PREMISES LIABILITY CLAIMS
Premises liability claims are a sub-category of personal injury claims that arise when a person's injury is caused hazardous buildings or land.
The law in Nova Scotia requires property and business owners to take reasonable care to prevent people from being injured while on the premises. If a property or business owner knows of a potentially dangerous condition or hazard, then they are legally required to fix it or warn people about it. The law requires this because property and business owners are in the best position to know about and fix potential hazards.
The responsibilities and liability of property and business owners is set out in the Nova Scotia Occupiers' Liability Act.
If a property or business owner fails to take reasonable care to make their premises safe, or fails to fix potential safety hazards or at least warn people about them, then they are responsible to compensate anyone who is injured as a result.
Common premises liability cases involve: young children injured in swimming pools; slip and falls due to unmarked liquid spills; slip and falls on ice, falls from unsafe equipment or buildings; falling objects, trips over holes, uneven surfaces, or objects, and any other injury sustained due to a property or business owner’s negligence.