Slippery sidewalk lawsuit nets woman $132K payout from City of Montreal
Superior Court judge finds city negligent in failing to put abrasives on sidewalk
A 58-year-old nurse has been awarded $132,000 from the City of Montreal after she slipped on an icy city sidewalk while walking her dog and broke her wrist.
Superior Court Judge Suzanne Courchesne ruled last week that the city failed to properly apply abrasives to an ice-covered sidewalk.
Court documents show that on January 5, 2012, Gertrude Forstinger was walking on Lasalle Boulevard. She stopped for brief chat with a neighbour then continued.
A few steps later, Forstinger hit an icy patch and fell down hard, breaking her wrist. Her neighbour witnessed the fall, and her husband later photographed the sidewalk in that area.
Forstinger testified the entire sidewalk was covered in a thin sheet of ice and there was no salt or abrasives applied. The court found that she was walking at a reasonable speed and that her dog was well-trained and had not pulled her down.
Court documents show the city hadn't laid abrasives on that part of the sidewalk for at least 48 hours before Forstinger fell, despite a wind chill of -27 C.
Courchesne ruled, given the weather conditions, the city's level of inspection and maintenance of the sidewalk was "inadequate and insufficient".
She ordered the city to pay Forstinger compensation for damages and lost wages.