Personal injury legal advice?

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

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.

It's your own fault for not protecting yourself by covering the equipment with laundry, sweaters, coats and anything else that isn't quite dirty enough for the washing basket but you're to lazy to actually put away, any fule kno that

[skudr248]

I’m in Banff right now and everywhere is icy/slushy... don’t know how you’re gonna win this tbh

[Makarov]

Personally, I wouldn't seek legal advice from a hockey forum (in the same way that, when your wife first slipped, you went to the hospital rather than starting a thread on CalgaryPuck asking "my wife's ankle is really swollen and painful; how should I treat it?"). But that's just me.

[Two Fivenagame]

nm

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Personally, I wouldn't seek legal advice from a hockey forum (in the same way that, when your wife first slipped, you went to the hospital rather than starting a thread on CalgaryPuck asking "my wife's ankle is really swollen and painful; how should I treat it?"). But that's just me.

We would have recommended pouring robitussin on it.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Two Fivenagame

Double fracture on the lower right leg above the ankle. Her foot was at a right angle. Gruesome stuff. She said the pain was way, way worse than childbirth.

Surgery later today. You wouldn't believe how many people have said she's lucky she broke it here because the surgeon here is the best in the nation - he works on all the Olympic athletes, Flames, Stamps etc.

Also, I can't say enough about how amazing the staff have been. The physio offered to have me stay at her place if I couldn't find a room in town.

Ouch sounds absolutely painful just imagining it, such a horrible time for that to happen too. What a nice gesture by the nurse. All the best in recovery, what's the length of stay in the hospital for that surgery?

[Two Fivenagame]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Ouch sounds absolutely painful just imagining it, such a horrible time for that to happen too. What a nice gesture by the nurse. All the best in recovery, what's the length of stay in the hospital for that surgery?

The staff say the length of stay varies, usually 24hrs. Hopefully we can head back to Calgary tomorrow evening.

[opendoor]

I've had a similar injury, including the foot facing the wrong way. And yeah, the pain is almost indescribable. It took 2 plates, 12 or so screws, and several K wires to put everything back together.

It can be a pretty long recovery. For me it was about 3 months before I could bear full weight on it (still had to use a cane for a bit) and probably 6 months or so before it started feeling remotely normal walking around. And I couldn't run properly for a good 1-1.5 years, but that was more due to tendon and ligament damage than the broken bones. Hope your house is amenable to single floor living for a while, because stairs are a nightmare.

[DionTheDman]

Depending on where the incident occurred, she may be SOL. By virtue of the Municipal Government Act of AB (sec 531(1)), it's very difficult to bring an action against a municipality for a slip and fall on a sidewalk. You have to prove "gross negligence", which is a step beyond simple negligence.

But, if she slipped not on a municipal sidewalk, but a private sidewalk (for example, the pathway leading to the doorway), then the MGA no longer applies and it may very well be possible to bring an action against whichever hotel or occupier responsible for that particular location.

In any event, while you mull things over, I suggest you take as many photos of the area in and around where she fell ASAP in order to show what the conditions of the sidewalk were at the time.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Two Fivenagame

Surgery later today. You wouldn't believe how many people have said she's lucky she broke it here because the surgeon here is the best in the nation - he works on all the Olympic athletes, Flames, Stamps etc.

Also, I can't say enough about how amazing the staff have been. The physio offered to have me stay at her place if I couldn't find a room in town.

In some ways, she is lucky. I don't know if you can even be referred to him anymore, and if you can, it takes FOR.EVER. to get the appt - 2 year wait, I think?

The Banff hospital is an amazing smaller hospital. Spent some time there myself, one Canada Day, which wasn't the way I wanted to spend the day but they were outstanding.

[powderjunkie]

Were you staying at the hotel where it occurred? It probably doesn't matter much legally, but for me it make a difference morally.

Any health benefits/insurance (might still help cover missing work time)? Were you staying overnight (there or elsewhere)? If booked with a good credit card - maybe another possible avenue for insurance?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

Depending on where the incident occurred, she may be SOL. By virtue of the Municipal Government Act of AB (sec 531(1)), it's very difficult to bring an action against a municipality for a slip and fall on a sidewalk. You have to prove "gross negligence", which is a step beyond simple negligence.

But, if she slipped not on a municipal sidewalk, but a private sidewalk (for example, the pathway leading to the doorway), then the MGA no longer applies and it may very well be possible to bring an action against whichever hotel or occupier responsible for that particular location.

In any event, while you mull things over, I suggest you take as many photos of the area in and around where she fell ASAP in order to show what the conditions of the sidewalk were at the time.

I'd also snap some photos of her shoes/boots, unless she was wearing some crazy ass stilettos.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

We would have recommended pouring robitussin on it.

Rub some dirt in it, get some blow and join the Army!

CP has taught me that these actions will solve most problems.

[calf]

Originally Posted by 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.

What kind of job does your wife have? She may have short/long term disability coverage to help fill in any gaps in missed work.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

Depending on where the incident occurred, she may be SOL. By virtue of the Municipal Government Act of AB (sec 531(1)), it's very difficult to bring an action against a municipality for a slip and fall on a sidewalk. You have to prove "gross negligence", which is a step beyond simple negligence.

But, if she slipped not on a municipal sidewalk, but a private sidewalk (for example, the pathway leading to the doorway), then the MGA no longer applies and it may very well be possible to bring an action against whichever hotel or occupier responsible for that particular location.

In any event, while you mull things over, I suggest you take as many photos of the area in and around where she fell ASAP in order to show what the conditions of the sidewalk were at the time.

This is incorrect.

I agree it's difficult to sue a municipality, but businesses have a duty to take reasonable action to shovel snow and deal with ice on public sidewalks in front of their property. Even homeowners have a duty to deal with the public sidewalk (Although what's expected of them is generally less).

You would sue the private business, even if you slipped on the publicly owned sidewalk. If there is something fundamentally wrong with the sidewalk itself, you could also sue to city.

[DoubleF]

It doesn't hurt to contact the hotel and ask what can be done. I think most likely this will be something that goes through insurance, so it's a bit different than full on suing the hotel and dragging their name through the mud and whatnot. Agree with others on asking a lawyer and doing it ASAP.

I remember one time chatting with a dude at the drop in centre who had literally been in a situation like that. The sidewalks had been shoveled, but there was a small patch of ice from an awning or something. He slipped on it rushing to catch a bus or something and badly sprained his knee. Some security or manager rushed out and asked if he was OK, helped carry him inside and helped him fill in the necessary paper work to file a claim and even helped him contact the right people to sort it all out. This guy thought it wasn't necessary and was kinda protesting, telling the guy that it was partially his own fault for not paying attention and he didn't want trouble, but this security or manager guy wasn't having it. Kept saying it was the proper way of doing things or something, so the guy obliged since he was homeless and couldn't work anyways and a few hundred bucks would go a long way for him while he was recuperating from his injuries... He was telling me that the property owner offered him $2K as a settlement and he was shocked they were offering that much. I vividly remember him telling me he was just waiting for the money to come through and he was excited to have enough to rent a place for a few months and get off the streets during the cold winter months.

My afterward understanding of this situation is that the situation would be paid out via insurance anyways (ie: Like a fender bender) and this security or property manager guy was purely by the book, so diligently helped the guy to log it to avoid escalation or whatever. The guy had explained they had told him they were offering a few hundred bucks for the treatment of the knee, but also around 3-4 weeks of wages which was the expected recovery time for the injuries.

I don't know what your wife may be entitled to, but I think the SOL comments are a little out to lunch.

[DionTheDman]

Originally Posted by blankall

This is incorrect.

I agree it's difficult to sue a municipality, but businesses have a duty to take reasonable action to shovel snow and deal with ice on public sidewalks in front of their property. Even homeowners have a duty to deal with the public sidewalk (Although what's expected of them is generally less).

You would sue the private business, even if you slipped on the publicly owned sidewalk. If there is something fundamentally wrong with the sidewalk itself, you could also sue to city.

It's not incorrect. Failing to shovel a municipal sidewalk adjacent to private property does not give rise to a claim in negligence. It applies in most circumstances. Of course, as with much of the law, there are specific exceptions.

Our Court of Appeal in Kluane v Chasse, 2003 ABCA 30 (CanLII), adopted the statements of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Bongiardina v. York (Regional Municipality) (2000), 2000 CanLII 5408 (ON CA), 49 OR (3d) 641, at paras 19-21:
19 The question then becomes: is there a common law duty on the owner of the property to clear snow and ice from public sidewalks adjacent to the property? In my view, the answer to this question must be ‘No’. Although the ‘neighbour’ principle from McAlister (Donoghue) v Stevenson, [1932] A.C. 562 (U.K. H.L.), has been expanded in recent years to cover a myriad of new relationships, it would stretch it too far if it was applied in the circumstances of this case. A homeowner has a duty to ensure that his or her own property is maintained in a reasonable condition so that persons entering the property are not injured. If the homeowner complies with this duty, he or she should be free from liability for injuries arising from failure to maintain municipally owned streets and sidewalks. The snow and ice accumulating on public sidewalks and the potholes on the street in front of the house are the legal responsibility of the municipality, not the adjacent property owner.

20 There are two exceptions to this general principle. First, a property owner may be deemed in law to be an occupier of adjacent public property if the owner assumes control of that property. Thus, in Bogoroch v Toronto (City) (June 20, 1991), Doc. 323847/88 (Ont. Gen. Div.), the court held that a store owner who used the adjacent sidewalk to display its wares on a continuing basis was an occupier of the sidewalk and subject to the duties imposed by the Occupiers' Liability Act. Similarly, in Moody v Toronto (City) (1996), 1996 CanLII 8229 (ON SC), 31 O.R. (3d) 53 (Ont. Gen. Div.), the court held, on a motion for summary judgment, that the owners of the Skydome in Toronto might be an occupier of the public walkways adjacent to the stadium because of the ‘special circumstances’ relating to those walkways, including the almost exclusive use of the walkway by Skydome patrons and the lack of alternatives to the walkways.

21 The second exception to the general principle that a property owner is responsible only for his or her property is that the duty of care on the owner extends to ensuring that conditions or activities on his or her property do not flow off the property and cause injury to persons nearby. An example of a case in this category would be Brazzoni v Timmins (City) (February 7, 1992), Doc. CA 685/88 (Ont. C.A.), where the court held both the City of Timmins and the Toronto-Dominion Bank liable for injuries suffered by a person who fell on snow and ice on a public sidewalk near the bank. Referring to the bank’s liability, the court said, at p.2:

[T]he trial judge found that water flowed from the respondent's property across the sidewalk at the time the plaintiff fell. By allowing the water from melting snow, on the roof of its building and from its parking lot, to accumulate on its property and to run across the sidewalk which was covered with snow and ice, the respondent, in our opinion, created a dangerous condition that it knew or ought to have known could cause injury to pedestrians using the sidewalk. Regardless of whether liability is based on nuisance or negligence, the respondent, in our opinion, is liable.

See also Taylor v Robinson, 1933 CanLII 138 (ON CA), [1933] 3 D.L.R. 73 (Ont. C.A.).

Stefanyk v Stevens, 2017 ABQB 402

[OMG!WTF!]

That's interesting. I assumed private owners and businesses were responsible for sidewalk safety. But it makes sense that they are not. This CBC article addresses a recent case in bc...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...suit-1.5374652

Also I know this is quite a common injury with slip and falls, but I have no idea how such a catastrophic injury happens with slipping. How do you snap both bones like this?

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

That's interesting. I assumed private owners and businesses were responsible for sidewalk safety. But it makes sense that they are not. This CBC article addresses a recent case in bc...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...suit-1.5374652

Also I know this is quite a common injury with slip and falls, but I have no idea how such a catastrophic injury happens with slipping. How do you snap both bones like this?

Most tib fib fractures are just an ankle twist with the right amount and area of force.

I never understood the entitlement people have in everyday unfortunate scenarios, including car accidents.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

It's not incorrect. Failing to shovel a municipal sidewalk adjacent to private property does not give rise to a claim in negligence. It applies in most circumstances. Of course, as with much of the law, there are specific exceptions.



Stefanyk v Stevens, 2017 ABQB 402

Most municipalities, including Calgary, have bylaws in place that make business and residential owners responsible for clearing snow on sidewalks.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...oval-1.4472100

Edit: also the occupiers liability act makes all businesses in Alberta responsible for clearing snow outside their premises.

https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/do...&resultIndex=1

Like I said you are not liable though if you take reasonable steps to clear the ice and snow.