The plaintiff slipped on ice in a mall parking lot and fractured her elbow. She returned to work as a school bus driver nine months later. She sued the mall property manager and the contractor responsible for winter maintenance in the parking lot for damages. Following a trial, Justice Doyle found that the defendant winter maintenance contractor was negligent in failing to apply salt to the lot before 7:00 a.m., when many patrons first arrived at the mall for coffee and walking. The plaintiff slipped and fell before 8:00 a.m., and while salt was applied shortly before her arrival, there was not sufficient time for it to activate and melt the ice. The plaintiff was held 25% contributorily negligent despite wearing new winter footwear, not carrying many objects, and not moving in a hurry. With respect to contributory negligence the court reasoned that she was well aware of the conditions outside and did not take special precautions despite her experience with the winter conditions that morning. The plaintiff was awarded damages as follows (prior to the contributory negligence reduction): $50,000 in general damages; $10,000 for housekeeping; $10,345 for past loss of income; $0 for future loss of income; and $6,000 for future care. With respect to damages, Justice Doyle was critical of the plaintiff’s failure to mitigate her damages by not pursuing further available treatment and not seeking alternative seasonal employment in the summer.
Menu