Earlier in 2019 the Ontario government announced that they’re planning to amend the Occupiers Liability Act. The Occupiers Liability Act is the law that governs slip and falls in Ontario.
Currently, the standard for starting a claim on slip and fall cases in Ontario is two years. Failure to bring a claim within two years from the date of the slip and fall will result in being statute barred from bringing a claim.
The new bill states that no action shall be brought for the recovery of damages for personal injury caused by snow or ice against an occupier, an independent contractor employed by the occupier or, in the case of a tenancy described in subsection 8 (1) of the Act, a landlord, unless, within 10 days after the occurrence of the injury, written notice of the claim and of the injury are served.
Thankfully there are exceptions to the rule:
- Failure to give notice is not a bar to the action in the case of the death of the injured person as a result of the injury; and
- Failure to give notice or insufficiency of the notice is not a bar to the action if a judge finds that there is reasonable excuse for the wait or the insufficiency of the notice and that the defendant is not prejudiced in its defence
All this proposed amendment does is create yet another barrier for injured victims to recover for their injuries. The government is creating a barrier similar to the “care not cash” proposal for accident benefits claims, and the threshold and deductible for tort claims arising from motor vehicle accidents.
In my view it is getting harder and harder for accident victims to recover compensation after an accident.