The wrongful death lawyers at Iacobelli Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family members that lost a loved one due to a slip and fall accident that resulted in serious injuries leading to the death of the victim. The family members consist of the children and grandchildren of the victim. This lawsuit arises out of a slip and fall accident on ice and snow, where it is alleged that the property owner failed to maintain their premises.
Slip and fall accidents on ice and snow can be serious. Although they usually result in relatively minor injuries, they often result in broken bones, head injuries, and sometimes death. If you are a property owner, take care of your premises by taking reasonable measures to keep the property free of ice accumulation in the winter. If you have been injured, or if you lost a loved one in an accident, call the injury lawyers at Iacobelli Law Firm for a free consultation. Andrew Iacobelli is an experienced personal injury lawyer who established Iacobelli Law Firm with offices located in Ontario, Canada and Florida, U.S.A. Andrew restricts his practice to the representation of personal injury victims in claims involving serious injuries and wrongful death in Canada and the United States. Andrew is the author of "Are You a Canadian Injured in the United States? Claim the Damages and Insurance Coverage the Right Way".
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![]() If you were injured due to a slip and fall on ice on residential property where you are a tenant, you may be able to sue your landlord if they failed to maintain the area. Some residential leases include language that indicates that the tenant is responsible for ice and snow. Even in these situations, you may be able to claim for your injuries if the property owner did not maintain the premises. The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Montgomery v. Van, 2009 ONCA 808 (“Montgomery”) involved the situation, and the Court determined that landlords remain responsible to fulfill their statutory duty to ensure the prescribed maintenance standards are met. In that case, the tenant commenced an action against the landlord for damages after slipping and falling on the premises. The landlord contended that the lease agreement provides that the “Tenants are responsible for keeping their walkway and stairway clean (including snow removal).” As such, the landlord asserted that the tenant’s injuries were due to her own negligence in that “she failed to keep her walkway in a state of good repair, including free from snow and ice”. In paragraph 13 of the decision, Juriansz J.A. stated that “in order to be effective, a clause that provides that a tenant will provide snow removal services must constitute a contractual obligation severable from the tenancy agreement.” Juriansz J.A. indicated that, in Montgomery, the provision is inextricable from the tenancy agreement for the following reasons: 1. No consideration for snow removal task was indicated in the lease agreement; 2. The tenant lives in one of several basement apartments of a multi-unit residential complex; 3. The provision vaguely places the task of snow removal on the tenants jointly; 4. The lease agreement does not set out specifically what part of the complex’s common walkways this tenant agrees to keep clean and does not stipulate on what schedule she would perform the joint obligation; and 5. The provision fails to define this individual tenant’s task clearly enough to create an enforceable contractual obligation. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal concluded that landlords have a responsibility to fulfill their statutory duty to ensure the prescribed maintenance standards are met. Based on this Court of Appeal decision, you may still be able to claim for your injuries if you are a tenant and the landlord was negligent in treating snow or ice on the premises. These claims are usually covered by the homeowner's insurance policy. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident due to snow or ice accumulation on property in Ontario, call us for a Free Consultation to learn about your rights. We offer prospective clients a Free, no obligation, consultation. Contact us day or night toll free at 1-866-234-609 or complete our online contact form to get started now. We serve clients throughout Ontario. Andrew Iacobelli is an experienced personal injury lawyer who established Iacobelli Law Firm with offices located in Ontario, Canada and Florida, U.S.A. Andrew restricts his practice to the representation of personal injury victims in claims involving serious injuries and wrongful death in Canada and the United States. Andrew is the author of "Are You a Canadian Injured in the United States? Claim the Damages and Insurance Coverage the Right Way". ![]() With travel for Canadians easing next month, many Canadians are expected to take a long awaited vacation to the United States. If you are a Canadian (Ontario resident) and you are insured on an auto insurance policy issued in Ontario, you generally will be afforded coverage in the event of a motor vehicle accident while travelling outside of Ontario. Section 1.2 of the OAP 1 (the standard Ontario auto insurance policy) provides as follows: "This policy covers you and other insured persons for incidents occurring in Canada, the United States of America and any other jurisdiction designated in the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, and on a vessel travelling between ports of those countries . . ." When Canadians are travelling to the United States, there is a very high likelihood that you will be in a jurisdiction with lower auto insurance requirements than Ontario. In the province of Ontario, all motor vehicles are required to have a minimum liability insurance policy of at least $200,000. Many people have liability limits of $1 million or more. Conversely, in the United States, it is common for vehicles to have much lower liability insurance, Based on my experience, most US states require around $25,000 in minimum liability insurance. In Florida, where many Ontario residents travel for vacation, motorists are not required to have any insurance for third party bodily injury liability. That means, you could be hit by a car or truck in Florida and the vehicle has no insurance at all to pay for your injuries or losses. This can be financially devastating if your injuries are serious and require emergency medical treatment. We routinely see medical bills in the United States that are well in excess of $100,000 USD. So how do Ontario residents protect themselves if travelling in the United States? The answer is Underinsured motorist coverage. Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your family in the event that a vehicle with little or no insurance causes an accident in which you are injured. Canadians injured in the United States in a car accident are fortunate if they have underinsured motorist insurance, because in that case your own insurance policy steps up and pays for your losses, including financial expenses and pain and suffering. In Ontario, the Underinsured Motorist coverage comes in the form of an OPCF 44R, also known as Family Protection Coverage. Most brokers in Ontario provide this coverage when you purchase car insurance, and you may not even know you have it. If you are not sure if you have underinsured motorist coverage, call your insurance broker immediately. This coverage is usually inexpensive and extremely important. Without it, you can find yourself in financial ruin if you are seriously injured in a car accident while travelling in the United States. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident in the United States, we may be able to help you navigate the insurance claims. These are complex cases and we have expertise in this area of law. We have successfully represented many Canadians injured in car, truck and motorcycle accidents in the USA. Call us day or night for a free consultation with a cross-border injury lawyer or request a free consultation here. Andrew Iacobelli is an experienced personal injury lawyer who established Iacobelli Law Firm with offices located in Ontario, Canada and Florida, U.S.A. Andrew restricts his practice to the representation of personal injury victims in claims involving serious injuries and wrongful death in Canada and the United States. Andrew is the author of "Are You a Canadian Injured in the United States? Claim the Damages and Insurance Coverage the Right Way". ![]() A decade ago, in 2012, I opened up my own law firm and, since that time, I have learned so much and I have so much to be thankful for. As I reflect upon the last ten years, I am so very grateful for the opportunity to lead such a great team of compassionate, dedicated and highly-skilled individuals, and I am truly proud of our accomplishments. I believe that our current team of law clerks and lawyers are second to none in the province of Ontario. What makes our team so special is that everyone actually cares about the people we serve. This is an incredibly compassionate group of people, and I am amazed at how routinely they go above and beyond to help a client in need. I am grateful for our clients, who have also taught me so much over the years. I have learned about the strength of the human spirit - many of our clients amaze me with their character, strength, resilience and adaptation. These individuals inspire us. It is the nature of our practice that we meet our clients after a life-changing event, often while they are still in the hospital, or we meet families praying for the recovery of their loved one. Over the years, I have seen many examples of courage, resilience and perseverance, and I am so often amazed at how our client’s change and grow as people to overcome - they find strength that they did not know that they possessed. As I reflect on the last decade, I would also like to thank our Law Clerk, Joanne Thompson who has been with us since day one and will also be celebrating ten years with Iacobelli Law Firm this year. Joanne’s caring, loyal and empathetic nature is highly regarded by all of our clients. I would also like to thank Judge Lostracco who was a great mentor and the best team leader I have ever met. I will also be forever grateful to my father who inspired me to go to law school, and who is never far from my thoughts as I continue on this journey. I would also like my family for all of their patience, understanding and support over the last ten years. This week we recognized and celebrated the Anniversary of Iacobelli Law Firm with a delicious cake as well as a toast. Many thanks to Graphic Etch for the engraving and Ginger’s Sweets for the delicious cake and for making our celebration special. Cheers to the next ten years! This year is a special year for us and I am excited to see what is on the horizon for both our firm, our clients and our staff. Our Team understands how difficult it is to recover from an unexpected accident and how hard it is both on our clients as well as their families. As our clients recover, they continue to show us how resilient and courageous they truly are. We are so thankful to our clients for putting their trust in Iacobelli Law Firm over the last decade and we look forward to continuing to fight for injured clients for years to come. Andrew Iacobelli is an experienced personal injury lawyer who established Iacobelli Law Firm with offices located in Ontario, Canada as well as offices in Florida, U.S.A. Andrew restricts his practice to the representation of personal injury victims in claims involving serious injuries and wrongful death. |
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