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Posts Tagged: municipality

It’s OK When Insurers Fight Over Our Case: Markham Slip and Fall on Icy Sidewalk > Broken Ankle

One of our cases recently came to a hard fought motion wherein the two insurance companies defending our client’s lawsuit were arguing over whether there was a duty to defend under the policy of insurance as between the two insurers. This case involved our client who unfortunately was badly hurt after a slip and fall on a Markham city sidewalk, suffering a nasty fractured ankle requiring surgery and extensive hardware: Zhou v. Town of Markham: Zhou v. Town of Markham, 2014 ONSC 435 (CanLII).Continue Reading

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Caledonia Trip and Fall: Fractured Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Tear > $107,000

The Issue: What are some of the problems you face when suing a city / municipality for a slip / trip and fall accident (i.e. uneven sidewalk)?

In Ontario, a trip and fall on a city sidewalk can be a difficult liability situation, so that often only quite serious injuries, resulting in significant loss and damage, are brought to Trial. Here, a married mother of two, employed as a hairdresser, suffered a serious shoulder fracture and rotator cuff tear as a result of stubbing / catching her toe on the lip of a concrete sidewalk slab that was sticking up higher than the adjoining slab: Grayling v.Continue Reading

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Toronto Sidewalk Slip and Fall: Aggressive Summary Judgment Motion by Contractor Against City Fails

In a slip and fall case against a city / municipality in Ontario, there is a difficult standard of care for plaintiffs to prove against the City in respect of the gross negligence standard. It is typical for a plaintiff to sue both the City and the actual contractor company hired by the City to perform the snow and ice clearing work.

In a recent decision, an interesting case whereby the plaintiff chose not to sue the contractor, thereby leaving it to the City to commence a Third Party Claim against the contractor.… Continue Reading

Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipalities: Challenge Averted

The MMS has been the subject of attack by the plaintiff’s Bar and this application was one attempt to obtain a Court decision on the enforceability of some of those provisions: Silveira v. Ontario (Transportation), 2014 ONSC 65 (CanLII).

The MMS law sets out the legal responsibilities of municipalities for such issues as snow clearing, fixing potholes and other issues: Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipalities Act 2002 and 2010.

In this application, the attack was on the ability of the municipality to use the MMS to defend against a car accident which occurred during the winter, in which snow and ice is alleged to have caused and/or contributed to the accident.… Continue Reading

Dutton Car Accident Due to Poorly Kept Road: $950,000 Case Dismissed

A good case for personal injury practitioners to review, as illustration of some of the complexities involved with claiming negligence (from a motor vehicle accident) against a municipality for failure to properly maintain their roads, including breaches of the Municipal Act, 2001 regulation, the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways: McLeod v. General Motors of Canada Limited et al., 2014 ONSC 134 (CanLII).

Justice Leach provides an extremely detailed and lengthy analysis of this action, in which a young adult female, alone in the car, drove off a quiet dirt and gravel road and suffered serious injuries as a result.… Continue Reading

Hurt Tobaggoning in Hamilton: $580,000 for Spinal Cord Injury

A family of four went tobaggoning on a reservoir property owned by the City of Hamilton, in an area where tobogganing was expressly prohibited (but this was not known by the family). After their two children went down the hill, the plaintiff father went down, hit a ridge and overturned, and badly injured himself, including a crushed L1 vertebrae, chronic pain and depression. The mother and father eventually ended their 19 year marriage alleging that the father’s changed personality after this accident was the main reason.… Continue Reading

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