Accident Benefits Archives - Rastin Gluckstein Lawyers

How Does the 2015 Amendment to the Ontario Insurance Act Impact My Deductible?

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents

Published on July 8, 2021

An amendment to the Ontario Insurance Act was enacted in 2015 to lower costs that insurance companies face when confronted with auto collision claims. This amendment led to significant increases in deductibles for injured victims. A deductible is the amount of money deducted from an injured person’s non-pecuniary damages (i.e., losses related to their pain and suffering and loss of

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Navigating Summer Road Trips and Auto Insurance

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims

Published on July 29, 2020

As we head further into the summer season, your patience for sheltering in place due to COVID-19 may be wearing thin. You may be considering driving further than to and from your local grocery store as restrictions ease throughout the province. However, before taking off for any destination, it’s important to check government restrictions for the areas where you wish

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Statutory Accident Benefits for Car Accident Victims in a COVID-19 World

Posted under Accident Benefits

Published on June 18, 2020

With the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, insurance companies have had to adjust their methods in dealing with their insureds. This is certainly true in Ontario for those who have been injured in a car accident. In the new norm of COVID-19, insurance companies need to be more flexible than ever in how they communicate with their customers. They also need to

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Scrap the Failing No-Fault Insurance System

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims

Published on May 29, 2020

Ontario should abandon its two-and-a-half decade old experiment with no-fault auto insurance, says Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin. In his recent report on the state of auto insurance in Ontario, David Marshall, the former CEO of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), delivered a withering assessment of the province’s regime after he was appointed by the government to study

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Insurers’ Excessive Profits Are a Symptom of Broken Regime

Posted under Accident Benefits, Personal Injury

Published on May 22, 2020

A report showing Ontarians are still overpaying for insurance is evidence of the province’s broken no-fault insurance system, Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin says. The report, written by York University Professor Fred Lazar for the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA), concluded that the province's auto insurers have accumulated more than $5 billion over the last five years in pre-tax income. In 2016

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Time for Licence Appeal Tribunal ‘Rewrite’

Posted under Accident Benefits, Rastin Review

Published on May 14, 2020

Concerns expressed in 2015 about the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) assuming responsibility for accident benefits disputes have been validated, says Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin. “Four years ago, as president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, I made submissions to the previous Liberal government at Queen’s Park and questioned the logic behind this change,” says Rastin, managing partner of Rastin Gluckstein Lawyers. “I

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Decision Clarifies Law Relating to Loss Transfers

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Rastin Review, Truck Accidents

Published on May 1, 2020

A recent Ontario Superior Court ruling has provided some clarity on how the fault attribution rules ought to be applied to loss transfer disputes in the case of chain-reaction accidents, personal injury lawyer and managing partner of Rastin Trial Lawyers Steve Rastin says. As Rastin explains, Kingsway General Insurance Co. v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. 2017 O.J. No. 391, involved a commercial

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Allegations of Undue Influence Could Undermine LAT

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims, Personal Injury

Published on April 30, 2020

A recent Divisional Court of Ontario decision to set aside a ruling made by a provincial Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) adjudicator after the crash victim’s counsel received an anonymous letter is a serious matter. Steve Rastin, managing partner with Rastin Trial Lawyers, says he’s surprised the Divisional Court ruling isn’t receiving more attention. “I hope the new provincial government looks at

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A Rastin Review of Aviva Canada v. Sidhu: The Importance of Protecting the Consumer in the World of Insurance

Posted under Accident Benefits, Car Accidents, Disablity Claims, Insurance Claims, Personal Injury, Rastin Review

Published on December 18, 2018

Car insurance is a product that we are required by law to have in Ontario. As a product, it is the protection against possible unfortunate situations; the possibility of being in car accident, the possibility of being injured, the possibility of injuring someone else. In our case of Smith v. Co-operators General Insurance Co., [2002] 2 S.C.R. 129 (S.C.C.) Steve Rastin argued before

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Do you have to return the money if your insurance company overpays you for a loss?

Posted under Accident Benefits, Insurance Claims

Published on July 18, 2018

By: Anita W.H. Wong The unfortunate answer is yes. According to the Ontario Court of Appeal, in the recent case of Gore Mutual Insurance Company v. Dr. George Carlin et al., heard on July 4, 2018, you are required to return the overpayment. In the Gore Mutual v. Carlin case, Dr. George Carlin was a dentist with a dental practice in Winchester, Ontario when a fire destroyed

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