Circumstances Surrounding Incident Where Property Owner Held Liable For Slip And Fall Injury

On just about any street, there is one neighbor that acts like he or she is in charge. That neighbor makes a lot of noise when others act in a way that does not suit his or her interests. Residents of Alberta should welcome the colder temperatures, if they have such a neighbor.

What do colder temperatures have to do with such behavior? Do some neighbors get kinder and more understanding when temperatures drop? No, but anyone that seeks to control others risks the chance of being hit with a liability charge, if someone slips and falls on a patch of ice, one located on that controlling neighbor’s sidewalk.

Examples of actions that display an effort to control others:

Allowing a pool of water to collect on the sidewalk. This may be the result of creating some type of drain-off. The drained water might pool in a spot on a public walkway. Then if the temperature were to drop, that spot could turn to ice. If someone were to slip and fall on that same patch of ice, the owner of the associated property could be held liable for any injuries.

Creating a barrier on a public walkway. This could be a temporary barrier, such as one created by a construction crew. The public should be warned about the existence of such a structure, in order to avoid the occurrence of accidents.

Of course, the person paying the work crew might choose to ignore that requirement for signage. That could invite problems, if some area near the barrier became frozen, and someone slipped on that frozen spot. In that case, the injury lawyer in Edmonton knows that the person that had allowed for the barrier’s construction could be held liable for any injuries.

The trick to winning a personal injury case, one triggered by a slip and fall incident:

• Get photographs of your injuries and of the location where you fell, after slipping on some ice.
• Save the footwear that you had on when you slipped and fell.
• Keep all the receipts for medical expenses, those created by the falling incident.

Personal injury lawyer in Sherwood Park is of the view that you should prepare to use the receipts and pictures as evidence that you got injured when you slipped and then fell on an icy patch. Take some pictures that highlight the fact that the icy patch was created by the owner of the residence on the land adjacent to the ice-covered walkway.

Take pictures of the footwear worn on that particular day. A sturdy pair of shoes can serve as excellent evidence. In a courtroom, one shoe from those that were paired could contact a surface similar to the surface used by nature, in order to create a platform for the accuser. Those in the courtroom could see the tested shoe’s movements, and then reach their own conclusion.