What is a slip and fall injury?
What distinguishes a slip and fall that results in a legal claim? Injuries sustained are serious enough to have financial, and possibly lifestyle, consequences. As well, the accident itself would have occurred due to the negligence of an individual, organization or institution. To illustrate:
You’re walking across a road where there has been some construction. There are no indications of danger or signs to tell you to stay away. You take a step and lose your bearing. A hole in the ground causes you to suddenly fall south, fifteen inches. As a result, you have a broken leg and two cracked ribs.
You walk out onto the balcony of your friend’s new condominium. You lean on the railing and, without warning, it gives way. You fall two stories. As a result, you have a concussion and a separated shoulder. You’re also suffering from vertigo and short term amnesia.
In both of the above scenarios, in addition to medical care, you would likely also need physiotherapy and someone to help care for you or your family. You may have to take a leave of absence from your place of employment. Given that the slip and fall has caused you to have unexpected expenses, lost income and pain and suffering, under Ontario law you would be entitled to financial compensation.
As the name implies, a slip and fall accident involves slipping and falling due to unsafe conditions that were preventable by a third party, whether or not such party is the owner of the property where the accident occurred. Slip and falls do not involve motor vehicles, though they can take place while on bicycles, rollerblades and other non-motorized, recreational modes of transportation.
At Wise Law, we have had successful resolution with a wide variety of slip and fall accidents. Some recent examples include pedestrians, bikers and rollerbladers sustaining injuries due to:
- The city’s failure to remove high piles of ice collected at the curb on a city street.
- Negligence at a grocery store when an employee mistakenly left a somewhat concealed knife in the produce department.
- Poorly maintained bike paths on city parkland.
- Improper maintenance of a sidewalk on city property.
- Disregard for customers walking down stairs, drunk in a bar.
- Slippery floors due to puddles of water in the aisles of a grocery store.
- Heavy product displays collapsing on an individual at an art auction.
- Improperly secured glass on a store front caving in when a visitor leaned on it.
- And many, many more…
Experienced in this specific area of personal injury, at Wise Law we are able to evaluate the merits of your case and inform you about your rights. Read on for further background and contact us anytime to speak with a lawyer about your slip and fall accident.