HSH set sail on their Staff Appreciation
Boat Cruise on August 13th. |
Property
Owners Beware - The Ontario Superior Court of Justice released it's a comprehensive slip and fall decision in Cartner v. City of Burlington 2008 CanLII 37900 (ON S.C.) on July 29, 2008. The case addresses the duty of care owed by property owners with respect to public sidewalks adjacent to their properties. The Plaintiff was injured when she slipped and fell on a sidewalk owned by the City of Burlington on November 8, 2002, causing a severe fracture of her right femur. She slipped on a muddy concrete slurry substance that had pooled on the sidewalk, which had originated from the property of the Defendant, Crystal Shoes. At trial, the Court found the store liable in negligence and nuisance for allowing the concrete substance (which had been used during repair work approximately 19 days before the fall) to seep towards the sidewalk and cause a hazard. The store owed a duty of care to ensure that substances that might cause harm to passers-by would not escape from its property and the owners were accordingly 80% liable for the Plaintiff's injuries. The Court also concluded that the three-slab section of the sidewalk where the Plaintiff fell was improperly designed or constructed and was in a state of non-repair. In addition, the sidewalk in front of the store was not inspected every three years in accordance with the City's inspection and maintenance policy, regardless of whether the City may have complied with that policy elsewhere in the municipality. The Court found the City 20% liable for the Plaintiff's injuries. This decision illustrates that property owners will be liable if conditions or activities exist which could cause injury to pedestrians using a nearby sidewalk. It is an exception to the common law rule that a property owner does not have a duty of care with respect to public sidewalks adjacent to their property. It will be interesting to see how this case is applied to city sidewalk slip and fall actions involving inadequate snow removal and water run-off issues, especially following the snowy winter of 2008. HSH Lawyers: |
"No man suffers injustice without learning, vaguely but surely, what justice is." ~Isaac Rosenfeld
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