Slip and Fall:

January, 2006

• What law applies if I slip and fall and injure myself on someone else’s property?
• Who is an occupier?
• What duty of care does an occupier have?
• I slipped and fell on the stairs at my local gym. I hurt my back. Does the gym have to compensate me for my injuries?
• Do I need to get legal advice?
• Will I have to go to court?
• What factors does the court consider in deciding if an occupier satisfied his or her duty of care to the injured person?

Q. What law applies if I slip and fall and injure myself on someone else’s property?

A. Nova Scotia’s Occupiers’ Liability Act, as well as principles established in court cases, apply to most slip and fall injuries. This Act says that an occupier has a duty to see that each person entering on the premises is reasonably safe while there. Almost all workplace injuries are covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Q. Who is an occupier?

A. An occupier is a property owner and/or operator. More specifically, Nova Scotia’s Occupiers’ Liability Act says that an ‘occupier’ includes:
i) a person who is in physical possession of the premises; or
ii) a person who is responsible for, and has control over, the condition of or activities on the premises, or over people allowed to enter the premises.
‘ Premises’ include, among other things, land and buildings, water, ships and vessels, fixed structures, etc.
Most business and home insurance policy include a section that covers occupiers’ liability.

Q. What duty of care does an occupier have?

A. The duty of care requires an occupier take reasonable care to prevent injuries to visitors from unusual dangers that the occupier knows about, or should have known about. This duty applies to the condition of the premises and activities on the premises, and to the conduct of third parties on the premises.

Q. I slipped and fell on the stairs at my local gym. I hurt my back. Does the gym have to compensate me for my injuries?

A. Maybe. The answer depends on the specific circumstances of the accident, and particularly whether the gym satisfied its duty to take reasonable steps to protect facility users. For example, if the stairwell was poorly lit and you slipped on a broken step, and the gym had not taken reasonable care to repair the step and improve the lighting in the stairwell, the gym might be financially responsible for your injuries.

Q. Do I need to get legal advice?
A It is wise to talk with a lawyer if you are injured on someone else’s property or you are being sued by someone who was injured on your property. The lawyer can give you advice based on the circumstances of your case, how the law may apply and the compensation that might be awarded.

Q. Will I have to go to court?

A Usually you only go to court if you and the occupier or the occupier’s insurance company cannot agree on liability and/or the amount of compensation.

Q. What factors does the court consider in deciding if an occupier satisfied his or her duty of care to the injured person?

A. Factors a court would consider include :
• did the occupier know, or ought to have known, that the person was on the premises
• what was the injured person’s ability to appreciate the danger. For example, there is a higher duty to protect children;
• what was the reason for the person being on the premises. For example, was the person invited or trespassing or intending to commit a crime on the property;
• what efforts did the occupier make to warn people about the danger, or to discourage people from running the risk. For example, was the property or the danger fenced or were there warning signs.
• whether, under the circumstances, the occupier should reasonably have been expected to provide protection against the risk.

The Occupiers’ Liability Act also sets out a number of circumstances when a person entering certain types of premises is deemed to assume a greater degree of risk.