PEI Trip and Fall Lawyers

The evidence in a fall claim disappears within hours. People get up, say they are fine, and drive themselves to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with a wrist that turns out to be broken. By then the ice has been salted, the wet floor has dried, and the store’s camera has begun overwriting itself. A PEI trip and fall lawyer spends the first week recovering what those first hours lost, because a claim under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, RSPEI 1988, c O-2 is proven with evidence, not with the fact of the fall.

The Act Puts the Duty on Whoever Controls the Premises, and Records Prove the Breach

Whoever controls the premises must take the care that is reasonable in the circumstances to see that a visitor is reasonably safe. That reaches the owner, the tenant who runs the business, the property manager and, through their contract, the company that plows the lot. Proof is the maintenance log the occupier keeps, the contractor’s service records, Environment Canada’s data for the hour, photographs of the ice or pavement, and a preservation letter for the surveillance sent before it is gone. Without that, the case is your word against a well-documented snow-clearing schedule.

Two Years to Sue, and Weeks to Give a City Notice

The Statute of Limitations, RSPEI 1988, c S-7 gives two years from the fall. A fall on a City of Charlottetown or City of Summerside sidewalk has a second, much shorter rule. Written notice of the claim has to reach the municipality within weeks, and the city will move to dismiss a claim that missed it. If you fell on public property, say so on the first call and the letter goes out that day.

What a PEI Trip and Fall Lawyer Claims, and What Is Argued Against It

Fractures of the wrist, hip and ankle, torn rotator cuffs, concussions and disc injuries are the pattern. Damages cover pain and suffering, income lost while you could not work, the care and help you needed, and out-of-pocket costs. Health PEI recovers its expenses inside the claim. The defence in every fall case is that you should have looked where you were going or worn different boots. Where the occupier proves it, the court reduces the award by a percentage. It is rarely proven against a person who fell on unsalted ice in a plaza that had been open for hours.

A Modest Injury Goes to Small Claims and a Surgical One to the Supreme Court

A modest injury can go to the Small Claims Section. A fracture that needed surgery goes to the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. There the occupier’s maintenance practices are examined on discovery, and that is where most of these cases are decided. The Charlottetown office runs Island fall claims.

I Did Not Report the Fall to the Store.

Report it now, in writing, and see a doctor so the injury is dated. Late reporting hurts. Not reporting at all hurts more.

The Plaza Blames Its Snow Contractor.

We sue both, and their contract decides who pays in the end. It does not decide whether you get paid.

It Happened at a Relative’s House.

The claim is on their home insurance under the Act. The insurer pays, and the relationship is not the defendant.

How Long Until It Settles?

A fracture that heals cleanly settles in a year to eighteen months. An injury that needs surgery or leaves a permanent limitation takes longer, because a settlement is final and the future has to be known first.

The firm’s guide to slip and fall claims on PEI covers the evidence in more detail. Results are on the results page. Other claim types are under injury law areas.

No Fee Unless the Claim Resolves

The first call is free and a lawyer takes it. There is no fee unless the claim resolves. The Charlottetown office opens the file. Contact the firm, or read what the firm can do.