Are you planning a family outing in a park and your child gets injured while playing on the facilities on the field? Decide to take a bike ride and fall because of a crack on the bike path? A civil liability remedy may be available to you, provided that you are able to prove three elements: a prejudice, a fault committed by the city or municipality, as well as a causal link between its two items.
The city is of course responsible for any facility or work it owns, including municipal parks. It must therefore ensure that they are set up as safely as possible in order to avoid exposing users to situations that could prove dangerous.
So when you or a family member suffers harm by frequenting or using municipal infrastructure such as parks or roads, it is possible to turn against the city in order to obtain compensation for the damage suffered.
Mr. Lambert explains, using examples from case law, the various types of situations that could result from prosecutions.
Accident caused by breakage or poor maintenance of an installation
First, the city will be required to repair any damage caused by the ruin or lack of maintenance of the buildings belonging to them. It will therefore be held responsible if, for example, you fall because of a broken fence or if you injure yourself because of a poorly maintained iron pole.
First of all, the Tribunal will question the existence of a fault on the part of the city. The latter can take different forms.
For example, in one case, Ms. Lapierre was walking in a park in the town of Jonquière when she fell, at the entrance, on a wire that was used to stretch the fence. Indeed, the evidence shows that it had been vandalized for several years and that the city, due to a lack of a maintenance program, had not taken the necessary steps to repair it. Indeed, the defendant relied only on the complaints and denunciations of citizens in order to repair their facilities. No inspection program was in place at the time of the accident, which led the court to conclude that the municipality had acted negligently.
To succeed in his prosecution, it is also essential to convince the judge that a causal link exists between the harm and the damage. To do so, the Tribunal will question the predictability of the accident in order to assess whether the city has really taken sufficient precautions to reduce the risk of harm. The city is not required to anticipate all possible situations as well as all types of accidents. Thus, in another case also dealing with damage caused by vandalism, the Court concluded that a municipality is not obliged to provide for the malevolence of third parties.
It is therefore important to note that in Ms. Lapierre’s case, it was mainly the time factor that allowed her to win her case. That is, the city had failed in its duty of maintenance for years, a period that the Court found to be unreasonably long.
Accident caused by vegetation and trees
The city is also responsible for maintaining the plantations that end up on its parks so that they do not cause any harm to users.
Moreover, in one case, the Court ordered the city of Repentigny to reimburse all the damages suffered by Ms. Sylvestre while she was walking in a park belonging to the municipality. The plaintiff allegedly stumbled upon a metal brooch camouflaged by grass and vegetation that the city had failed to mow.
In cases like this, not only does the city have a duty to maintain, but it must also ensure that the type of vegetation it chooses to plant does not cause any danger or trap for citizens who frequent the parks.
In fact, in another case, the Superior Court ordered the city of Saint-Laurent to reimburse in full the damage caused to a child’s eye by a hawthorn (a shrub with thorns hidden by leaves). As a result, the judge determined that the city conducted itself unreasonably by planting such a shrub so close to a playground.
Accident on a bike path
The obligation that a city has to maintain public roads such as bicycle paths is an obligation of means. That is, the municipality must act reasonably and diligently to avoid accidents that an informed cyclist cannot foresee.
Therefore, cracks on bike paths can be a fault on the part of the city if it results from a flagrant lack of maintenance. The conditions of application of this remedy are similar to the one we describe in our article concerning accidents caused by potholes.
However, it is important to keep in mind that a cyclist, in order to reduce his risk of harm, cannot afford to constantly keep his eyes on the road. This is why the Tribunal may on occasion conclude that the crack represented a trap, and therefore a surprise for which the cyclist could not adequately prepare as illustrated in a Court of Québec case.
Negligence in the development of the bike path can also represent a fault on the part of the city. It is in this vein that the Superior Court ruled in favour of Ms. Bouchard, a cyclist who fell because of a barrier used to prevent cars from entering the bike path. In fact, the judge found that the municipality in question breached its obligation by not leaving sufficient space between the concrete blocks to allow a diligent cyclist to sneak in.
Avoid sharing responsibility
If you are walking in a park with which you are not familiar, it is advisable to move at a reasonable speed, which will allow you, if ever there is one, to clearly identify the risks of danger.
If you are with your children, it is very important not to lose sight of them and to monitor them well. After all, you are better experienced than them in identifying and anticipating the risks of accidents.
If you are on a bike, it is best that you are well equipped. For example, wearing a helmet is strongly recommended to reduce your risk of damage. It should also be remembered that cycling, like any other sporting activity, already includes several risks of accidents that are often caused only by the very practice of this sport. For more information on this subject, you can read our article explaining the notion of acceptance of risks related to recreational activities.
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