Snowfall Liabilities | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

In this informative segment, John Filt, a personal injury lawyer with Preszler Injury Lawyers, discusses winter snow and ice removal responsibilities for homeowners and municipalities. He explains that while municipalities are generally responsible for clearing sidewalks, homeowners may face liability if they fail to address specific hazards, such as runoff from eavestroughs. For private properties, the Occupiers Liability Act mandates that homeowners ensure their premises are safe, with a focus on reasonableness in snow and ice management. Viewers are encouraged to ask questions on the show's Facebook page for further clarification on personal injury matters. For assistance, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE.

Good morning, everybody. Oh, I know, baby, that's right! What’s that smell? It's minus ten right now, and it's going to stay around there throughout the day today. You can see all the ice, snow, and salt on the ground.

Aside from the cold, snow and ice removal are one of the most dreaded parts of winter. But who is responsible for clearing it all up? Well, that depends on when and where it lands. Here to explain is John Filt, a personal injury lawyer with Preszler Injury Lawyers. Good morning! Thanks for having me. I'm really looking forward to doing these segments regularly with you guys because there are so many different questions people have. We will address all sorts of different areas as we go along, and we will also let people know how they can ask their own questions on our Facebook page in a little while.

First, let’s talk about a big snowfall. It’s on my walkway, it’s on my sidewalk in front of my house, and it’s on my driveway. What am I responsible for, and what is the city responsible for? We’ll deal with that in a couple of parts here.

For the sidewalk in front of your house, the ultimate responsibility rests with the municipality to clear the sidewalk. However, most municipalities have bylaws that require homeowners to clear the sidewalk in a timely fashion. For example, in the City of Toronto, if you don't clean the sidewalk within twelve hours, you could be subject to a fine. Municipal bylaw officers go around and inspect the sidewalks. But at the end of the day, courts have found that in terms of civil liability for sidewalks in front of people's houses, it actually rests with the municipality to make sure that it's safe. In other words, if someone slips and falls, they are not coming for me, even though the bylaw says I had to do it. They would go after the city.

Listen, it’s like anything in law; it depends on the circumstances. The courts have found that if, for example, you have runoff from an eavestrough that is running onto the sidewalk in front of your house and you haven't done anything to address that issue, then if someone falls on your sidewalk, you very well could be responsible along with the municipality because the problem started at your home.

Now, regarding my walkway up to my house, my driveway, and my stairs—those are all my responsibilities, and there’s a time limit, right? You have to parse the responsibilities a little bit. There’s a difference between your private property and the sidewalk. For the sidewalk, there’s what’s called gross negligence as it relates to the city or the municipality, and that’s a little different from your home and your own property, which is just a regular test of negligence. There are different laws that apply for private property versus municipal property.

If someone falls on your own property, there’s a law called the Occupiers Liability Act. That law basically says that you have a responsibility as a homeowner to make sure that your premises are safe for people who are going to be attending your property. As for the timeline, there’s no specific timeline for your own property; it all comes down to a test of reasonableness. What did you do in the circumstances to make sure that your property was safe? For example, if it’s forecasted to snow 30 centimeters and you don’t go out and clear the snow for two days, and someone falls in the meantime, there’s a very good chance that you’re going to be held responsible for their injuries.

There’s also the situation we saw during the ice storm and the subsequent days and weeks after when you could not get salt. Could you say, “I did my best, but there were circumstances beyond my control”? That is definitely a factor that any court would take into consideration. But, you know, it’s all about reasonableness in the circumstances. What did you do to try and make your premises safe? If there’s no salt available in the stores, did you post signs on your property? I know that sounds maybe a little bit extreme, but you have to take steps, maybe above and beyond, in the circumstances if you really can’t find salt to make your premises safe.

I was telling John during the break that during the ice storm, I had kosher salt or sea salt on my steps, so I just dumped all that. I thought, “There goes ten bucks down the stairs.” Kitty litter is actually a very good alternative, so if you can’t find salt, put down sand or something similar.

Alright, John Filt, personal injury lawyer with Preszler Injury Lawyers, thank you so much! If you have any personal injury questions for John and his team at Preszler, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/morningshowTL. We’ll be right back.