In the recent case of Brown v. Marriott, Ontario's
Superior Court provided further guidance on the obligation of
occupiers to take reasonable measures to ensure persons entering on
premises are reasonably safe.
The facts were not in dispute and when they are reviewed, it is
clear (perhaps only in hindsight) that the writing was on the
wall.
Briefly, the plaintiff slipped on a recently mopped floor in a
hotel lobby and sustained injuries as a result. The entirety of the
accident circumstances, from the time the plaintiff entered the
premises until the fall, was captured on a security camera. The
court noted that the plaintiff was in no particular rush. The
existence of an entirely documented sequence makes this case unique
given that security camera tape is often incomplete, usually
providing fragments of the circumstances of an incident. The video
depicted the plaintiff entering the lobby and speaking with a guest
services representative of hotel. While that
