City payouts for injury, damage dropped to an 8-year low in 2019

City of Windsor payouts on personal injury and property damage claims totalled $2.1 million in 2019, the lowest number in eight years.

The total — for settlements as well as court decisions — was well below the $3 million budgeted for the hundreds of claims made each year against the city for everything from trip-and-falls, to falling tree limbs, to falling inside a city bus, to cars damaged by potholes.

“The claim payments are dropping, which was really good last year. But I don’t think it’s a pattern,” deputy city solicitor Dana Paladino said this week, referring to the 2019 Year End Risk Management Report, which tracks all the claims made against the city.

Last year, Windsor was hit with 379 claims, 87 of which were for road conditions (potholes mostly) and 80 for either trip-and-falls or slip-and-falls on city property including sidewalks and roads. That’s down from 2018 when Windsor had 489 claims and 2016 when there were a whopping 683. But these numbers fluctuate, said Paladino. And the payout is actually reflective of how many claims were filed two or three years previous, because that’s how long it takes for lawsuits to be resolved.

Payouts in 2016 (when they peaked at over $4 million) and 2017 (about $3.5 million) were quite high because of harsh winters in 2013 and 2014. Severe winters or more intense freeze-thaw cycles increase the likelihood of people slipping on ice and damaging their car suspensions on potholes, which leads to a spike in claims.

Bad conditions in 2018, for example, led to 185 pothole claims, about triple the number normally made.

“It really is a matter of luck and mother nature, combined with getting those programs in place (to prevent claims) and being more risk-aware,” said Paladino.

“To say that line is going to go down in 2020 ... I don’t think that would be the case. I think it’s going to fluctuate.”

The claims include both lawsuits as well as claims filed with the city. The city’s insurance policy, which costs $4.4 million annually, has a $250,000 deductible so all but the largest settlements are paid with taxpayer dollars.

Payouts for trip-and-falls dropped from 29 per cent of total payouts to 10 per cent. The city says it has been defending tripand-fall claims more aggressively since it beefed up its sidewalk inspection program.

“With a more defendable program, the city can leverage arguments in its favour to negotiate better settlements, or deny the claims outright,” the report says.

The Top 10 types of claims in 2019 were: road conditions, trip and falls, tree liability, independent contractors (when a claim is made against a company hired by the city), Transit Windsor claims, property damage, slip and falls, auto liability and bodily injury. Claims against police numbered 10 in 2019, up from six in 2018.

Trip-and-falls and slip-and-falls accounted for 38 per cent of the total payouts last year.

The city also makes claims against other parties as well as its own insurer, though the $250,000 deductible keeps those to a minimum.

Since 2014, the number of recoveries as well as the total money recovered has been on the rise, from $185,726 recovered from 73 parties in 2014, to $404,097 recovered from 158 parties in 2019.

A major claim that’s still in the works, is for the damage done to the docks at Lakeview Park Marina due to rising water levels last year. Replacing the docks with a floating dock system is underway at a cost of about $5.5 million. But it’s unknown how much of that — if any — will be covered by the city’s insurance.