Alleging negligence, a Guelph man and his wife are suing the City of Guelph and others for $1.1 million following a sidewalk slip and fall that resulted in “severe and permanent injuries.”
“The plaintiff's enjoyment of life has been lessened. These injuries were accompanied by great pain, suffering and profound shock,” says the statement of claim in a recently filed lawsuit. “As well, the plaintiff incurred medical, hospital and other out-of-pocket expenses.”
None of the allegations have been tested or proven in court and no statements of defense have been filed in the case.
A spokesperson for the City of Guelph declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is its standard practice for matters before the court.
Also named in the statement of claim is a condominium board, property management company and landscaping firm.
As described in the statement of claim, on Feb. 26 of 2021 a man stepped around a “large mound of accumulated snow that had ostensibly been created by the defendants during snow-clearing operations” – moving from private property onto an unlit Colonial Drive sidewalk.
In doing so, he slipped on a patch of ice created by meltwater flow onto the sidewalk that froze, “creating a nuisance and state of danger” for pedestrians.
At the time, the sidewalk was allegedly unlit but the lawsuit doesn’t indicate what time of day the incident happened or what level of lighting existed in the area.
The plaintiff “fell hard onto the frozen ground,” resulting in a spiral fracture to his left leg, injuries to his back and left hip, along with the tearing and straining of muscles and ligaments.
“The sidewalk which was covered in a large accumulation of ice constituted a concealed and/or hidden danger to all persons in the area,” the lawsuit claims, adding the city knew or ought to have known about the potential for ice buildup in that location and “failed to take any reasonable care to see that the plaintiff would be reasonably safe in using the sidewalk.”
