Proving Negligence in a Toronto Premises Liability Case
To prove liability in a premises liability case in Toronto, a person first needs to prove that there was a hazard. Common types of hazards are ice, water, something slippery on the ground, a structural element within a building like stairs, or a ledge that is not to code, and is thus dangerous.
If you need help proving liability in your Toronto premises liability case when pursuing compensation through your claim, you might benefit from the help of a Toronto premises liability lawyer. They can explain all necessary elements of negligence that will come up in your case in order to help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
How a Toronto Premises Liability Lawyer May Be Able to Help
Once a hazard has been proven, a person needs to show that the premises owner, occupier of the company, or person who maintains that property did not take reasonable steps to protect people from that hazard. These considerations of protection would include the following:
- Did they mark the hazard by putting cones around it?
- Did they paint the hazard a bright color?
- In a case of salt or water, did they try and remove it quickly enough?
- Did they do reasonable inspections to find out if there even is a hazard?
Generally, all property owners have a duty to inspect their premises and take reasonable steps to remedy whatever hazards might be there. To prove liability in a Toronto premises liability case, it must be shown that there was a hazard and reasonable steps to remove that hazard or make the hazard safe was not taken.
Contacting a Lawyer
The best way to know whether a person has a strong premises liability case is to contact a lawyer. The area of law is relatively complex. Lawyers who deal with premises liability often are going to be able to tell a person relatively quickly through their past experience, knowledge of the law, and understanding of common premises liability injuries whether the person has a strong case.
It is particularly important as well to provide that lawyer, when possible, with a picture of the hazard, witness statements, or contact information for people who witnessed the fall so that lawyer can speak with them or see the hazard to fully appreciate what caused that person’s fall. A person will an easier premises liability case to prove if a person is on private land and that person has slipped, tripped, fell, or otherwise had been injured due to a clear hazard that the people in possession of the property failed to remove within a reasonable amount of time. For example, ice, water on the ground, stairs that are uneven, not to code, or do not have a railing are often clear hazards. If someone has fallen due to these hazards and the person likely will have the case.
The only way to know for sure, however, is to do an investigation into what the premises owner, occupier, people, or company who are maintaining the premises did to try and make it safe. The only way a person is going to be able to do that is through a legal proceeding, which includes records of when they maintained it, when they inspect it, and what they did when they inspected or maintained. A person is not usually going to have access to those documents until they start a more formal court proceeding with the help of a Toronto lawyer.
