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Last month, Rastin Law summarized the legal test required to prove negligence and how it would apply in forthcoming negligence-based lawsuits against long-term care facilities and the harmful spread of COVID-19 within the facilities. Taking a more fact-specific approach now, this blog will examine the specific challenges that arise for individuals seeking compensation for harm suffered as a result of

Changes to Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure have the potential to boost access to justice, says Barrie-area personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin. A series of amendments to Rule 76, which governs actions proceeding under the simplified procedure, will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, including the doubling of the monetary jurisdiction for simplified actions from $100,000 to $200,000, the imposition of a hard five-day

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

Estate lawyers are bracing for a wave of litigation as Canadians prepare to transfer close to a trillion dollars of net worth through inheritance — with wealth disparity between generations, challenges flowing from health conditions, and rapidly rising medical costs combining to create the perfect storm, Barrie personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin says. As Rastin, managing partner at Rastin Trial Lawyers,

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 Law Trial Lawyers.

The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) must increase its enforcement game after strengthening its advertising rules, says personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin. The LSUC voted at its February Convocation to cap referral fees paid to lawyers and paralegals who pass on clients to fellow members of the bar. Benchers also adjusted the LSUC's rules to ban advertisements for second

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

Although lawyers are often considered to be more conservative by nature, personal injury lawyer Steve Rastin says that they need to take risks on behalf of clients — or they shouldn’t be in the profession. “Some people are more interested in marketing and settling than taking a case to trial. It’s law as a profession versus law as a commodity.

Managing partner with Rastin Trial Lawyers and Law Society bencher candidate Steve Rastin says a strong, effective legal community is vital to society. “I think the concept of public interest, a healthy legal profession, and access to justice are all intertwined,” he says. Rastin, who has practised civil litigation throughout Ontario, says practitioners outside big centres need a say at Convocation.

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