The following blog post was created by Toronto slip and fall lawyer, Mark Yazdani. For additional information about slip and fall law in Ontario, visit www.slipfall.ca.

The Hibberd v. William Osler Health Centre slip & fall court decision was released by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on February 13, 2009.

Dr. Jennifer Hibberd, a highly regarded pediatric dental surgeon, was scheduled to perform surgeries on 6 patients on the day of May 26, 2003 at the William Osler Health Centre hospital in Toronto. In between surgeries, she was walking down a corridor when suddenly her legs went out from underneath her and she fell to the ground. As she put out her left arm to break the fall, she broke her left wrist. The floor had just been mopped by a hospital janitor.

Dr. Hibberd’s wrist was repositioned and put in a soft, temporary cast. Immediately following her fall and for a week thereafter, she was in extreme discomfort. Thereafter, she continued to suffer intermittent pain. She was not able to perform surgery and other procedures requiring the use of her left hand for a period of two to three months. By January 2004, she had resumed her practice full time, although she experienced soreness in her wrist from time to time.

Dr. Hibberd hired Toronto personal injury lawyers and sued the William Osler Health Centre hospital and the janitor for damages as result of her slip and fall accident.

At trial, the hospital argued that it should not be liable as it had established and implemented reasonable policies and procedures for maintenance and cleaning. After reviewing the evidence, the court agreed that the hospital did have a comprehensive and thorough system of maintenance. However, on the day in question, the janitor had failed to place a “wet floor” sign in the area where he was working at the time of Dr. Hibberd’s fall. Thus, the court found that the hospital breached its duty to take reasonable care to ensure that persons such as Dr. Hibberd were safe on its premises.

The court also rejected the defence’s argument that Dr. Hibberd herself was negligent for walking too fast, failing to keep a proper lookout, and wearing improper footwear (surgical booties) at the time of her fall.

The court awarded Dr. Hibberd the following damages:

• $ 25,000.00 – general damages for pain and suffering
• $132,246 – past loss of income
• $100,000 – future loss of income
• $3,456.55 – out-of-pocket costs

Do you have a similar case? We can find you a top slip & fall lawyer in your area.