Vaturi & Cho LLP Highlights Winter Slip and Fall Notice Deadline

NORTH YORK, ON - September 27, 2026 -

Vaturi & Cho LLP, operating as VC Lawyers, is preparing for the recurring rise in winter premises liability claims across Toronto by reminding residents that Ontario's notice period for a snow or ice related fall can be as short as 10 days on municipal property, and 60 days elsewhere, far shorter than most people expect. The firm says early legal advice matters most in the weeks immediately following a fall, before either window closes.

Vaturi & Cho LLP provides slip and fall and premises liability claims representation for residents across Toronto, handling cases involving icy sidewalks and parking lots, wet floors, and defective stairs and handrails on both private and municipal property. Under Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act, anyone injured on snow or ice covered property has only 60 days from the date of the fall to provide written notice of the claim, compared with the general two-year limitation period most people assume applies. Where the fall happens on a municipal sidewalk or other municipal property, section 44(10) of the Municipal Act, 2001 sets an even shorter 10-day notice deadline. Missing either window can prevent a claim from proceeding at all, regardless of how strong the underlying case is.

Both notice periods apply specifically to claims connected to snow and ice on the relevant property, and disputes that proceed to litigation are heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Unlike many other personal injury claims, a fall on someone else's property can trigger one of these stricter deadlines well before a client has recovered enough to think about legal advice, which the firm says often catches people off guard.

The firm has represented clients across a range of premises liability scenarios, including falls on icy apartment walkways, in grocery store aisles, and on poorly lit stairwells, each of which can raise its own notice and evidence considerations depending on whether the property involved is municipal, commercial, or residential. In every scenario, the underlying risk is the same: a legitimate injury claim can be lost entirely if the applicable notice period passes before a claim is formally raised.

More detail on the notice requirements, along with the range of premises liability matters the firm handles, from icy sidewalk and parking lot falls to defective stairs and handrail cases, is set out on the firm's slip and fall page. Early contact allows the applicable notice period to be identified and addressed well before it passes, rather than only being raised once an insurer has responded to the claim.

Preserving evidence quickly can matter in these cases, since conditions such as ice accumulation, sidewalk maintenance records, or stairwell lighting can change or disappear within days of an incident. Photographs, incident reports, and witness details gathered soon after a fall often make a meaningful difference once a claim moves toward the applicable notice deadline.

For clients who cannot travel to the North York office while recovering from a fall, Vaturi & Cho LLP arranges independent medical assessments through assessors, therapists, and nurses who travel to the client instead, whether at home, in hospital, or elsewhere in Ontario. The firm says this arrangement is made case by case, so a client's mobility during recovery does not become an additional barrier to meeting a notice deadline.

"Year after year, we see slip and fall clients who don't realize how short the notice period can be for a claim involving snow or ice on someone else's property, as little as 10 days if the fall was on municipal property, or 60 days otherwise," said Jae Hyon Cho, Co-Managing Partner, Vaturi & Cho LLP. "Those windows can pass quickly while someone is still recovering from an injury, which is why we make a point of helping Toronto clients understand the deadline as early as possible after a fall."

Winter premises liability claims are a recurring pattern for the firm each year as snow and ice create the conditions behind falls across Toronto. Vaturi & Cho LLP says the pattern reinforces the value of seeking advice soon after a fall rather than waiting to see how an injury develops. The firm shares updates on matters like this on its Facebook page. Further information about slip and fall and premises liability claims is available on the firm's website.

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For more information about Vaturi & Cho LLP, contact the company here:

Vaturi & Cho LLP
Ingyu Kim
(416) 661-4529
ingyu@vclawyers.ca
1110 Finch Avenue West, Suite 310, North York, ON M3J 2T2