Sunday, May 2, 2010

Ottawa Mediator Marc Quinn Presents Paper at Conference

Congratulations to Marc Quinn, Lawyer and Mediator, for his excellent presentation of : “Top Twelve Mistakes Made by Lawyers and Representatives in a Mediation Session and How to Handle Them - How to Use Mediation Skills to Hold the Parties Together in Difficult Mediations” presented at the Spring 2010, Mediation Centre of Southeastern Ontario, Certificate Program of Interactive Training Workshops on Alternative Dispute and Conflict Resolution - Mediation Skills held at the Donald Gordon Conference Centre, Queens University. Excellent work Marc.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Facebook & Personal Injury Law

In a motor vehicle accident case, the Plaintiff sued her insurance company as she claimed that she was unable to do heavy housework, tend to her garden, snowmobile, go horseback riding and play tennis, golf or "winter sports" as she used to. Her insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance, brought a motion without notice to the Plaintiff for an Order that she preserve the contents and photos on her Facebook page, and then hand them over to the insurance company, including the parts of her page was set to "private" that could only be viewed by her 67 approved friends.

Mr. Justice David Price denied the insurer's request, ruling that Royal & Sun had failed to prove the page included relevant material, such as photos showing the Plaintiff engaged in physical activities. The Judge also chided the insurer for coming to Court without having first even asked the Plaintiff to produce these documents. Although the Plaintiff was not Ordered to produce the contents of her Facebook page, the Judge did permit the insurer to examine the Plaintiff and ask her questions about her facebook account which may, if relevant, lead to her having to disclose contents of her Facebook account.

Todd K. Plant, Personal Injury Lawyer at Plant Quinn Thiele LLP, has the experience and knowledge regarding personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, disclosure and how social networking sites such as Facebook can impact your case. If you are claiming to be injured and unable to perform physical activities, then there logically should not exist any photos of you doing so and hence they would not be posted on Facebook thereafter.

To consult with Todd K. Plant about your personal injury \ motor vehicle case, contact him at 613-563-1131.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Car Accident Lawyers - Ottawa Accident Lawyers - Snow Ice

If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, let us help you. Personal injury is what we do. Our team of motor vehicle accident lawyers are ready to help. Call Marc Quinn at 613-563-1131.

Trip Slip Ice Snow Falls Ottawa Injury Lawyer Explains Your Rights

Snow and Ice Cases in Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Injury Lawyers

As one can imagine, in winter, there is an extremely high incidence of personal injuries resulting from falls on ice and/or snow. Personal injury claims in Ottawa, Ontario against owners and occupiers during the winter most often arise from ice and snow incidents. The usual allegations are improper (or no) maintenance of property, causing snow and/or ice to accumulate, causing a danger which causes someone to slip and fall, injuring themselves in the process.

In Ontario, there are limits imposed when advancing claims for injuries resulting from falls on snow and/or ice. Unless an injured person advances a claim in court (commences a court action), within the limitation period prescribed, the claim will be lost forever. Many claims are virtually eliminated based on missed limitation periods.

Other limits on claims include the location of the fall. For instance, claims where someone fell on municipal sidewalks in winter is harder to win than claims where someone fell on private property. The difference is proving simple negligence versus gross negligence in some cases.

Falling as a result of slipping on the usual and natural accumulation of snow and ice does not, in and of itself, attract liability. In order to succeed, an injured person must prove negligence. That something done was done negligently (diversion of snow or water causing ice to form) or that something was not done, an omission, which omission was negligent (not applying salt and/or sand). An injured person must show that the accumulation of snow or ice was unusual and that it would have been reasonable for the land owner or occupier to take some sort of action to deal with the accumulation of ice and/or snow in order for the case to be successful.

Each case is determined on its own facts. The judge made law (called cases or case law) provide some guidance. There are some common conditions that create an accumulation of ice and/or ice that will attract liability. For instance, snow or ice formed by acts of a person (snow plows, shovelling snow, diversion of water causing ice to form etc...) and the omission to remove ice and snow which has accumulated and is known to cause danger of a fall.

If you sustained personal injuries as a result of a fall on snow or ice or ice and snow, our Ottawa personal injury lawyers are trained to handle these cases. Call us for a free consultation. We charge nothing unless we win for you. Most cases are settled without ever going to Court. Call Marc Quinn, Ottawa Accident Lawyer - 613-563-1131 ext. 223.