Over my career, I’ve helped many people who’ve been injured while visiting a store, building, or by slipping on ice which had not been salted or sanded. These people have what’s called an occupiers liability claim. Nova Scotia has a piece of legislation called the Occupiers Liability Act. This legislation places a positive obligation on each and every property owner to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of visitors to the property. This has been interpreted to mean that property owners like grocery stores, malls, schools, etc., have an obligation to be on the lookout for potential safety hazards.
If such a hazard is readily apparent on reasonable inspection but goes unaddressed and someone is injured as a result, then that person has a viable personal injury claim. A property owner or its employees would likely be found to be in breach of the Occupiers Liability Act and will be found to be negligent. Common examples of an occupiers liability claim include slipping and falling on unaddressed spills at a grocery store, slipping and falling on unsalted ice buildup in a parking lot, or unaddressed hazards falling on people from above, like a buildup of icicles on a building or objects falling from above in a store, so on and so on. If you’ve been injured and if you have questions about an occupiers liability claim, then please contact us. We’d be happy to talk to you free of charge.
