Summer fun.  Hurt! Let’s sue

Summer fun.  Hurt! Let’s sue

By Reena Basser

We go swimming, running, and generally spend more times outdoors in the summer months.

Then we fall.  Then we hurt ourselves.  Then we sprain our ankle.

But can we sue the owner of the premises?

Many times we can.  The questions the injured person will be asked go like this:  what kind of shoes were you wearing during your injury, do you normally do these activities, what time of day, weather, what other clothes were you wearing, what, if any prescription drugs are you on… The list is long.  If you sue, you have to be ready for those questions and you have to show that you are “reasonable” and you did everything normally.

There are many cases in Ontario that follow this format.  There was even a famous case where one brother sued another brother.  Brother 1 came for dinner to Brother 2’s house in a rural area, where the driveway was unpaved and unshovelled.  Brother 1 fell, hurt himself badly and then commenced a lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.  High and mighty!

The injured brother lost the case.  He was wearing lose shoes, was carrying some kind of cake that he brought as a gift for dinner and was not taking proper care.  Although the driveway was not easy to walk on, Brother 1 should have been used to the slippery driveway.  Most driveways in this area were unshovelled.

That case is central to many other “slip and falls”.  If you have such a case, and it could be one where you slipped in the supermarket, don’t hesitate to call me.

I am a Licensed Paralegal, go to court for people and will discuss all the particulars with you.

Have a good remainder of the summer.  And really, I hope you don’t fall!!