Personal injury legal advice?

[Two Fivenagame]

Hey CP I could really use some advice here.

My wife just slipped and broke her ankle on the sidewalk in front of a hotel in Banff. We're at the hospital waiting for surgery and I expect she'll have to miss work.

Do we have any options here or are we pretty much on our own?

Hope everyone else is having a better night.

[Ironhorse]

Paging Vlad The Impaler. I believe he does injury law.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I think if memory serves me correct if it is a municipality in Alberta you need to show gross negligence on the part of the city. I'm not a lawyer but I think you may be out of luck.

[getbak]

[Ducay]

I'm not the litigious type and would probably chalk it up to a learning experience, but I would say if you are at all considering legal action, I would ensure you take as much documentation as possible. Including photographic evidence of current conditions of the walk, city, other properties, at the time of the event and if you're lucky - video evidence (which, failing legal action, can also be used on America's Funniest Home Videos to try and win $10,000 or a trip to Mazatlan).

As mentioned in the posts above, you'll basically need to argue how the property owner was extremely negligent (grossly, you might say) in their duty of care to pedestrians using their pathway. Ditto if it is a city/municipality/federal (GL HF) parks owned property where it occurred. Which means it needs to be something a lot more egregious than "they didn't do a fantastic job shoveling" or "they didn't shovel within a couple hours of a snow event"

[jayswin]

This type of lawsuit is better suited for the US. Up here, you need to prove a lot to get anything.

[81MC]

Really sorry to hear about your wife.

But it is winter, in a mountain town and all.

[blankall]

In British Columbia, where I practice, business owners do have a responsibility to de-ice the sidewalk, within reason. This typically involves putting salt on the sidewalk and shoveling every so often. It's up to the business owner to provide proof of what they have done. If they are doing that and it's icy anyways you are sol.

I'd contact a local lawyer. They will give you a free consultation. PI lawyers work mostly on contingency, and part of their business is screaning for cases they think they can win.

[TheSutterDynasty]

While I'm sorry for your circumstances I'm not sure why your first inclination (while AT the hospital) is to sue. It's a sidewalk in the middle of Winter and this just sounds like an unfortunate accident, so litigation sounds ridiculous.

My injury lawyer friend makes it sound like you basically need video footage and proof that the hotel doesn't have a system in place to reduce such incidents (ie snow removal). So (thankfully, in my opinion) I don't think you have a case.

Your situation sucks but I don't think the best course of action is to try and bring someone else down (even if it's a big company).

[Two Fivenagame]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Really sorry to hear about your wife.

But it is winter, in a mountain town and all.

Oh I agree. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

[blankall]

Don't listen to the crowd telling you not to look into legal advice. Your wife isn't faking a neck injury after a fender bender. A broken ankle may never be the same again, which could cause lifelong consequences. If it's due to a large hotel cutting corners they should pay, or at least their insurer will.

[Slava]

As was posted above, contact Vlad and I'm sure he can help you out. Hopefully she makes a quick recovery

[rain_e]

Sorry to hear about this and hope she recovers soon without any issues.

[Robo]

I broke my toe today let me know what you hear as I am contemplating sueing my wife for damages as this is the second time I have broken my toe on that gd coffee table with the stupid jetting out tiny legs. I hope your wife is ok and heals well sorry to hear about the incident

[Table 5]

I also suffer with a painfully sharp coffee table. Class-action?

[OMG!WTF!]

How did surgery go? Must have been a terrible night. Plus one for Blankall posts. Of course have a talk with a lawyer.

[Sakic19]

One thing to keep in mind that if there is even a small possibility that you have to sue the municipality, you need to notify them on a very short timeline. In Edmonton for slip and fall claims you have 21 days to notify the city.

Originally Posted by Sakic19

One thing to keep in mind that if there is even a small possibility that you have to sue the municipality, you need to notify them on a very short timeline. In Edmonton for slip and fall claims you have 21 days to notify the city.

The Oilers have been making slip and fall claims all year.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I also suffer with a painfully sharp coffee table. Class-action?

I'm in after we are done with them all coffee tables shall have rounded edges with soft rubber legs

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I also suffer with a painfully sharp coffee table. Class-action?

Where is the class action for unused exercise equipment with extended support legs that you stub toes on? Things are a hazard to my health.