What is the test for negligence in a case where a pedestrian tripped and fell on crumbling concrete part of a roadway median?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Wickham v. Cineplex Inc., 2014 BCSC 850 (CanLII):

The defendant relies on Lane v. Regina (City), 2007 SKQB 414. There, the plaintiff suffered injuries when he tripped and fell on the crumbling concrete part of a median that divided the east and west bound lanes of College Avenue in Regina. Hrabinsky J. dismissed the claim and said, at paras. 32-33: In the case before me, I find that the median was in a reasonable state of repair given its character and location. This median is a device to control traffic and any minor wearing of the concrete or paving stones did not detract from that purpose. I find that the defendant did not know nor should the defendant have known of the disrepair if there be any disrepair. I find that even if the traffic median where the accident occurred was meant to be walked on by pedestrians, a pedestrian could safely cross the median if he or she exercised reasonable care. My conclusion is reinforced by the plaintiff’s evidence that on most days when the weather was nice, he would walk the same route, sometimes crossing College Avenue on the west side and sometimes on the east side, without any problems in relation to the curbing where he fell on July 24, 2002. The plaintiff was well aware of the condition of the area where the accident occurred. He had traversed this section of the median on a number of occasions prior to the date of the accident. He had alternatives in that he could have crossed the street and walked in the area marked as a pedestrian crosswalk. Further, the defendant had received no complaints about this median in the eight years prior to the plaintiff’s accident, and there were no other reported incidents of injury.

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