Lawsuits ice tobogganing in Greater Sudbury

Sliding down a snow-covered hill on a sled or toboggan is widely considered a wholesome, family friendly activity. The risks and dangers have generally been accepted and often ignored by children and their parents.

That is until someone gets hurt.

Local governments and municipalities are finding themselves at higher risks of liability claims year after year at "unofficial sliding hills" in various cities.

A growing number of cities in the U.S. and Canada are banning tobogganing on public property. In Ontario, a Toronto city bylaw forbids tobogganing in any area "where it is posted to prohibit it." The City of Hamilton has banned sledding in all city parks since 2001, while Ottawa has implemented bylaws that outline approved sledding hills across the city.

This year, the City of Greater Sudbury has implemented similar strategies, after a tobogganing accident left one man with a spinal injury at Queen's Athletic, and left the city with a lawsuit.

"There are no designated sliding hills in the city," said Réal Carré, director of Leisure Services for the City of Greater Sudbury, "Our risk management department has been assessing these incidents, and they found that our obligation is either we support these hills and offer proper resources and grooming to them, or we shut them down."

But even proper care and maintenance of hills can result in injury, and once litigation is in place, it becomes difficult for the city to deal with the risk surrounding the activity.

Precautions and safety measures have been put in place this winter at previously popular sliding hills, like the ones at Queen's Athletic or Bell Park. You will find snow fences and related signage posted in most locations that are officially closed for sledding.

"When these matters go to litigation, those are the battles the lawyers fight, and if it's on city property, we're vulnerable," said Carré. "It's incidents like the one at Queens (Athletic) that make us realize we need to take more serious action.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, more than 5,600 Canadians are seriously injured every year from winter activities. The study put out in 2012 stated that seasonal activities like ice skating, skiing and snowboarding, and tobogganing accounted for a total of 45,270 emergency department visits in Ontario, averaging to around 285 for every day of winter.

While the city's concern is preventable risk, the flip-side is personal responsibility. Many sledding accidents are caused by factors that could be seen as preventable. The City of Hamilton was found responsible and liable in 2013 for a man who suffered spinal injuries while tobogganing in 2004, despite the municipal ban having been in place since 2001. Similar cases in Edmonton and across various cities in the U.S. have been held legally liable for injuries despite measures taken for injury prevention, while some municipalities, such as Vaughan, have taken steps to make tobogganing safer by removing obstacles like trees from hills.

The City of Greater Sudbury will continue to monitor areas that are being used as "non-designated sliding areas," and determine necessary closures and signage.