Liabilities of Homeowners During Halloween | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

As Halloween approaches, homeowners should be aware of their potential liability if a trick-or-treater gets injured on their property. John Philp, a personal injury lawyer with Preszler Injury Lawyers, emphasizes the importance of maintaining a safe environment, especially when hosting many visitors. The Occupiers Liability Act in Ontario requires homeowners to take reasonable steps to ensure safety, such as clearing walkways of debris and inspecting for hazards. Even if you choose not to participate in Halloween, safety precautions are still necessary. Additionally, homeowners with pets should be mindful of their animals, as the Dog Owners' Liability Act holds them strictly liable for any injuries caused by their dogs. For further guidance, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE.

Thanks, Liam. Well, it's almost Halloween, and that means a lot of kids will be knocking on your door. But before that happens, you may want to know if and how you could be held liable should a trick-or-treater get hurt on your property. Now, believe it or not, the role you play has a lot to do with whether or not your porch light is on, or in other words, whether or not you're giving out candy. Here to explain is personal injury lawyer with Preszler Injury Lawyers, John Philp. Good morning!

Good morning to you.

All right, so let's start from the beginning. The usual thing is that you have to make sure your steps are clear. Even if you're putting up all sorts of decorations, keep that area clear. In Ontario, there's a law called the Occupiers Liability Act. This law requires homeowners to ensure that their property is safe for people coming to their home. It requires you to take all reasonable steps in the circumstances to ensure that safety.

Now, Halloween is a bit of a special case because obviously, you're having a lot more people come onto your property. So, as a homeowner, you have to take proactive steps to ensure that those kids coming onto your property are safe. Slippery leaves are a big one on driveways or walkways, so make sure you take steps to clear your walkways. Do a little bit of an inspection on Halloween night to ensure that there are no stones out of place or that you don't have a pothole on your driveway. If someone is injured on your premises, it is very likely that you will get sued because of their injury, regardless of whether they were invited or not.

Well, listen, it's an interesting situation because even if you turn your light off, which signals to people that you don't want to hand out candy and you don't want to participate in Halloween, you still, as a homeowner, have to take precautions. Children see the lights are off; they may still be eager to go onto your property and knock on the door. I was literally cowering on my couch last year because I had so many kids that I ran out of candy. I finally turned the light off, and they never stopped coming!

Yes, and even in those circumstances, as a homeowner, you have to make sure the premises is safe. Now, another thing that people need to consider is if you have a dog that is fairly rambunctious and you open the door, and the dog bounds out and injures one of these kids, you have what's called strict liability. There's another law called the Dog Owners' Liability Act in Ontario, and if your dog injures one of these trick-or-treaters, you are going to be found liable. There are very few ways to get around that liability, and should that circumstance happen, it would go through your homeowner's insurance.

Absolutely. As a homeowner, you should have home insurance. If someone decides to sue you because their child has been injured, your insurance company would basically step into your shoes. They would pay for any legal damages arising from the injury, and they would also hire a lawyer on your behalf to defend the case for you.

All right, so the bottom line here is lots of light, make it clean, and go nuts with the decorations—just not on the steps. You have to demonstrate proactive steps. If you did get sued, what steps did you take? You can't just close your eyes and turn on the light and say, "Come on over, everyone." You have to make sure that the premises is safe. Or, like I do when I'm tired of it, stick the bowl out on the porch and just let people have at it.

All right, thank you so much, John Philp from Preszler Injury Lawyers. Good to see you! If you have any questions for John and his team at Preszler, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/MorningShowToo. Now, here's a look at traffic.