24 - North Shore News -

Property owner may
tied for

@ fau

Janice Mucalov, LL.B.
Contributing Columnist

YF you slip and fall on

an icy sidewalk or dri-

veway, is the property

owner responsible?
That depends.

_ Laura Perrett broke her
left leg when she slipped and
fell in the parking fot of the
Port Moody Recreation
Centre. But she recently lost

her lawsuit against the City of

Port Moody. Here’s why.

The parks and recreation
department had allocated
more than $33,000 for gen-
eral maintenance and servie-
ing, including snow and ice
removal, of the parking fot
and neighbouring ‘Town
Centre Park.

Four parks and recreation
employees were involved in
the snow and ice removal ser-
vices, using a tractor and a
one-ton dump truck with
plough and sander.

If it snowed, it was park
policy to plough, salz and
sand the parking lot firsi
thing in the early morning
hours after a snowfall, and to
return throughout the day as
conditions dictated and time
permitted,

tt had snowed heavily the
day in January that Perrett
fell. At? a.m., the parking lot
was ploughed and sanded.
Around Jf a. m., she drove to
the rec centre, planning on
taking her dog for a walk.

Sunday, February 13, 2006

She got eur of ker van and
took nwo steps, when she
slipped om a patch of snow
and ice.

Verrett argued that the
city’s snow removal system
was inadequate. But the
judge disagreed.

He conchided it had prob.
ably snowed again after the
parking loz had first been
cleared, stating: “Snow is a
natural hazard of Canadian
winters. It can form quickly
and unexpectedly. Although
it is an expected hazard, it is
one that can never be com
pletely prevented. Any
attempt to do so 4 ould | be
prohibitively expensive.”

The judge also said, “The
failure of the defendant to
keep the parking tor com-
pletely clear of snow does not
in and of itself mean that the
defendant’s system is inade-
quate.”

In another case, however,
Edward Waldick won his law-
suit after slipping on the icy
driveway leading to his sister’s
rural farm house.

A severe storm had
dumped a lot of snow, and

falis

while his sister and her hus
band had shovelled and salted
their front porch and steps,
they, ike their neighbours,
hadn't salted their long 200-
to 300-foot driveway.

Atter visiting for dinner,
Waldick had stepped out to
his car te feich some ciga-
rettes, when be slipped on
some ice, fell and fractured
his skull. At the time, he
knew the area was slippery as
he'd already crossed it to yet
to the house.

Suli, the court said the law
imposes a duty upon occu-
piers to make their premises
reasonably safe for visitors.
Here, it would have been rea-
sonable for Waldick’s sister
and her husband to have
cleared a portion of their dri-
veway next to the front
entrance so people could park
and safely walk to the house.

In seme instances, then,
an owner will be liable for
not shovelling or clearing
their sidewalk, driveway or
parking for. But the decision
will depend on the particular
facts.

If you've hurt yourself ina
fall, consult a lawyer to deter-
mine your legal rights.

— This column bas been
written with the assistance of
Daryl Collier of the North
Vancouver law firm of Ratcliff
& Company, Suite 500, 221
West Esplanade, 988-5201. The
column provides information
only and must not be relicd on
for legal advice.

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Bonhomme on ice

QUEBEC Carnival mascot Bonhomme visited the West Vancouver ice rink Feb. 9
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the school's French Immersion Week festivities.

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