Slipping And Falling On Ice: Understanding The Slippery Legal Landscape

• Law Firm: Taylor McCaffrey
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Real Estate, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Author: Mr Simon Garfinkel
• Published date: 02 February 2023

As the dead of winter sets in, slipping and falling on ice will, unfortunately, become a common occurrence. This article will discuss select case law on slip and fall injuries with a particular focus on case law where slip and falls on snow and ice were at issue.

In Manitoba, under The Occupiers' Liability Act, owners, or "occupiers" that have control of a property have a responsibility to ensure that the property is properly maintained.

Owners/occupiers owe a duty to people on the property to take care to ensure that the person will be reasonably safe while on the property.
The duty of care does not assign automatic liability in a slip-and-fall case. However, the person who has fallen must be able to prove the occupier failed to address or remedy a hazard, or failed to practice reasonable standards of care.

Section 3 of The Occupiers Liability Act reads as follows:

Occupiers' duty
3(1) An occupier of premises owes a duty to persons entering on the premises... to take such care as, in all circumstances of the case, is reasonable to see that the person... will be reasonably safe while on the premises.

Application of duty
3(2) The duty referred to in subsection (1) applies in respect of
(a) the condition of the premises;
(b) activities on the premises; and
(c) the conduct of third parties on the premises.

Robertson v 6177655 Manitoba Inc. et al, 2020 MBQB 24

In this recent Manitoba case, a plaintiff slipped and fell on ice in a parking lot of an apartment building. The plaintiff suffered a separated left shoulder. The plaintiff commenced an action for damages against the landlord and property manager for injuries suffered in the slip and fall. However, the action was dismissed.

The defendants' maintenance system for the parking lot was considered to be reasonable because it included multiple daily checks, shovelling and the application of sand and salt by resident managers, reporting of any issues to the property manager, and engagement of outside contractors on an intermittent basis.

There was no snow in the parking lot on the day of the fall. There had been freezing rain on the day before the fall. It was probable that the resident manager inspected and sanded the parking lot on the morning of the plaintiff's fall.

The Court explained that the manager would have traversed and inspected the parking lot more than once per day, to take garbage to the bins and would have conducted further inspections to check for after-effects of freezing rain. Ultimately...