Slip and Fall Lawyer North York

A serious fall can happen in a second and change your life for months. In North York — one of Toronto’s largest and most densely built communities — slip and fall injuries are common on icy parking lots, unsalted condominium walkways, wet store floors and poorly maintained stairwells. When a property owner’s carelessness causes the fall, Ontario law gives you the right to compensation. As a North York firm based at 4580 Dufferin Street, Kanevsky Law helps injured residents hold occupiers accountable and recover what they are truly owed.

When a North York property owner is responsible

Slip and fall claims in Ontario fall under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, which requires anyone who controls a property — a store, a landlord, a condominium corporation, a business or their maintenance contractor — to take reasonable care to keep it safe for visitors. You may have a claim if your fall was caused by:

• Ice and snow that was not cleared or salted within a reasonable time — the most common cause of winter falls in North York.
• Wet or recently washed floors in a store or restaurant with no warning sign.
• Broken or uneven stairs, sidewalks or flooring.
• Poor lighting in stairwells, parking garages and entrances.
• Unmarked hazards or obstructions in a walkway.

The test is whether the occupier took reasonable care — not whether the property was perfect. Proving they fell short is where evidence and experience matter.

The 60-day deadline that catches people off guard

If your fall involved snow or ice, a 2021 amendment to the Occupiers’ Liability Act requires you to give written notice within 60 days to the occupier and any maintenance contractor, or you can lose the right to sue entirely. Falls on City of Toronto property — a public sidewalk, for example — carry an even shorter 10-day notice rule. A separate two-year limitation period applies to starting a lawsuit. These deadlines run from the date of the fall regardless of how serious the injury turns out to be, so the single most valuable step after a winter fall is to get advice quickly. Our guide to ice slip-and-fall liability explains the rule in detail.

What your North York slip and fall claim may be worth

Value depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, your income loss, and your future care needs. A fracture that heals may resolve in the tens of thousands; a serious injury requiring surgery and leaving lasting limitation can reach well into six figures; and a catastrophic injury can be worth far more. Ontario also applies a statutory deductible — in the mid-to-high $40,000s and indexed every year — to smaller pain-and-suffering awards, which is one more reason not to accept an insurer’s first, low offer. For realistic ranges, see our guide to slip and fall settlement amounts in Ontario, and to understand the merits of a claim, read suing for a slip and fall: do you have a case?

How shared fault affects your claim

Insurers almost always argue that you were partly to blame — your footwear, your attention, an “obvious” hazard. Ontario uses contributory negligence, which means your compensation is reduced by your share of responsibility rather than barred outright. If you are found 20 per cent at fault, your award is reduced by 20 per cent. A large part of our work is minimizing the fault attributed to you, using evidence about the condition of the property, the lighting, the warnings (or absence of them), and what a reasonable person would have done in the circumstances.

How we build a North York slip and fall case

Winning these claims is about proving two things: that the occupier failed to keep the premises reasonably safe, and the true extent of your injuries. Much of the key evidence disappears quickly — ice melts, spills are cleaned, maintenance logs are overwritten — so we move fast to secure the occupier’s maintenance and inspection records, weather data, photographs, incident reports and witness statements, and we document your injuries with the right medical specialists. Then we quantify your past and future income loss and care costs, and we refuse to let a lowball offer stand. We handle the entire claim so you can focus on recovery, and we work on a no win, no fee basis — nothing to pay unless we win.

What to do after a slip and fall in North York

The steps you take right after a fall have a real effect on both your health and your claim. Where you are able: report the fall to the store, landlord, property manager or business and ask that an incident report be made — and get a copy or the reference details. Photograph the hazard immediately, from several angles, before it is cleared or cleaned, along with the lighting and any missing warning signs. Note the exact location, date and time, and the names and contact details of any witnesses. Seek medical attention promptly, even if the pain seems manageable at first, because fractures and soft-tissue injuries often worsen over the following days and the medical record is what connects the injury to the fall. Keep the footwear you were wearing. And be careful about giving a recorded statement to the property’s insurer, or signing anything, before you understand your rights — a quick, free call with a lawyer first can protect your claim. What you should not do is assume that because a fall feels like “just an accident,” no one is responsible; whether an occupier met its legal duty is a question only a proper review can answer.

Serving all of North York

From Willowdale, Don Mills and Bayview Village to Downsview, Jane and Finch and the Yonge corridor, we help injured people across North York — in English, Russian or Ukrainian. If you or a loved one was hurt in a fall, our broader slip and fall practice and North York personal injury hub explain how we work. The first consultation is always free and confidential.