Smitiuch Injury Law Has Represented Injury Victims Across Ontario Since 2001

A Trial Firm That Takes On Difficult Cases and Sets Records in the Courtroom

Michael Smitiuch founded Smitiuch Injury Law in Toronto in 2001, after earning his Honours B.A. in Political Science from McMaster University in 1994 and his LLB from the University of Western Ontario in 1996. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998, and three years later he founded his own firm. His reason was straightforward: injury victims in Ontario deserve the same quality of legal advocacy that insurance companies and large corporations can afford to pay for.

Today our firm has grown to six lawyers with offices in Toronto, Brantford, and Simcoe. We are 100% focused on personal injury and wrongful death litigation, and we go to trial regularly because that's what our clients deserve. Our record in the courtroom includes verdicts that set precedents, changed Ontario law, and delivered results that no plaintiff firm in this province had ever achieved before.

Professional Recognition — Michael Smitiuch

Michael's recognition from the legal profession reflects a career built on trial results, not reputation alone. He has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and the Ontario Court of Appeal. Every recognition listed here is based on peer evaluation or on verifiable case outcomes.

Best Lawyers in Canada, Personal Injury Litigation (2021 to Present): Michael has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for Personal Injury Litigation every year since 2021. Best Lawyers is one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed legal publications in the world, and selection is based entirely on peer nomination and evaluation with no fees paid for inclusion.
Global Law Experts, Catastrophic Injury Law: Michael has been recognized as a legal expert in Catastrophic Injury Law by Global Law Experts since December 2015, a designation reflecting his experience in the most complex, high-stakes injury cases in Ontario, including brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and wrongful death.

Peter Cho — Partner

Peter Cho joined Smitiuch Injury Law and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2011. He has exclusively practiced personal injury and wrongful death law throughout his entire career, building a trial record across the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and the Ontario Court of Appeal. In just five years of practice, he had already earned formal recognition from his province's leading plaintiff lawyer organization.

OTLA Martin Wunder Q.C. Outstanding New Lawyer Award (2016): Peter was presented with the OTLA Martin Wunder Q.C. Outstanding New Lawyer Award by the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association in 2016. The award recognizes a new lawyer who demonstrates outstanding advocacy on behalf of injured plaintiffs, and it is a distinction that reflects both courtroom skill and commitment to the plaintiff bar.

Professional Memberships and Associations

Our lawyers maintain active memberships in the organizations that advocate for the rights of injury victims and advance excellence in trial advocacy across Ontario and Canada.

Michael Smitiuch:

Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA): Michael has been a member of this organization, which advocates for the rights of injury victims across the province.
American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member (1998 to Present): Michael is a long-standing member of the American Association for Justice, the national organization devoted to protecting the right to a fair jury trial and advancing justice for injury victims across North America.
The Advocates' Society, Member (2013 to Present): Michael is a member of The Advocates' Society, the leading Canadian organization promoting excellence in advocacy, with a membership drawn from the country's most accomplished trial and appellate lawyers.

Peter Cho:

Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA), Member (2011 to Present): Peter has been an active member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association since his call to the bar, and has presented at conferences for the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and the OTLA.
Korean Canadian Lawyers Association, Member (2010 to Present): Peter is a member of the Korean Canadian Lawyers Association, an organization supporting Korean Canadian legal professionals across Ontario.
Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Member (2013 to Present): Peter is a member of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, which promotes the interests and advancement of Asian Canadian lawyers throughout the country.

Landmark Trial Results That Changed Ontario Law

Three of our cases stand apart from everything else our firm has accomplished because they produced legal outcomes that had never been achieved before in Ontario or in Canada. These were not simply large verdicts; they were cases where our lawyers pursued claims that other firms wouldn't touch, on questions that had never been decided in plaintiffs' favor, and they won.

Highest Wrongful Death Damages Award in Ontario History (2019): In 2019, Michael Smitiuch secured a jury verdict of $1.6 million on behalf of the parents of Alisha Lamers, a 24-year-old who died from severe burn injuries after being trapped in her Toronto rooming house when it caught fire. The landlord was found negligent for operating an illegal rooming house without working smoke detectors. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the verdict, confirming there is no judicial cap on Family Law Act damages in a wrongful death case. It remains the highest FLA damages award in a wrongful death case in Ontario history.
First and Only Punitive Damages Award Against a Nursing Home in Canada (2018): In 2018, our firm obtained a judgment of more than $640,000 against Sunrise Senior Living in Mississauga after a 77-year-old resident was strangled while in their care. The judgment included punitive damages, the first ever awarded against a nursing home in Canadian legal history. It stands as a precedent-setting recognition that facilities responsible for vulnerable adults must be held to the highest standard of accountability.
First Trial Win in North America Against Corning Inc. Involving Visions Cookware (2013): In 2013, Michael Smitiuch and Peter Cho, as co-counsel, secured the first successful trial verdict against Corning Inc. in North America involving Visions cookware. A London jury awarded $1.15 million to a man who was severely injured when a Visions pot shattered on his stove. Corning had never lost a trial on this product before. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in 2014.
Supreme Court of Canada Backs Paraplegic Motocross Racer (2023): In 2019, Peter Cho succeeded at the Licence Appeal Tribunal in establishing that Michael Beaudin, a motocross racer who was paralyzed in a 2017 crash, was entitled to accident benefits from Travelers Insurance. Travelers pursued every level of appeal available. The Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in June 2023, ending a six-year fight and securing Beaudin's access to the medical and rehabilitation benefits his injury requires.

What a Judge Said About Michael Smitiuch's Trial Work

After a jury awarded more than $1 million for a Hamilton plaintiff in October 2023, Justice Skarica of the Ontario Superior Court wrote the following in the costs decision:

"In my 12 years of presiding over hundreds, maybe even close to a thousand proceedings on the bench, I have seen truly excellent advocacy on only a very few occasions. Mr. Smitiuch's conduct in this trial qualifies as one of those very rare jewels of advocacy that it is a wonderful treat to behold."

The defendant's pre-trial offer in that case was $500,000. The jury returned a verdict of $1,018,865. Justice Skarica then ordered the defendant to pay nearly $1.1 million in costs and interest, bringing the total recovery to approximately $2.2 million.

Notable Trial Verdicts

The following verdicts reflect our firm's consistent results in the courtroom over recent years. Every case is unique, and past results do not guarantee the same outcome. Our full case results page includes more detail on individual matters.

$2,500,000+ – TTC bus rear-end collision, verdict upheld by Ontario Court of Appeal (2025). Trial counsel: Peter Cho and Tim Daly.
$2,640,000 – Bike-car collision. A trailblazing human rights lawyer and Law Society medal winner suffered a career-ending injury. Defendants offered $263,000. Damages at trial: $2.64M plus $1.2M in costs. Trial counsel: Michael Smitiuch and Peter Cho.
$2,400,000+ – Brantford jury verdict, Plaintiff with chronic pain and PTSD. Trial counsel: Peter Cho.
$2,200,000 – Hamilton jury verdict for Plaintiff with permanent impairments. Defendant's pre-trial offer was $500,000. Costs awarded: approximately $1.1M. Trial counsel: Michael Smitiuch.
$1,800,000+ – Toronto jury verdict, Plaintiff with brain injury at Glen Eagle Golf Club (2014). Trial counsel: Michael Smitiuch, Peter Cho, and Megan Johnston.
$1,614,457 – TTC bus rear-end collision, Toronto jury (2024). Trial counsel: Peter Cho, and Tim Daly.
$1,150,000 – First trial win in North America against Corning Inc. involving Visions cookware (London, 2013; upheld on appeal 2014). Trial counsel: Michael Smitiuch and Peter Cho.
$1,018,865 – Hamilton jury verdict, Plaintiff struck by a vehicle that ran a stop sign (motorcycle accident, 2023). Trial counsel: Michael Smitiuch, and Philip LeDonne.
$640,000+ – First and only punitive damages award against a nursing home in Canada (Mississauga, 2018).

Contact Smitiuch Injury Law for a Free Consultation

If you've been injured in a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, slip and fall, or any other serious incident in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area, Brantford, Simcoe, or anywhere in Ontario, contact our firm for a free consultation. We represent every client on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront costs and no legal fees of any kind unless we recover compensation for you.

"Michael and his team are the real deal. They fought for me when no one else would take my case, and they got a result that changed my life. I can't say enough about the dedication of this firm." — Ontario Client, ★★★★★