Slip and Fall Lawyers in Ontario
Slip and fall claims in Ontario carry notice deadlines far shorter than the usual two year limitation period. A fall on snow or ice requires written notice within 60 days, and a fall on a city sidewalk can require notice within 10 days.
Deadlines that apply to you
These are the dates that end claims. Check them first.
If you were hurt by snow or ice, you must give written notice within 60 days, served personally or sent by registered mail, to an occupier of the property or to the contractor hired to clear it.
Occupiers' Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.2, s. 6.1 · in force 2021-01-29
If the injury happened on a municipal road or sidewalk and the claim is that it was not kept in repair, written notice must reach the municipality within 10 days.
Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, s. 44(10)
If it is not clear whether you fell on city property or private property, give notice under both rules. Meeting the shorter deadline costs nothing and protects the claim.
Municipal Act, 2001, s. 44(10); Occupiers' Liability Act, s. 6.1
In most Ontario claims you have two years from the day you knew, or ought to have known, that you had a claim.
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B, s. 4
How this actually works
This is the practice area where people lose claims they clearly should have won, and they lose them in the first two weeks.
Most people assume they have two years. They do for the lawsuit itself. But Ontario layers short written notice requirements on top, and if the fall involved snow or ice, or happened on municipal property, the real deadline is measured in days.
If you fell this month, the useful thing to do today is work out whose property it was.
Work out whose property it was
City sidewalk, private walkway, parking lot, or the strip between them. This decides which notice rule applies and how long you have, so it is the first question we ask.
Give notice, in writing, in time
Served personally or by registered mail. If it is genuinely unclear whether the fall was on city or private property, give both notices. Meeting the shorter deadline costs nothing and protects the claim.
Preserve what proves it
Photographs of the hazard, footwear, weather records for that hour, incident reports and any security footage. Footage is routinely overwritten within days, so a preservation letter goes out immediately.
Establish the system, not just the ice
Occupiers are judged on whether their maintenance was reasonable. Salting logs, contractor schedules and inspection records usually decide the case.
What this costs you
We fight for the maximum compensation your claim will carry, and you do not pay a dollar unless we win.
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, we act on contingency, and we advance the costs of building the case so a claim is never held up by money. If we do not recover anything, you do not owe a fee.
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We advance disbursements
- Home and hospital visits across the GTA
Questions we get every week
Probably not, but it is close. The snow and ice notice period is 60 days. If the fall was on a city sidewalk the municipal notice period is much shorter, so this is worth a call today rather than next week.
Not necessarily. There are limited excuses for late notice in some circumstances, and the rules differ depending on which one applies. It is worth having someone look at it rather than assuming.
Possibly. Your own care is weighed as a share of responsibility rather than treated as an automatic bar to recovery.
The occupier and often the snow removal contractor can both be responsible. Notice should go to both, since sorting out which one was on duty comes later.
It depends on the injury, the income loss and the future care required. Anyone who quotes a number before seeing the medical evidence is guessing.
Related areas
Municipal Liability
Claims against a municipality in Ontario run on a far shorter clock than ordinary claims.
Read moreTraumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury can be severe and permanent while every scan comes back normal.
Read moreCatastrophic Injury
In Ontario, a catastrophic impairment designation raises the combined medical, rehabilitation and attendant care limit from $65,000 to $1,000,000 and removes the time limit.
Read moreFurther reading
Plain-language guides on the parts of an Ontario claim people ask about most.
How Long Do You Have to Sue in Ontario? The Deadlines That Actually End Claims
Everyone knows about the two years. Almost nobody knows about the ten days, and the ten days is what ends claims.
Read the guide DEADLINESYou May Have 10 Days: The Notice Rule That Kills Slip and Fall Claims
The deadline that ends most slip and fall claims arrives while the injured person is still deciding whether to see a doctor.
Read the guide DEADLINESInjured as a Child in Ontario? The Clock Has Not Started.
The law gives an injured child time. It does not give their evidence time.
Read the guideWhere we act in Ontario
The limitation period, the statutory deductible and the tort threshold are provincial, so they are identical in every city here. What changes is who must be served inside the 10-day notice window, and that is decided by the city.
The lawyer on your file
A lawyer reads every enquiry. Not a form.
Send us what happened and Shawn Sidhu reads it himself, then replies the same business day. The first conversation is free and there is no obligation.
If we do not think you have a claim, we will tell you that too. You will know where you stand before you decide anything.
Shawn Sidhu, Lawyer
Called to the bar in British Columbia, 2013
University of British Columbia · University of Birmingham
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We come to you at home or in hospital
Your fight becomes ours the day you call us.
Consultations are free and there is no obligation. If we take the case you pay nothing unless we win, and if we think you do not have a claim we will tell you that too.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened. A lawyer reviews every enquiry, and we reply the same business day.
Thank you. We have your request.
A lawyer is reviewing what you sent and will call you the same business day. There is nothing else you need to do right now.
If you would rather not wait, call us now.
(416) 678-8765Free consultation, and no fee unless we win.