The plaintiff tripped over a surface discontinuity on the sidewalk resulting in injuries
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a lawsuit against the Town of Ajax relating to a 2011 incident in which a plaintiff tripped and fell due to a sidewalk defect.
The court determined that the town successfully established a statutory defence under s. 44(3) of the Municipal Act, 2001, thereby negating liability for the accident. The incident occurred when the plaintiff was walking on Clements Road East and tripped over a surface discontinuity on the sidewalk in front of 38 Clements Road East.
The fall resulted in injuries, which led to legal action. Although damages and other claims were settled, the key issue for the court was whether the town could invoke any defences outlined in s. 44(3) of the Municipal Act.
The court found that the town had a system for annual sidewalk inspections between May and August. These inspections were typically carried out by summer students who marked areas needing maintenance using GPS devices. Despite this system, no prior reports indicated a significant surface discontinuity at the location of the plaintiff’s fall.
Dana Smith, a long-serving town employee, testified that the sidewalk in question was inspected in 2010, and only minor cracks were noted. These did not warrant immediate repair under the town's guidelines. Furthermore, the court found that the town did not know the specific discontinuity that led to the plaintiff’s fall before it was reported, which the court found crucial in considering the town's defence.
The Superior Court discussed the statutory defences available under s. 44(3) of the act, particularly focusing on whether the town had reasonable knowledge of the sidewalk's condition and had taken reasonable steps to prevent the accident. The court emphasized that the town had no actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard before the accident, which aligned with the reasonable knowledge defence.
Additionally, after the incident was reported, the court noted that the town acted promptly, contracting a company to repair the sidewalk within a week. The court noted that while the town’s procedures could have been more robust, especially concerning the documentation and training of the inspectors, these factors did not sufficiently prove negligence on the part of the town or its failure to meet the minimum standards of care required by law.
As a result, the court found that the Town of Ajax successfully established a statutory defence that absolved it from liability in this case. Accordingly, the court dismissed the action against the town.
