Hurt on a Landlord's Property

Due to carelessness, negligence, or sometimes simple misfortune, people get hurt through accidents on apartment properties. The injuries may arise from dog bites (dogs owned by other tenants), slip and falls due to ice or snow, trips or falls caused by crumbling concrete, steps or walkways, or even injuries inside rental units due to neglect and lack of repair. If you or someone you know has suffered an injury inside a rental apartment or house--what can you do? The fact is that both a tenant and a landlord may be liable in tort for the injuries sustained by a guest. What is sometimes less clear is that a landlord may be liable for the injuries sustained by a tenant of that landlord if the injury is caused by the landlord's negligence and neglect. A landlord does not have any special protection from being sued simply by being in a landlord and tenant relationship---regardless of what the lease says! Given the serious consequences of suffering a personal injury (pain and suffering, loss of income, loss of future income, loss of earning capacity, special expenses including medical and medical assistive devices) it is important to explore all sources of compensation to help the injury victim get through the ordeal. My law-firm, located in Ottawa, Ontario, is considered a leading boutique personal injury law firm. This label "boutique" means that personal injury work is the primary focus of the firm. We currently have eight lawyers in the firm focusing exclusively on personal injury claims. Needing a personal injury lawyer in Ontario is actually less stressful than needing any other kind of lawyer from a financial perspective. Almost all personal injury matters are handled on a "don't pay unless you win basis" meaning there is no risk of having to pay us for services unless you win or settle your claim. Accordingly, it is worthwhile to get an opinion about injuries that happen on a landlord's property. Consultations are free and I would be pleased to hear from you. Michael K. E. Thiele Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP Ottawa, Ontario 613-563-1131

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.

QTMG PROFILES: Mikolaj Grodzki

Perhaps you have stumbled across this article because you are looking for a lawyer. Specifically a personal injury lawyer. If so, we are pleased to introduce you to Mikolaj Grodzki, a partner at the law firm of Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa. Mr. Grodzki is first and foremost a compassionate man with a keen sense of justice. Having worked in the insurance defence industry he has well developed understanding of the challenges faced by injury victims and how the insurance industry can sometimes stand in the way of Justice for those injury victims. Mr. Grodzki now only works for injury victims and he largely confines his practice to motor-vehicle accident / car accident / motorcycle accident law. Why a confined practice? The fact is that insurance law in Ontario, as it relates to car accidents / motor-vehicle accidents is increasingly complex. To be highly effective and successful in helping injury victims it is Mr. Grodzki's opinion that you can not dabble in many different areas of law without losing the specialized knowledge that comes from extensive experience. That kind of experience is what every injury victim should have working for them. Asked about how an injury victim should hire a lawyer, Mr. Grodzki said that " the key is to meet me, let us talk about what happened, let me explain how I can help, and let me tell you how I am working for you." At the end of that meeting, "ask yourself if you trust me, did I answer your questions, and do you believe me". When you can answer those questions affirmatively you know you've found your lawyer. Mr. Grodzki has a flexible work schedule with extended hours. His three young children keep him and his wife busy at their home in Orleans, Ontario. Mr. Grodzki will often make house-calls and hospital visits to clients all over eastern Ontario. Sometimes it just isn't possible for a client to travel to his his downtown Ottawa office. Mr. Grodzki's Polish heritage allows him to speak with his clients in Polish though all legal work is necessarily completed in English or French. If you or someone you know needs a personal injury lawyer, consider giving Mr. Grodzki a call. He would be pleased to hear from you.

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.