Make a Claim

You can file a claim against the City of Cornwall if the City has been negligent in its maintenance of facilities, roads, trees and sewers, which has led to bodily injury or damage to your property. If the City did not exercise a reasonable standard of care, the City may be found to be negligent. If so, the City will try to resolve your claim.

Submitting a claim is a legal process. We investigate and evaluate each claim based on the City’s legal responsibility and liability. Any compensation paid to you will be based on proof of damage as a result of negligence. If the City did exercise a reasonable standard of care, your claim will be denied.

Submitting a claim

If you choose to submit a claim against the City, you must outline why you believe the City is responsible for your accident and provide proof of your damages. The City will investigate to find out if it met its obligations.

You must submit a written notice of your claim as soon as possible. The Municipal Act states that a person must place the City on notice within 10 days from the date of an occurrence. Even if you first contact Risk Management by phone, you must put your claim in writing. Remember to include all of the information that the City will need to process and assess your claim.

Please complete the Notice of Claim form. You can either email us your notice or mail it to:

City of Cornwall
Attn: Risk Management
100 Water St E, Suite 104
Cornwall ON K6H 5T9

Your claim will need to include:

Your contact information, including your name, home address, phone number and email address
A description of the incident, what caused the property damage or the injury, with specific details about what happened, where and when
Contact information for any witnesses or anyone with information that could help the City understand what happened
Documentation that supports your claim (e.g., photos, drawings, etc.)
Details of the damage or injury, if these are available
If you are making a claim for property damage, you should include any receipts for the property and at least two estimates of the cost of repairs

Risk Management will investigate your claim and send you a written reply to let you know your claim has been received. We will make a decision when all of the information has been reviewed. You will be advised as quickly as possible.

Our investigation may include:

An on-site visit by employees or an adjuster
Getting internal and external documentation
Speaking to employees and/or contractors who may have some knowledge of the incident

Before you start

Any damage to your property can be upsetting and disruptive. It's important to note that the City of Cornwall is not your insurer.

Your first call should be to your insurer

Your own home or auto insurance is designed for this. They can often help faster, and if they think the City is responsible, they will pursue us directly on your behalf.

When is the City liable?

The City can only pay for damages if it’s proven we were at fault due to negligence, like failing to fix a known hazard. We do not pay claims simply to avoid legal costs. This careful approach helps keep costs down for all taxpayers.

Types of claims

Please review the different claims that you can make to the City.

Pothole and road hazard claims

If your vehicle was damaged by a pothole or road hazard, you should:

Have a licensed automobile mechanic inspect the damage
Not continue to drive your vehicle if it is not operating properly
Notify the City of the exact location of the pothole/hazard for any needed repair work
Document your damages with photographs, original invoices and bills of sale

If you believe the damage will exceed your deductible, contact your insurance company for assistance.

To report a pothole or other road hazard, please call 613-932-5354 ext. 5354. This line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Potholes

Cornwall’s roads face harsh winters. The constant freezing and thawing, combined with heavy traffic, leads to potholes. We work on potholes year-round and schedule larger road repairs to keep traffic moving smoothly. These potholes can damage tires, wheels and sometimes even suspension. The Municipal Act sets the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (MMS) that the City has to follow to avoid claims for such damage.

After we have become aware of the problem, the standards require the City to fix a pothole within 4 days and 30 days. This can depend on the size of the pothole and whether it is on a paved or an unpaved road. When the City gets a pothole claim, we will investigate whether the MMS were met. If the City met those standards, the City is not responsible.

Road Hazards

A municipality that has jurisdiction over a road is responsible for cleaning up debris in reasonable time. The City is regulated under Ontario Regulations (O. Reg. 239/02, s. 9 (2); O. Reg. 47/13, s. 9) which states:

Debris

9. (1) If there is debris on a roadway, the minimum standard is to deploy resources, as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the fact, to remove the debris. O. Reg. 239/02, s. 9 (1).

(2) In this section, “debris” means any material (except snow, slush or ice) or object on a roadway,

(a) that is not an integral part of the roadway or has not been intentionally placed on the roadway by a municipality, and

(b) that is reasonably likely to cause damage to a motor vehicle or to injure a person in a motor vehicle. O. Reg. 239/02, s. 9 (2); O. Reg. 47/13, s. 9.

Flood claims

To make a flood claim, you must show that the City was negligent, either in the design, construction or the maintenance of the sewer or watermain. Even when technology improves or our understanding of weather changes, the law doesn't require the City to rebuild its older sewer systems to meet every new standard. Updating an entire community’s pipes can be extremely costly or sometimes physically impossible.

Please note that the City will not be responsible for property damage if the City has met installation and maintenance standards for its water and sewage systems.

Installation

Installation of water or sewer service was completed with the engineering practices that prevailed at the time.

Maintenance

The City maintains a proactive system to care for and quickly respond to issues with our water and sewer infrastructure. It's important to know that many pipe breaks and sewer backups are caused by severe weather, not maintenance issues.

Key weather impacts:

Winter pressure: Freezing and thawing ground can crack water pipes
Storm overload: Heavy downpours can exceed the sewer system's design capacity, leading to backups

Sewer back-ups

As a homeowner, you are responsible for maintaining and repairing the entire sewer pipe (lateral) that connects your property to the City's main sewer line as per By-law 001-2000. You can view our Sewer Lateral Policy for more information.

Common causes of backups:

A clogged or damaged private lateral
Intense rain or spring snowmelt can overwhelm the system

Protecting your property

You can help reduce weather-related risks by ensuring proper lot grading, directing downspouts away from your foundation, and considering flood-proofing devices.

Fallen tree and branch claims

The City owns many trees, and branches can fall, especially during storms. The City is not responsible for damage caused by fallen trees or limbs during a storm event.

When you file a claim, we investigate the tree's history. The City is only responsible if we were aware of a specific hazard, like a rotting limb, and failed to take reasonable steps to address it.

Claims involving private contractors

The City uses private contractors for services like construction, snow plowing and garbage collection. Our contracts require contractors to handle any claims for damage they cause.

If a contractor damages your property, you have two options:

File your claim directly with the contractor
Submit it to the City's Risk Management Department

If you file with the City, we will forward your claim to the contractor, notify you and ensure they contact you. The contractor is responsible for investigating and resolving the claim with you. If you disagree with the contractor's decision, contact the City. We can help clarify the reason for a denial, but we cannot force the contractor to pay.

Make sure that you:

Document everything: Note the date, time, location, and cause of damage. Identify the company or equipment involved

Contact your insurance first: Your insurer may cover the damage and handle the claim process for you, which is often the fastest solution

Slips, trips and falls

If you're injured on City property in Cornwall, you must notify the City in writing of a personal injury claim within 10 days of the accident. The City is liable if the road or sidewalk was in a "state of non-repair." The City is not liable unless you can prove it was grossly negligent, which is a high standard, in snow and ice clearing.