To hold a commercial snow removal company liable for a slip and fall lawsuit in Ontario, you must prove they breached their service contract or acted negligently. You generally file a Third-Party Claim at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where the basic filing fee is currently $243 CAD.
Owning commercial property in Canada comes with significant legal responsibilities, particularly during the harsh winter months. Under Ontario’s Occupiers’ Liability Act, landlords and business owners have a duty of care to ensure their premises are reasonably safe for visitors. When an icy parking lot leads to a customer injury, the property owner is almost always the first target of a lawsuit.
To manage this risk, many corporate property owners hire commercial snow removal contractors. 📝 However, if the contractor fails to salt or plow according to the agreement, they leave you exposed to massive liability. If you are facing a slip and fall lawsuit in Toronto, Ottawa, or London, we highly recommend hiring a local business litigation lawyer from our directory to help shift the blame to the negligent contractor.
Step-by-Step Process for Suing a Snow Removal Company in Ontario
Transferring liability to your snow removal contractor is a formal legal procedure that must strictly follow the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure. The process generally involves pulling the contractor into the existing lawsuit rather than starting a completely separate case. Here are the steps most corporate defendants take.
Step 1: Reviewing the Service Contract and Indemnification Clauses
Your lawyer will begin by thoroughly examining your snow removal contract. 🔍 The most critical component is the indemnification clause, which legally requires the contractor to compensate you if their negligence results in a third-party claim. A well-drafted contract will also explicitly state the required response times and salt application thresholds.
Step 2: Gathering Weather and Maintenance Evidence
To prove a breach of contract, you need solid evidence that the contractor failed to meet their obligations on the day of the accident. This involves securing official Environment Canada weather reports for your specific city and cross-referencing them with the contractor’s logbooks. If their logs show they did not plow when snow accumulation exceeded the contract’s trigger limit, you have a strong argument.
Step 3: Issuing a Third-Party Claim
Once you are served with a Statement of Claim by the injured plaintiff, you typically have 20 days to file your Statement of Defence. 💼 At this time, you will also issue a Third-Party Claim against the snow removal company. This legal document formally brings the contractor into the lawsuit, stating that if you are found liable to the plaintiff, the contractor must reimburse you.
Step 4: Participating in Examinations for Discovery
After all pleadings are filed, the parties will engage in Examinations for Discovery. During this phase, lawyers for the plaintiff, your business, and the snow removal company will question each other’s representatives under oath. Your lawyer will focus on exposing the contractor’s inadequate training, staffing shortages, or failure to follow their own safety protocols.
Step 5: Pre-Trial Conference and Settlement
Most commercial liability disputes are resolved before a full trial. 💰 At a mandatory mediation or pre-trial conference, the snow removal company’s insurance provider may offer a settlement to the injured party, effectively clearing your business of the financial burden. If they refuse, the case will proceed to trial before an Ontario judge.
How Much Does it Cost in Ontario?
Defending a slip and fall claim while simultaneously suing a contractor can be financially demanding. However, a successful indemnification claim can recover many of these costs. Here are the typical expenses in CAD as of May 2026.
- Court Filing Fees: It costs exactly $243 CAD to issue a Third-Party Claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
- Corporate Lawyer Fees: Experienced commercial litigators generally charge between $350 and $800 CAD per hour.
- Expert Meteorologists: Hiring a weather expert to analyze local icing conditions usually costs $2,000 to $5,000 CAD.
- Indemnification Recovery: If successful, the contractor may be ordered to pay a portion of your legal costs and the entirety of the plaintiff’s damages.
Key Differences: Direct Liability vs. Vicarious Liability
| Feature | Direct Property Owner Liability | Contractor Breach of Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Who is at Fault? | The landlord failed to hire a contractor or notice obvious dangers. | The hired professional failed to perform their contracted duties. |
| Financial Impact | Paid directly by the property owner’s commercial insurance. | Shifted to the snow removal company’s commercial liability insurance. |
| Primary Legal Standard | The Occupiers’ Liability Act. | Breach of contract and common law negligence. |
How Long Does the Process Take?
Commercial litigation in Ontario is notoriously slow. From the moment the injured party files their initial lawsuit, it generally takes 2 to 4 years to reach a trial. However, cases with clear indemnification clauses are often settled by insurance companies within 12 to 18 months.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What if our snow removal contract was just a verbal agreement?
Verbal contracts are legally binding in Ontario, but they are much harder to prove in court. You will have to rely heavily on past invoices, email correspondence, and regular habits to establish what the contractor’s duties were.
Does the contractor’s insurance cover my business automatically?
Not necessarily. A well-drafted contract should require the contractor to name your corporation as an additional insured on their policy. If this was not done, you must sue them directly for breach of contract to access their funds.
Can we just ignore the plaintiff’s lawsuit if it is the contractor’s fault?
Absolutely not. If you ignore a Statement of Claim, the court will issue a default judgment against your property. You must file a Statement of Defence and actively pull the contractor into the case.
Are there statutory deadlines for slip and fall claims?
Yes. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, a person injured by snow or ice on private property must provide written notice of the claim within 60 days of the incident, with the formal lawsuit filed within the standard 2-year limitation period.
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