Steveston Harbour Authority (SHA) is the occupier of the wharf and docks where fishing boats sell seafood to tourists in Steveston, Richmond, BC. The entrance to the wharf is pictured above.

One sunny day in late September 2018, Mrs, Wright, a 68-year old retiree from New Westminster, BC, was visiting the Steveston wharf with her husband Mr. Wrong. They had visited the wharf many times in the past. They decided to walk down the steps to the wharf to buy some freshly caught seafood.

Once they were down on the wharf, Mrs. Wright kept walking while reading a warning sign on a pole telling people not to feed the sealions and seals that sometimes hang around nearby in the water. As she was reading the sign, she slipped and fell on the wharf. It turns out that there was some spilled oil from one of the fishing boats on the wharf walkway. It is not possible to tell which fishing boat the oil came from.

Mrs. Wright suffered a broken leg and hip, and was hospitalized for a week.

SHA has a policy for maintaining safety on the wharf. This includes workers passing by every 15 minutes to check to make sure the walkway is safe. Staff are instructed to clean up any mess as soon as they see it. According employee log records, on the day Mrs. Wright was injured, a worker had just done a walk-around on the wharf two minutes before Mrs. Wright fell. At that time, there were no oil spills.

Today, Mrs. Wright still suffers some aches and pains from her fall, and has recently decided she should consider suing SHA.

You are a friend of Mrs. Wright. She knows you are studying Business Law, and has come to you for advice today about her incident at the wharf in Steveston. Discuss whether Mrs. Wright will be successful in her negligence claim against the SHA. Make sure your answer includes an explanation and application of all the elements of negligence, and any relevant defences that SHA could raise in case Mrs. Wright is successful in her negligence claim

Answer in IRAC method