Ontario legal information · Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
What the page should help you decide
The Occupiers' Liability Act focuses on reasonable safety, not automatic liability whenever someone falls.2
Retail claims commonly turn on how the hazard arose, how long it existed and whether the inspection and response system actually operated.
Keep the legal question, insurance route and next practical step distinct.
Legal question
The occupier may include an owner, tenant or other person controlling the premises.
Coverage or process
A cleaner or maintenance contractor may have separate responsibility and insurance.
Practical step
The claimant's conduct can be considered without assuming that a warning sign ends the inquiry.
Build the answer from records another person can check.
Hazard type, aisle, lighting, warning and footwear.
Injury mechanism and first report.
Shopping route, mobility and changed function.
Video, incident report, cleaning log, inspection timestamps and staff names.
Protect the next real date.
Retail video can be deleted within days or weeks.3
Preservation should precede a broad demand for compensation.
How a personal injury lawyer may help after a fall.
A premises claim needs more than proof that someone was hurt. Legal work may have to identify the correct owner, occupier or contractor and preserve evidence before the condition changes.
- Identify the occupiers
- Preserve video
- Audit the inspection system
- Address shared-fault allegations
Not every file requires every step or legal representation. The work should respond to the actual dispute, evidence gap or decision that is approaching.
Sources and legal references
These official sources provide the legal and procedural foundation for this page. Their current wording and the facts of the claim control.
View 3 sources
- Waldick v. Malcolm, 1991 CanLII 71 (SCC)
The Supreme Court of Canada's leading treatment of an occupier's statutory duty.
Back to footnote ↑ - Ontario — Occupiers' Liability Act
The statutory duty owed by people who control premises.
Back to footnote ↑ - Ontario — Negligence Act
Ontario's rules for shared responsibility and contribution.
Back to footnote ↑