Slip/Trip and Fall Lawyer in Toronto & the GTA

If you were hurt in a slip & fall or trip & fall accident in Ontario because a property was not kept reasonably safe, you may have a claim against the occupier under the Occupiers' Liability Act. You usually have 2 years to sue, but much shorter notice deadlines can apply: 60 days for snow and ice on private property, and 10 days for a fall on municipal property.

A fall can cause serious, lasting injuries, from broken bones and torn ligaments to head injuries. If it happened because someone failed to keep their property safe, you may be entitled to compensation. This page explains, in plain language, how slip/trip & fall claims work in Ontario, the deadlines that matter, and how the lawyers at AK Lawyers help injured people across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. It is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation.

What to do after a slip/trip and fall

What you do early can protect both your recovery and your claim. In order of priority:

• Get medical attention. See a doctor promptly, even if the injury seems minor. This protects your health and links the injury to the fall.
• Report the fall to the property owner, store manager, or landlord, and ask that an incident report be made. Get a copy if you can.
• Document the hazard. Photograph what caused the fall (ice, a wet floor, a broken step, poor lighting) and the surrounding area, before it is cleaned or repaired.
• Note the details. Write down the date, time, exact location, and what you were wearing on your feet. Keep the footwear.
• Get witness information. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the fall.
• Act quickly on notice. Some claims require written notice within days, not years (see deadlines below).

Who is responsible? The Occupiers' Liability Act

Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act requires an “occupier” of a property to take reasonable care to keep visitors reasonably safe. An occupier can be an owner, a tenant, a business, a landlord, a property manager, or a snow-removal contractor. The standard is reasonable care, not perfection.

More than one party can be responsible for the same fall. For example, after a fall in a plaza parking lot, the property owner, the business, and the company hired to clear snow could all share responsibility. Identifying every responsible party early matters, because each may have a role in your claim and a separate insurer.

How to prove a slip & fall and trip & fall claim

A claim is not won simply because you fell. You generally have to show that the occupier owed you a duty of care, failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe, and that this failure caused your injury. Evidence that helps includes:

• Photographs of the hazard and the scene.
• The incident report and any video (such as store CCTV, which is often recorded over quickly).
• Witness statements.
• Maintenance and inspection records, or in winter cases, snow-clearing and salting logs.
• Medical records documenting your injuries.

Because evidence like weather conditions and video can disappear fast, getting advice early can make a real difference to a claim.

Critical deadlines you can't afford to miss

• 10 days: If you fell on municipal property (such as a city sidewalk or road), written notice to the municipality under the Municipal Act, 2001.
• 60 days: If your fall was caused by snow or ice on private property, written notice to the occupier and any snow-removal contractor under section 6.1 of the Occupiers' Liability Act.
• 2 years: The general limitation period to start a lawsuit under the Limitations Act, 2002 (subject to the discoverability rule and extensions for minors or incapacity).

These deadlines are easy to miss because the short notice periods run while you are still recovering. Missing a required notice can bar an otherwise strong claim, though a court may excuse late notice in limited circumstances. If you are unsure which deadline applies to your fall, it is worth a free call sooner rather than later.

What your claim may be worth

No two falls are alike, and anyone who promises a figure before reviewing your case is not being straight with you. Compensation generally falls into two groups: pecuniary losses (those with a dollar figure, such as lost income, future care costs, and out-of-pocket expenses) and non-pecuniary damages (pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life). The value depends on the severity and permanence of your injuries, their effect on your work and daily life, and the strength of the evidence. A lawyer's job is to gather the medical and financial proof that establishes the full, true value of your claim.

How AK Lawyers handles slip/trip and fall claims

AK Lawyers (Antonov Kaganovich LLP) is a Toronto personal injury firm that acts only for injured people, not for property owners or their insurers. Here is how we approach a fall claim:

• We move quickly to preserve evidence, including sending notice within the short deadlines and requesting video and maintenance records before they are lost.
• We identify every responsible party, from the owner to a snow-removal contractor, so no source of recovery is missed.
• We prepare the file for court from day one. Most fall claims settle, but a defendant who knows the file is trial-ready tends to negotiate more seriously.
• You are not just a file. You'll have a clear point of contact and plain-language updates on your case.
• Contingency fees. You don't pay legal fees unless your claim succeeds. The fee is a percentage set out in a written contingency-fee agreement at the start, which also explains how disbursements (case expenses) are handled.

Serving Toronto & the Greater Toronto Area

Based in Toronto, AK Lawyers represents people injured in falls across Toronto and the surrounding GTA, including Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, and Scarborough. Falls happen in many places: store and restaurant floors, plaza and condo parking lots, apartment stairwells, and city sidewalks. Where a fall happens affects which rules and deadlines apply, which is one reason early advice helps.

Frequently asked questions