December 2023
Each year there seems to be a smaller pool of contractors available for clearing snow. Those available are charging more for their services.
Snow and ice contractors are finding the cost of insurance to be prohibitively expensive with annual increases ranging from 25 percent to 600 percent. Many are leaving the industry.
A growing number of slip-and-fall claims stand out among the reasons for this. Fewer insurers are prepared to provide coverage for these claims. Ontario law makes snow and ice contractors at fault if someone is injured from a slip-and-fall. The cost to fight these claims is so high that insurance companies are more likely to settle them prior to trial rather than fight false claims.
High-rise condominium buildings are the riskiest clients for snow and ice contractors in terms of frequency of claims. Their numbers are higher than even some larger retail operations.
A condo owner suing the corporation, or contractor, over a slip-and-fall is essentially suing themselves. Condo fees increase to cover the higher cost of dealing with snow, ice and water on the property. This includes the rising cost of insurance coverage for contractors.
Slip-and-fall claims can be filed up to two years from the event. With so much time passing from the event to the legal action, individuals have difficulty providing details such as weather, amount of salt used and footwear worn. Frivolous claims are more difficult to defend against. Many contractors don’t maintain this level of documentation, or maintain records for this period of time.
Claims may be decided by the amount of salt used. More is better to provide traction. Yet excessive salt damages condo buildings thus increasing cleaning and repair costs. It damages cars, underground garages and landscaping. It is damaging to the environment and our health yet cannot be reduced in high-rise communities without greater exposure to slip-and-fall litigation.
Contingency lawyers, who offer free representation for these claims, contribute to their increasing volume and cost. It can be more economical to settle a claim for $30,000 or more than it is to defend against and win.
Smaller snow and ice contractors are leaving the industry, with only the larger and more expensive services remaining for high-rise communities to consider. The legal liability for slip-and-falls is so high that condominium communities are unwilling to accept liability by having their own employees do some of this work.
