What is a slip or trip and fall claim?

A slip and fall claim, or a trip and fall claim, arises when an unsafe condition on someone’s property causes you to fall and suffer injuries.

Common causes of slip and fall claims include ice, snow, water, spilled liquids, or other slippery substances. Trip and fall claims may arise from hazards such as uneven surfaces, potholes, broken pavement, low-hanging wires, or other dangerous conditions that cause a person to trip.

These claims may be brought against the owner of the property where the fall occurred, as well as any property manager, maintenance contractor, or other party responsible for inspecting, maintaining, or repairing the premises.

Most slip and fall and trip and fall claims in Ontario are governed by the Occupiers’ Liability Act. The Act sets out who may be legally responsible for injuries occurring on property, the standard of care owed to people entering the premises, and important notice requirements and deadlines.

If you were injured on someone else’s property in circumstances that did not involve a slip or trip and fall, you may still be able to recover compensation under the Occupiers’ Liability Act. Click here to learn more about occupiers’ liability claims not involving slip or trip and falls.

Different rules may apply where the fall occurred on municipal property. Claims involving municipal roads, sidewalks, or other municipal property are governed by the Municipal Act and can be subject to shorter notice periods and different legal standards.

Slip and fall and trip and fall claims often require prompt investigation and preservation of important evidence. The lawyers at Hillier & Hillier have experience representing individuals injured in these types of claims. Call Hillier & Hillier at 905-453-8636 for a FREE CONSULTATION or click here to submit an online request for a FREE CONSULTATION.

Who is Responsible for a Slip and Fall in Ontario?

An occupier of the property where you fell may be legally responsible for your injuries.

The Occupiers’ Liability Act defines an “occupier” as a person who has physical possession of the premises, as well as a person who has responsibility for and control over the condition of the premises, or the activities carried on there, or the people allowed to enter.

There may be more than one occupier of the same property.

For example, if you slipped on ice in a grocery store parking lot, the occupiers of the property may include the owner, the property manager, if applicable, and the winter maintenance contractor, if applicable. Depending on their respective roles and responsibilities, more than one of these parties may qualify as an occupier and may need to be named as a defendant.

Similarly, if you tripped and fell on uneven pavement at a shopping plaza, legal responsibility may rest with the property owner, the property manager, or another party responsible for inspecting, maintaining, or repairing the premises.

Identifying the correct defendants is an important early step in a slip and fall or trip and fall claim.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall or trip and fall accident, it is important to promptly retain counsel so that all responsible parties can be identified and important evidence can be preserved.

What Do I Have to Prove?

To successfully pursue a slip and fall or trip and fall claim, it is not enough that you were injured on someone else’s property.  You must also prove that the defendant was negligent and thereby caused your injuries and resulting damages.

To establish negligence, you must prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable care in the circumstances to keep you safe from harm while on their property.

In a slip and fall or trip and fall claim, the first step is usually to identify the hazardous condition that caused the fall, such as ice, a slippery substance, a pothole, or an uneven walking surface.

The second step is to prove that the defendants failed to take reasonable care to prevent or address this hazard. Occupiers are not held to a standard of perfection, and a person can be injured on someone else’s property even where the occupier acted reasonably.

What amounts to reasonable care depends on the circumstances and facts of each case. The trier of fact will consider the foreseeability and gravity of harm, the cost or burden of addressing the harm, as well as industry standards, custom, or practice. No single factor is determinative. Typically, however, where serious injury is foreseeable, and the cost to take certain steps to prevent such an outcome is low, failure to take such steps may amount to negligence.

Other factors that may be relevant to the above analysis include:

• The number of people using the premises. A busy retail store may require a more frequent and comprehensive system of inspection than premises with little foot traffic.

• Previous knowledge of the hazard. Evidence that an occupier knew, or ought reasonably to have known, about a dangerous condition may support a finding that reasonable care was not taken.

• Foreseeability of injury. The foreseeability and gravity of harm are relevant to a determination of reasonable care.

• The system of inspection or maintenance. The frequency and thoroughness of inspections, snow removal, salting, repairs, and record-keeping may be important. The system need not be perfect, and continuous monitoring is not generally required.

• The nature of the hazard. The size, location, visibility, and severity of a hazard are relevant to determining whether precautions were reasonable.

• Warning signs and barriers. The presence of warning signs or barriers is a factor that may support a finding that the defendant took reasonable steps.

• Opportunity to respond. An occupier may not be liable for a hazard that arose so shortly before an accident that there was no reasonable opportunity to discover and address it.

Whether an occupier took reasonable care is highly fact-specific.  An experienced personal injury lawyer can investigate the circumstances of the fall and obtain the evidence needed to assess whether the occupier took reasonable care.

What if I slipped or tripped and fell on Municipal Property?

You may be able to bring a claim against a municipality for injuries sustained on municipal property pursuant to the Municipal Act. Claims against municipalities may be more difficult to prove than claims under the Occupiers’ Liability Act because different statutory standards and defences may apply.

If you slipped and fell on snow or ice on a city sidewalk, you must prove that the municipality was grossly negligent. This is a more onerous standard than the ordinary negligence standard that generally applies to occupiers under the Occupiers’ Liability Act. Gross negligence requires a substantially greater degree of negligence than ordinary negligence, such as a marked departure from the standard of a reasonable person, and a finding of gross negligence will depend on the particular facts and circumstances of the case.

Even where gross negligence is established, a municipality may have a statutory defence if it complies with the applicable Minimum Maintenance Standards.

If you tripped and fell because of a defect on a municipal sidewalk or highway not related to snow or ice, then you must establish that the city failed to keep the sidewalk or highway in a state of repair that was reasonable in the circumstances. Section 44(3) of the Municipal Act provides a municipality with statutory defences where it can establish one of the following:

• it did not know and could not reasonably have been expected to know about the state of disrepair;

• it took reasonable steps to prevent the default from arising; or

• minimum maintenance standards were in place at the time and those standards were met.

The minimum maintenance standards address matters such as sidewalk surface discontinuities, snow accumulation, ice formation, and treatment of icy sidewalks. Where an applicable minimum maintenance standard was met, the municipality may have a statutory defence to the claim.

Finally, you generally have only 10 days from the date of your injury to provide the municipality with written notice of your claim. The notice must include the date, time and location of the occurrence and must be served on or sent by registered mail to the clerk of the municipality.  Failure to provide notice within 10 days does not necessarily bar your claim if there was a reasonable excuse for the delay and the municipality was not prejudiced in its defence.  The failure to provide notice also does not bar the claim where the injured person dies as a result of the injury.

What types of evidence are relevant to proving negligence?

The types of evidence relevant to establishing negligence or gross negligence include:

• CCTV footage depicting the incident

• Photographs of the hazard

• Maintenance and inspection logs

• Your evidence as to what happened

• Evidence from the defendants regarding their knowledge of and response to the hazard, as well as their inspection and maintenance policies. This evidence is often obtained through examinations for discovery.

• Incident reports

• Work orders

• Correspondence between the defendants relating to the hazard

• Statements from witnesses who observed the incident or had knowledge of the hazard

• Weather data for claims involving snow or ice

• Expert evidence from engineers or other specialists regarding applicable industry standards

• Contracts between property owners, property managers, and maintenance contractors identifying who was responsible for inspecting and maintaining the premises

Causation

You must also prove that the defendant’s negligence (e.g., failure to take reasonable steps) caused your injuries. The test for establishing causation is generally the ‘but for’ test.

In other words, you must establish that you would not have sustained your injuries but for the defendant’s negligence.

Causation may be established where the defendant’s failure to take reasonable care created the hazard that caused your fall or allowed the hazard to persist. In other words, you must establish that, had the defendant taken reasonable care, the hazard would have been corrected and you would not have sustained your injuries. For example, in a slip and fall on ice case, it may be argued that salting a walkway would have prevented the accumulation of ice that caused your fall.

If your injuries would have occurred regardless of the defendant’s negligence, you may be unable to establish causation and your claim may fail. For example, if a substance was spilled on the floor only moments before your fall, the defendant may not have been able to address this hazard whether it had a reasonable system of inspection in place or not.

You must also prove that the damages you claim resulted from the injuries caused by the defendant’s negligence. For example, to claim compensation for a loss of future income, you must prove that your accident-related injuries will impair your ability to work. If you would have been unable to work in any event because of an unrelated medical condition, you may not be able to recover future income loss from the defendant.

What types of compensation can I recover?

You may recover the following types of compensation in a lawsuit:

• General damages for pain and suffering

• Past and future loss of income

• The cost of medical or rehabilitation treatment

• The cost of housekeeping and home maintenance

• Other out-of-pocket expenses caused by your injuries

The above are often referred to as “damages” or the “heads of damages.”

There is an upper limit on the amount that can be awarded in Canada for general damages for pain and suffering. As of 2026, this upper limit is approximately $460,000-$470,000 and is reserved for the most severe injuries. Most slip and fall cases will attract general damages below this upper limit. Unlike in the United States, multi-million-dollar awards for pain and suffering are generally not available in Canada because of this upper limit.

Finally, you may only claim damages that were caused by the negligence of the defendant. You cannot, for example, recover future income loss or future care costs resulting from an unrelated medical condition.

How do I prove damages?

Proving damages will often require medical records documenting the injuries you sustained in the accident, together with your own evidence about how those injuries have affected your life.

Expert medical evidence may also be required to establish your diagnosis and prognosis, the impact of your injuries on your ability to work and perform housekeeping and home maintenance activities, and any future treatment or care you may require.

Depending on the nature of your losses, an accounting report may be required to calculate past and future income loss and the cost of future care, housekeeping and home maintenance assistance.

What if I am partially at fault for my slip or trip and fall?

If you are found partially at fault for your accident, your damages will be reduced according to your degree of fault. This is known as “contributory negligence.” Examples of when this may occur include:

• You were not wearing appropriate footwear (e.g., high heels in a snowstorm)

• You ignored warning signs

• You were distracted by your phone

• You were rushing or running and not watching where you were going

• You were being pulled by a large untrained dog and slipping on ice

• You were not wearing prescription glasses and had reduced vision as a result

• You were intoxicated

The trier of fact, whether a judge or jury, will decide if you were contributorily negligent and determine the percentage of fault attributable to each party. Your damages will then be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. For example, if you are found to be 10% at fault for your injuries, then your award for damages will be reduced by 10%.

Contributory negligence does not necessarily prevent you from recovering damages but may reduce the amount you are entitled to recover.

What Should I Do After a Slip and Fall or Trip and Fall?

If you are able, you should do the following after a slip or trip and fall:

• Photograph the hazard that caused your fall

• Identify witnesses and obtain their contact information

• Immediately notify someone in charge of the premises

• Preserve the footwear and clothing you were wearing

• Seek medical treatment

• Accurately report the incident to subsequent treatment providers

• Try to obtain an incident report, if available

• Take photographs of surveillance cameras and ask that surveillance footage be preserved

• Retain counsel

How Long Do I Have to Sue for a Slip and Fall in Ontario?

If your injury was caused by snow or ice, written notice of your claim must generally be provided within 60 days of the occurrence. The notice must include the date, time, and location of the occurrence and may be provided to an occupier or an independent contractor retained by the occupier to remove snow or ice. Failure to provide notice within this period may result in your claim being barred unless there was a reasonable excuse for the delay and the defendant was not prejudiced in its defence.

If your claim arises from the condition of a municipal highway or sidewalk, written notice must generally be provided to the municipality within 10 days of the injury. The notice must include the date, time and location of the occurrence. Failure to provide notice within 10 days does not necessarily bar your claim where there was a reasonable excuse for the delay and the municipality was not prejudiced in its defence.

In addition to these notice requirements, you generally have two years from the date your claim was discovered to commence a lawsuit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What if I didn’t see what I slipped on?

A. If you did not see the hazard before your fall, you may still be able to recover compensation provided that you can prove what caused your fall, that the occupier failed to take reasonable care in the circumstances, and that the failure caused your injuries and damages.

As well, if you did not see what you slipped on, this may reduce the likelihood that you will be found contributorily negligent. If you saw the hazard prior to your fall, the trier of fact may find you partially at fault for proceeding through the hazard.

However, if you did not see what you slipped on and do not know what caused you to slip and fall, this may prevent you from successfully pursuing a claim for damages.

Q. What if there was a warning sign?

A. The presence of a warning sign does not, on its own, establish that the defendant took reasonable care. It is one factor among many that may be considered in determining whether the defendant was negligent. However, if you saw or should reasonably have seen the warning and proceeded despite it, the warning may also support a finding of contributory negligence and reduce your award for damages.

Q. What if I was partly at fault?

A. If you were partly at fault, your award for damages will be reduced to reflect your degree of fault. For example, if you are found 10% at fault, your award for damages will be reduced by 10%.

Q. Can I sue a municipality?

A. Yes. A municipality may be liable for injuries caused by its failure to keep a municipal highway or sidewalk in a reasonable state of repair. Different legal standards apply to claims against municipalities, and you generally have 10 days from your fall to place the municipality on notice of your claim, failing which you may lose your ability to sue the municipality.

Q. How much is my case worth?

A. The value of your claim depends on the facts of your case. Claims involving severe injuries that have a significant impact on a person’s work and daily activities are generally worth more than claims involving less severe injuries with little impact on a person’s employment and daily activities. The value of your claim will also depend on factors such as your ability to prove liability, the extent of your damages, and whether you were partially at fault. You may click here to read more about how the value of a personal injury claim is assessed.

Q. How long will my case take?

A. This depends on the facts of your case. Some cases may settle within one to two years of the accident, while others may take several years where additional investigation, medical evidence, expert evidence or examinations for discovery are required. Cases that cannot be resolved through settlement may ultimately proceed to trial.

Why Hillier & Hillier

Hillier & Hillier has extensive experience pursuing claims under the Occupiers’ Liability Act and the Municipal Act. We diligently investigate the circumstances surrounding each accident, obtain relevant liability and medical evidence, and work with appropriate experts to build our clients’ cases.

If you have been involved in a slip and fall or trip and fall, call Hillier & Hillier at 905-453-8636 for a FREE CONSULTATION or click here to submit an online request for a FREE CONSULTATION.