Getting the Message Out

As personal injury lawyers one of the things we must do is try to reach the people who need our help. Marketing and advertising is a fine balance as here in Ontario we try to avoid the marketing hype that everyone is familiar with in the United States. One of the new advertising methods we at QTMG LLP are now using is bike rack advertising as we like to think this advertising also supports a healthy living lifestyle of riding one's bike to work etc.. In this photo we have Marc Quinn, partner at QTMG LLP, beside one of our newly installed bike racks in Ottawa, Ontario.

Bronson Avenue & Gladstone Update

A short while ago we blogged about the construction on Bronson Avenue in Ottawa. The construction caused significant traffic problems as entire sections and intersections became impassable. The City of Ottawa, partly in response to complaints, stepped up the pace of construction to allow more orderly flow of traffic. As a result the City of Ottawa has announced that the intersection of Bronson Avenue and Gladstone Avenue will open to east-west traffic starting at noon on Friday, August 31, 2012. Hopefully this will allow people to get a little closer to the area with their vehicles. As many of you know, the merchants on Bronson have been suffering terribly throughout this summer and there is a lot more construction to come. Note that access along Bronson Avenue during the construction is being maintained for pedestrians and wheelchair users. If you are able to patronize the businesses, especially during this time, it would be appreciated. Certainly the partners at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, are trying to take regular walks over to the area to support the local business owners.

How do I present my case?

As experienced counsel, the lawyers at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, are able to analyze and look at a particular set of facts and fairly quickly determine the strengths and weaknesses of a particular case. After such a long time of doing this work, the analysis is internalized, even automatic, and this initial impression of a case becomes the starting point for collecting evidence and building the details through self reports, medical reports, expert reports, witness accounts, and various records including financial documentation, receipts, tax returns and the like.The process for how a case is successfully built is sometimes glossed over in conversations with clients. Many clients simply want a win and a successful resolution of their claim and frankly are not interested in the mechanics of how the win is achieved. Hence, it was with pleasure that this writer recently met with a new client who indeed asked about all of the nuts and bolts of putting together a winning case. Meeting with this client got the writer to thinking about how important it is for clients to ask this question of their prospective lawyers. Any lawyer that you may be meeting for the first time should be able to confidently explain to you the legal process, in broad terms, within a few minutes. That lawyer should be able to respond to any question you have with confidence. Beyond outlining the legal process, the lawyer should also be able to explain how he or she plans to present your case so that you have the very best chance of succeeding. The manner of presentation, and deciding what will be presented, starts well before the trial.Determining how the case will be presented starts on the very first day of hiring the lawyer. From the notice letter to the person who caused the injury, to soliciting and obtaining reports, medical records, police reports, hiring an investigator, obtaining witness statements, expert reports and analysis, engaging case managers, and communicating with insurers and adjusters, all of these things factor immediately into the presentation of the case. How your case is presented, from the very first moment, will reflect the strength of your case, your determination to win, your preparation and willingness to commit financial resources to win. Weakness in any aspect of presentation will be picked up upon by insurances adjusters, insurance defence lawyers, mediators and Judges. And where weakness is detected there will be a push for you to compromise the value of your claim and quite frankly for you to take less than you would otherwise be entitled to.At QTMG LLP we are aware of the critical importance of presentation--from the very outset of any case. We believe that it is because of this awareness and our ability to explain it, draw a road map, and demonstrate the necessity of detailed preparation to our clients that we are so successful in our cases. It was a good experience again to have a client actually ask about the nuts and bolts of proving a case as the process of explaining it gave the client great comfort and it reinforced for this writer how a client who understands the purpose of the work is better able to contribute to the success of the case.

POLICE STATE ALERT--The City of Ottawa wants to search your house!

The lawyers and partners at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, live and work throughout Ottawa. For this reason we are all equally affected by the decisions of our municipal government and the laws that they propose to pass. With this in mind, it should not go unnoticed that the City of Ottawa is considering passing a law that would allow the City to enter your home, without a Court authorized warrant, to simply look around (sure, sure, the scope of the power will be limited--they will say). The City wants a by-law that would give City employees a "power of entry". Now, this power that they are looking for is being proposed in the context of a real problem that needs to be fixed---that is cross connected sewer-lines that instead of dumping household sanitary waste into the City sewer system, dumps it into the storm drain. Sewage that goes into the storm drain remains untreated and pollutes the environment. The City wants to give homeowners money to fix these problems, even though many of these problems were caused by do-it-yourself homeowners and lazy plumbers. Surely it makes sense to reward property owners with a monetary grant for their own incompetence or for hiring incompetent or lazy contractors. Apparently, the City wants the "power of entry" to deal with these problems. One particular City councillor is proposing this and we refer you to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, August 29, 2012, page C5, for details. Do you have a problem with the City being able to enter your home (not just onto your property outside), when they decide they want to take a look around? We certainly do and we object to any City of Ottawa employee having that power. The City says that getting a warrant or court authorized order is simply too expensive and time consuming. Maybe so, and thankfully it is difficult, expensive, and time consuming. It should never be easy for the City of Ottawa to enter our homes and root around in our cupboards. That being said, and as noted earlier, the issue giving rise to the City's desire to enter your home is cross connected sewers in about 50 (yes- fifty) houses. Perhaps, if the City considers it carefully, they will see that it isn't actually all that expensive or time consuming to get judicial sanction to enter a person's home given that it is their castle (you know, that quaint idea that as the owner you rule the roost, emperor of your own domain etc.). Here's our proposal to solve the problem while leaving you with as much privacy and control of your property to decide who sets foot in it as possible. Maybe, just maybe, most homeowners and citizens will recognize that cross connected sewers are indeed something that needs to be fixed. We suspect that most homeowners, if requested, would allow a sewage inspector (newly coined phrase) to enter their home, by appointment, on consent to look for a problem related to the sewer connections. No need for a big stick in those circumstances and no need to tell a homeowner "we're coming in whether you like it or not". For those home owners who say--"get lost City of Ottawa sewage inspector you're not coming in"---the City should provide that homeowner with a letter saying this is why we want into your home and here is our concern. If the refusal is maintained by the homeowner, the City should inform the homeowner that in the absence of their consent to inspect, that the City will apply to Court for Judicial authorization to enter the home. The homeowner should be served with the court application documents and (here's a crazy thought) be afforded the opportunity to dispute the City's desire to enter their house. The Judge hearing the City's application will ultimately decide if the City should have the right to enter a home (likely with a police escort) to do the work they seek to do. If the City wins, the City can ask the Court to order the homeowner to pay the costs of the legal proceeding that led to the order. A Judge can decide whether the homeowner was unreasonable in his refusal to cooperate with the City or not. If the refusal was unreasonable then the homeowner should be ordered to pay all of the costs associated with getting the Judicial authorization to enter the home. There is a counterbalance as well, if the Judge decides the City was wrongly demanding access to the home, the homeowner can be awarded her costs of resisting this intrusion of privacy. We think that proceeding in this way protects the interests of homeowners while at the same time giving the City the tools to fix the sewer problem without it costing the City any money. Under our proposal, the City only ends up out of pocket if it acts unreasonably or makes unreasonable demands of homeowners. Remember, what we are talking about here is not terrorism, not criminal activity, not organized crime. This is about the City of Ottawa entering the homes of law abiding homeowners, tenants, and ordinary citizens to inspect sewer lines. The sewer cross connections are not going anywhere, the evidence isn't going to be hidden, and the number of such homes is only 50 (yes fifty). Surely, this situation does not call for granting the City of Ottawa sewage inspector the sweeping power to enter under your roof without your okay, agreement or consent. This blog is an opinion piece and commentary of Michael K. E. Thiele and does not necessarily reflect the views of all of the lawyers at QTMG LLP.

Street Art: Rideau Street in Ottawa

As any Ottawa resident who travels Bank Street through the Glebe and Preston Street in Little Italy knows, the rebuilt street and sidewalks after crush of construction bring with it the installation of public art along the street. Certainly the example of the street art installations along the two mentioned streets is quite interesting and intriguing to look at though this writer prefers the statues along Preston Street to the sculptures on Bank that are fairly high above the street on poles. For public art, at street level, the work is fairly bold and inescapably will be in front of the users of the street on a regular basis. So, if you're the type of person who enjoys public art and you are a regular user of Rideau Street, Ottawa, you may wish to consider attended the Ottawa Public Library at 377 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario, on September 5, 2012 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to meet four shortlisted artists for the new public art that will be installed on Rideau Street. You will have an opportunity through this process to have your say about what you will see along Rideau Street for the years to come. At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, we take an interest in the street-scape as it can not be forgotten that the primary purpose of roads is still to provide a route for vehicles of all kinds. And while public art is nice, that art should not impact on the free flow of people nor distract drivers of all vehicles from safely traversing the road.

Which Courts are these?

Quizz: The photo here shows a Supreme Court of which province and in what Capital City?

Welcome Back University & College Students

As the summer ends, the lawyers at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, wish to welcome, and welcome back university and college students in the City. We count many students among our clients and we certainly have an interest in assisting any student in the area who needs our help. Respecting student safety the Ottawa Police, the City, and University officials are taking an active role. Starting next week, teams of officers, bylaw inspectors, representative from Action Sandy Hill and University of Ottawa and local councillors will be visiting areas with high student populations bringing them information about City bylaws and property standards. Take note that the Ottawa Police along with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario have a new program called Community Alcohol Safety and Enforcement program (CASE) that will augment on-going inspection/enforcement efforts.Many of the calls received at QTMG LLP at the beginning of the school year involve Landlord and Tenant law issues. Mr. Thiele, one of the founding partners of QTMG LLP, is a recognized authority in residential landlord and tenant law matters.At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP we are always pleased to speak with anyone in need of legal help. Our telephone consultations are free of charge.

IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY IN OTTAWA

As personal injury lawyers, you may imagine that the lawyers at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, receive many inquiries about different kinds of injuries caused in many different ways. A fairly common call relates to complaints about contaminated food at various restaurants and fast food outlets. The specifics of the complaints are far reaching, from finding foreign objects in food and drink to falling ill because of improper food preparation. How common are these problems? Common enough, as any google search will reveal instances of food borne illness stories in pretty much every local community along with national advisories and recalls being issued across the country by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Given these problems, the lawyers at QTMG LLP are reacting favourably to the City of Ottawa's announcement on August 20, 2012, that Ottawa Public Health is working to make eating out in Ottawa restaurants a safer experience. The focus of the initiative is greater information sharing that allows consumers to make informed choices as well as the ability for consumers to more easily report food safety concerns to the City. This will be accomplished through an upcoming web application designed specifically for that purpose. Aside from enhanced communication, the Ottawa Board of Health has also recently approved targeted safe food handler training that will increase the number of certified safe food handlers working in premises known to have a history of non-compliance with food safety regulations. The specific purpose will be to allow Ottawa Public Health to mitigate risks in these "at risk" establishments. The targeted program is complementary to the continuing promotion of voluntary training for all food handlers in Ottawa. For anyone interested in food safety in Ottawa restaurants you may wish to take a look at wwww.ottawa.ca/restaurantinspections

Ottawa--Digging into the past!

Transit in Ottawa holds a particular fascination for the lawyers at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa. As personal injury lawyers, we spend a significant amount of time looking at transit related accidents--from bus accidents, car accidents, motorcycle, trains and planes. The coming of Ottawa Light Rail Transit will inevitably cause injury to some people and when that happens the lawyers at Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP will be there to help the victims recover the compensation they deserve. In the mean time, the path to light rail transit in Ottawa is turning up some interesting things from the past. Items are being discovered in the archeological investigation at LeBreton Flats. The City of Ottawa is presenting these items to the public beginning on August 21, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. in the Festival Plaza at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. West, Ottawa. The City will have the lead resident archeologist from Golder Associates Ltd. on hand to showcase the various artifacts as well as to show present and historic pictures and maps of the excavated area at Lebreton Flats. It should be an interesting morning and we hope to be there as well.

BRONSON AVENUE RECONSTRUCTION

Perhaps the recent complaints in various media have made a difference. Bronson Avenue in Ottawa has been undergoing a complete reconstruction and has been impassable for months. The work includes replacement of water and sewer pipes as well as improvement of the street with the installation of a signalized crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety. The City of Ottawa has announced that the working hours on this project are now being extended to include Saturdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.. This will continue until December 2012. At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, we have taken note of the construction work on Bronson and are hopeful that this reconstruction work along with some design changes will result in a safer street. Bronson has become a heavily used and fast artery. As many others in the community using Bronson, it was apparent that entering Bronson from the side streets was increasingly difficult and certainly there seems to have been an increase of collisions between cars and bicycles. With this reconstruction and another signalized intersection we can hope that the street is becomes safer.

Traffic Accidents & Worst Intersections Ottawa

The City of Ottawa keeps and maintains statistics on road safety within the capital region. It releases these statistics to the public in an annual Road Safety Report published on the City's website. The Road Safety Report for 2011 was just released by the City. At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, the statistical information provided by reports such as this, are invaluable in determining the circumstances around motor vehicle accidents. As a personal injury law firm, the vast majority of our clients are involved in car accidents, motor cycle accidents, and in representing them it is necessary to determine how the accident happened and who is at fault for that accident. This recent report reveals that in Ottawa in 2011 there were 349 collisions at intersections that were controlled with signal lights. Of those accidents there were only 2 major accidents that required hospitalization of accident victims. Significantly, in 2011 there were no fatalities from any of these accidents. So where is the intersection with the most collisions? That would be Hunt Club Road and Riverside Drive with 53 collisions. That is 10 more than 2011. While not the highest number of accidents, the intersection of Belfast Road and St Laurent Boulevard produced the most accidents that required a person to attend hospital. Aside from the "intersection accidents" the report reveals that within the city limits of Ottawa, there were a total of 15295 accidents (a 2.3% increase from 2010). The sombering details reveal that of those accidents there were 25 deaths--9 drivers, 7 passengers, 1 motorcycle driver, 1 cyclist and 7 pedestrians. As these statistics reveal, road safety in Ottawa is something that still can be improved. The loss of life, the number of injuries, all of these reveal the need for greater vigilance and care on the City's roads.

QTMG PROFILES: Marc Quinn

Marc Quinn is an accomplished Ottawa lawyer soon to be graduating into the ranks of senior counsel. Senior counsel is a reference to his over 15 years of experience in the Ontario Courts. During this time Marc has developed powerful skills in his litigation practice representing individual clients from all walks of life. As a founding partner of Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, Marc was instrumental in the firm's shift from a general practice to a focused practice in personal injury law and insurance litigation. When called upon to explain the change in focus Marc explains that to him, the greatest power imbalances and hence the greatest injustices appeared to him in seeing an injury victim, a fire-loss claimant, or anyone for that matter trying to take on an insurance company or a big corporation. As anyone who has been in the legal system knows, the financial cost of going through the process is often enough to bankrupt a person well before any trial or resolution of a case by the Court. The unfairness in the system, the difficulty with access to justice, is what inspired Marc to change the direction of his lawfirm to focus on personal injury work---with the expectation that virtually 100% of the cases in the office be funded by the lawfirm itself. To Marc's mind, clients who have been seriously injured, can not and should not be expected to deplete their life savings paying a lawyer to chase a huge insurance company through the Courts. Accordingly, at QTMG LLP, the vast majority of all personal injury files are pursued on a contingency fee basis----a true contingency fee basis. This means that a client pays nothing--no fees, no taxes, no disbursements unless the money to pay these things is recovered through a lawsuit or settlement with the person who caused the injury in the first place. Marc's passion is his work, his law firm, and the people he helps. This frequently takes him away from his family, his two girls, and his many friends in the community. Marc's passion for helping regular people led him, several years ago, to pursue training in alternative dispute resolution in the family law context as well as mediation training at an advanced level for all types of conflicts. Being able to provide mediation services to people in conflict is another way for disputes to be resolved, hopefully early on, before the extreme expense of the Court system takes over. To that end, Marc is a Court Connected Roster mediator and makes his services available at reduced hourly rates for mediation. Marc was born and raised in Ottawa and attended the University of Ottawa law school. He is fluently bilingual and will conduct cases, interviews, and mediations in French. If you have suffered an injury, are fighting an insurance company, or simply need legal help, you may wish to call Marc for his advice and assistance.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: TENANT'S CONFERENCE

At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury Ottawa lawyers, our clients are made up of all kinds of people from our community. As part of our community outreach, QTMG LLP lawyers seek out opportunities to provide free legal information to groups and organizations in need of help. Recently, Mr. Michael Thiele conducted a workshop at the Ottawa Tenant's Conference. The workshop, conducted by Mr. Thiele, at this year's conference was on maintenance issues within the residential complex and how to get them dealt with. In years past, Mr. Thiele as conducted workshops at this same Ottawa Tenant's Conference on the procedures of the Landlord and Tenant Board and how to represent oneself at a Board hearing to preserve a tenancy. How you may ask, is personal injury and landlord and tenant law intertwined? The fact is that many tenants suffer injuries on the grounds of their apartment complexes. The injury may be caused by the negligence of the landlord or even another tenant in the building. In these circumstances, QTMG LLP, is often asked to seek compensation on behalf of the injured tenant. Mr. Thiele is a leading lawyer in Eastern Ontario with respect to residential tenancies law. There isn't much that he has not dealt with in relation to landlord and tenant law as he represents both landlords and tenants in relation to all residential landlord and tenant issues. A relatively recent and interesting case that highlights the connection between personal injury law and landlord and tenant law is the case of Montgomery v. Van wherein the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a landlord can not escape the liability for injury caused by failed snow removal--- even if the landlord requires the injured tenant to be responsible for snow removal in their lease. The Court held that terms in a lease requiring the tenant to be responsible for maintenance are unenforceable being contrary to the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act. If you have questions or issues relating to Ontario Landlord and Tenant Law you may wish to consider contacting Mr. Michael K. E. Thiele for a free consultation.

WaterParks-Calypso Ottawa

As recently filed lawsuits demonstrate, the high adventure, speed and thrill of big waterpark rides, such as those at Calypso, carry some risk of injury. Big thrills, no matter how well engineered a ride is, can not be entirely risk free. At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, we get calls every day from people who are injured through misadventure. In reviewing the incidents that led to the injuries it is important to consider all of the relevant legal factors to determine if there is indeed any liability. Just because there is an injury does not mean that the park or property owner is liable for that injury. Accordingly, in assessing whether there is merit to a claim, it is important to consider how the park owner, in the recent Ottawa cases, was negligent, in breach of contract or in breach of statutory obligations and the duty of care to the park visitor. As a matter of law, it is not enough to simply rely on the "fact" of the injury to establish financial responsibility on the waterpark. At QTMG LLP, we analyze all aspects of a claim before committing our clients to a lengthy court battle. Expert reports, and in the case of amusement parks, engineering reports and government inspection reports are critically important to determine if indeed the park is responsible for the damages sustained as a result of the injuries. With a proper investigation of the underlying circumstances of any case, obtaining expert reports from appropriate professionals, TSSA reports, investigation reports, and supporting evidence of the extent of the damages suffered, it is often possible and even likely that cases such as those involving Calypso can be resolved without the need for stressful and costly litigation. If you, a friend, family member or colleague has suffered an injury through misadventure, call the lawyers at QTMG LLP for a free consultation.