The Cerilli v. Ottawa decision was released by the Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa on December 5, 2006.

Assunta Cerilli, a 42-year old self-employed hairdresser, left her shop to walk to the bank. It was the morning of January 25, 2002 in Ottawa, and a little over five centimetres of snow had accumulated over the previous four days. The sidewalk on Preston Street was covered with snow and there were also patches of ice. As she was walking, she suddenly slipped and fell on the sidewalk and fractured her left ankle.

Ms. Cerilli was taken by ambulance to the Civic Hospital where two plates were inserted in the ankle held in place by fifteen screws. By the end of December 2002 she was had frequent pain over the left ankle and swelling in her ankle and leg, together with continuing tenderness over the scars. Furthermore she developed osteoarthritis in the left ankle.

Five months following the accident she attempted to return to her work as a hairdresser, but given her absence and the restrictions on her ability to stand and do hairdressing she lost many clients and was eventually forced to close her business in April 2004. She was no longer able to do meaningful exercise and her ability to do homemaking chores was restricted. September 2004 she found work with Scotiabank as a teller.

Ms. Cerilli hired an Ottawa personal injury lawyer and sued the City of Ottawa for damages as a result of her slip and fall.

According to the s. 44(9) of the Ontario Municipal Act, except in cases of gross negligence, a municipality is not liable for a personal injury caused by snow or ice on a sidewalk. At trial, an urban planning expert testified that according to Ottawa sidewalk maintenance documents, Preston Street was a business district and the city was required to scrape the sidewalk and apply continuous gritting when icy conditions developed.

The court found that the city officials responsible for winter maintenance knew that if icy conditions were permitted to exist pedestrians would be put at risk. In an attempt to save costs, the City made a conscious decision not to deploy a plow to scrape the sidewalk clean and lay down grit on Preston Street. As a result the City of Ottawa was found to be grossly negligent.

The court awarded Ms. Cerilli the following:

• General damages: $70,000
• Family Law Act damages: $5000
• Past loss of income: $32,100
• Future lost income: $80,000
• Future care costs: $38,800

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