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.

Harzardous Waste--Be Safe

At Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, we are frequently contacted by people whose children have been inadvertently exposed to hazardous materials. This most often happens in homes where there have not been any small children for a good number of years. These homes tend not to be "child proofed". So what exactly are hazardous materials? Hazardous materials include Aerosol containers, propane cylinders, disinfectants, fluorescent bulbs/tubes, fire extinguishers, fertilizers and pesticides, mercury switches/thermometers, needles and syringes, pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings oven and window cleaners, pool chemicals, and batteries. As you can see from this list, hazardous materials are, for the most part, fairly common household items. That being said, if you have a shelf that looks like this photo, and you have no need for these items any longer, you may wish to consider taking these items to a hazardous waste disposal depot. On Saturday August 25, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Tunney's Pasture parking lot at 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway between Goldenrod Drive and Sorrel Drive, the City of Ottawa is holding a mobile Household Hazardous Waste Depot. At QTMG LLP we would like to encourage everyone with unused hazardous household materials to bring them to a depot for safe and environmentally friendly disposal. Not only will this remove some clutter, but it will also make your home a safer place for small children.

Licenced Lawyers & Paralegals

A recent incident in Ottawa is highlighting the importance for clients to check that the people they hire are actually real lawyers and/or paralegals. In an Ottawa case, a person going by the names of Neil Shah and Deep Sing Shah, is reported to have held himself out as a lawyer with an office on Laurier Avenue. While the allegations against him remain unproven, reports indicate that several clients lost large sums of money as a result of hiring this person as a lawyer. This story highlights the need for all clients to know how to ensure that the "lawyer" they are dealing with is indeed authorized to practice law in Ontario. To that end, a great starting point is at the website of the Law Society of Upper Canada. The website provides a way for the public to search for a lawyer and to determine if that lawyer or paralegal is in good standing with the Law Society. A lawyer or paralegal who is in good standing will be entitled to practice law in Ontario and will also be insured with the mandatory insurance required by the Law Society of Upper Canada. If there is any doubt after such a search, a client may also call the Law Society to inquire about any lawyer or paralegal that they intend to retain.

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.

RADON--Anyone to blame?

Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP, personal injury lawyers Ottawa, would like to bring to your attention the recent news about Radon Gas build up in homes and the results of recent studies indicating that the prevalence of radon gas in homes was once underestimated. News about Radon gas has made a comeback lately as federal officials have determined that 7% of Canadian homes, nationally, have levels of Radon gas that are above safe levels thereby requiring action to be taken to prevent real harm to human health. What is Radon gas? Well it is a gas created by the decay of uranium in rocks and soil throughout the earth's crust. It is caused by a natural phenomenon. THe problem is that if the gas gets trapped in an enclosed place, like a house, it accumulates to levels that are dangerous to human health. Radon gas is measured in Becquerels. People are often exposed to Radon gas over extended periods of time in their homes. The exposure to radon gas increases their risk of cancer. Recent studies have shown that radon linked deaths in Canada have increased to about 3200 persons annually. Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer, after smoking. Is Radon Gas exposure inevitable? A fact of life? The answer is no. You are able to self test for Radon Gas in your home through a do it yourself test kit available at many hardware stores. If radon gas is detected at unsafe levels it is entirely possible to release the gas to the atmosphere through proper venting. The venting will need to be done by professionals to ensure that radon gas levels are brought down to more reasonable levels. Testing is simple and relatively cheap. Given the consequences of prolonged exposure you may wish to consider completing the simple test.

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.