When a person is injured in a slip-and-fall accident in Ontario, he or she may be able to recover for damages against the owner of the property where the accident occurred. Ontario property owners are responsible for keeping their buildings reasonably safe and hazard-free. Businesses, governments and private individual owners are all under this obligation to visitors, customers and passers-by. In some cases, even trespassers may have legal claims following a slip-and-fall accident in Ontario.
It is important in accident cases like these to bring claims quickly because there are legal deadlines that cannot be missed. Furthermore, evidence must be preserved to increase the chance of a claim’s success. Where the liable party in the case is a city government or other government body, the injured party may have only days to make a filing. The facts of every slip-and-fall case are unique, but there are some common conditions that might lead to injury. These include spills in stores and wet floors resulting therefrom, dangerous stairways and uneven flooring.
Icy sidewalks, unsecured displays, poor walkway lighting and other hazards can also result in injury and support a claim for damages. In many cases, evidence like cellphone photos and videos or the names/contact information of witnesses can be valuable for a lawyer who is pursuing the claim on behalf of the injured party.
A lawyer who practices personal injury law in Ontario might be able to help injured parties recover for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses or other damages. A lawyer could help by identifying parties who have liability, gathering evidence or interviewing witnesses to build a case for trial or negotiating a monetary settlement with at-fault parties. In cases that cannot be settled, a lawyer might draft and file a complaint for relief in court. Check out our personal injury blog for more info.
