Categories

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

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

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

It’s “incredible” there was no system in place to allow the federal government to recall a dangerous vehicle until very recently, Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin says. The Strengthening Motor Vehicle Safety for Canadians Act “provides the federal transport minister with the power to order car companies to recall a vehicle to correct a defect, conduct tests, and fix a new

Amendments to the Highway Traffic Act that target distracted driving are welcome and necessary, Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin says. “Generally speaking, the volume of serious accidents is dropping drastically because of better drivers, less drunk driving, and autonomous driving safety protocols,” says Rastin, managing partner with Rastin Trial Lawyers. “The exception is distracted driving, which is now the leading cause of

Having a strong case after a catastrophic automobile accident may not be enough if you don’t have knowledgeable representation, says personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin. “It’s now more important than ever to ask the right questions and to hire the right experts. The test for catastrophic impairment is one that has evolved, and the government is continuously changing the definition,”

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

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

When a person is injured in a car accident, they are often not the only victim, and as personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin told Law Times, the provisions of the Family Law Act (FLA) can be used to help relatives recover some funds related to the care of a loved one. As the article notes, part V of the FLA, entitled

Distracted driving is one of the fastest-growing dangers for drivers and pedestrians alike, both in Canada and elsewhere. The risks are high: talking on a cell phone while driving increases the chance of a collision by more than three times, while typing on a cell phone while driving increases the risk of a collision by a factor of six.1 Due to