Auto Liability - Transit Windsor	34	24	42	34	30
Bodily Injury-General	25	12	14	9	22
Total Claims	360	683	349	489	379

*Note: 401 claims relate to the September 29th, 2016 flooding event.

**Note: 15 claimsrelate to the August 28,2017 flooding event. Nine insurers/adjusters brought subrogated claims on behalf of 1615 addresses, and 6 individual homeowners made claims. The method of recording changed from 2016, wherein each address was entered as a claim.

In 2019, a total of 379 Claims were advanced against the City. All Claims received were investigated and have been, or will eventually be, either paid or denied, depending on whether the City bears liability.

Certain Claim categories, such as slip and fall claims and road condition claims are largely weather dependent. The more severe the winter or freeze-thaw cycles, the greater likelihood of slips on ice, potholes, and other weather related claims. While early 2019 brought some significant snow falls, overall winter conditions throughout 2019 were unremarkable. Slip and falls were in line with the historical range. Road condition claims were not as bad as 2018, but were still high by comparison to previous years. Road condition claims include allegations that fall within the following categories: manhole covered/uncovered, improperly maintained roads, improperly maintained road signs/lights, potholes. However, they are limited to property damage claims and do not include slip and falls, trip and falls, and other types of personal injury claims that arise from road conditions. The vast majority of the road condition claims are for vehicle repairs resulting from driving over potholes. Given the proliferation of potholes that arose in 2018, it is not surprising that 2019 also brought about a number of pothole claims. When potholes are filled, those are temporary repairs and the fill material pops out. Between new potholes being formed due to weather conditions and existing potholes losing their fill, it is expected that the number of pothole claims will climb unless we experience a prolonged period of mild winters while roads are being resurfaced.

The weather conditions that lead to the number of pothole claims in 2018 would have also contributed to shifting of City sidewalks. This could explain the slight increase in trip and fall claims experienced in 2019.

In 2019, Transit Windsor experienced a slight decrease in claims. Historically, riders would commonly allege that they were injured as a result of operators shutting the doors before they fully disembarked the bus. In 2019, there were no allegations in this regard. The presence of cameras on buses may deter patrons from bringing forward fabricated claims. The main allegations we continue to experience relate to individuals falling because the bus pulled out from the stop before they had a chance to sit. It is both the City and Transit’s position that it is not a requirement for all riders to be seated before the bus proceeds, and in 2019, Risk Management worked with Transit Windsor to update its training documentation to reflect this intent. Having a written record of this instruction assists in the defence of such claims.

The category called “Bodily Injury - General” is a catch-all for claims where the claimant alleges he or she was injured, but it does not fall within any of the other established