you must demonstrate gross negligence. This involves proving the municipality was careless to the point of reckless disregard in its maintenance of the accident area, and that carelessness took place in a way that created a risk of harm to people. Also, you must notify the municipality of the location, date, time and injuries of the accident within as little as 10 days in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001.
The devil is in the details; let us worry about the details while you focus on healing.
In the event that you do slip and fall, make sure you have read the 3 Things You Need to Know in a Slip and Fall.
Contact Millars Law for a FREE consultation immediately after a slip and fall accident to ensure your interests are protected.
(519) 657-1LAW or Info@ml-dev.thirdeyeinsights.ca
By: Shari Lamore
