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Who Should Be Held Liable For A Slip And Fall Incident? May 16, 2018

The temperature fluctuations in Alberta province cause snow to melt during the day, while the resulting water freezes at night. Consequently, a pedestrian might slip and fall on an icy sidewalk at night. Hence, a local personal lawyer in St. Albert might be asked to explain who could be held liable in a slip and fall incident.

As stipulated by the law, property owners are expected to exercise a certain level of care. That level of care might extend to the sidewalk in front of the owned piece of property. The identity of the property owner determines who might be charged with caring for a certain segment of sidewalk.

What factors determine whether or not a given property owner should be charged with that responsibility?

• How frequently is that piece of property used?
• What is the expected level of traffic across that same stretch of ground?
• Had the owner of a given property and business hired a snow removal company?
• Was the owner’s conduct reasonable, considering all the circumstances? For instance, had the owner failed to care properly for what he or she owned, and had thus allowed water to pool on the sidewalk?
• Had the owner scheduled creation of some alteration in that area? If so, had the same owner taken the time to warn those passing by about the existence of the ongoing project?
• Was the owner wholly or partially responsible? For example, a business owner that had hired a snow removal company would probably be declared only partially responsible.

What factors might indicate that the pedestrian had made the falling incident all the more likely to take place?

The pedestrian had walked along at a rapid pace, while traveling along a path that received only a moderate amount of light.

The pedestrian had failed to remain alert, watching constantly for potential hazards.

The pedestrian had failed to wear footwear that seemed to match with the expected condition of the sidewalk.

Could the City be held responsible?

The victim would have to prove that some person that had been hired by the City had been grossly negligent. Moreover, the victim would have to file his or her claim against the City no more than 21 days following the unfortunate incident. Because three weeks can pass in a hurry, it is possible that an injured victim might fail to file a claim before the established deadline. Would the lighting be considered by those that must decide on the strength of a claim? A City’s street lights do not have to light up a sidewalk to a great extent. After all each one of them is no more than a street light. Thus, the level of lighting would probably not enter into the picture.