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NS cap 2 — no limitations: Ontario trial lawyer adds voice to Nova Scotia review     © Thompson’s World Insurance News 2010. No reproduction without written consent.     There should be no limitations placed on pain and suffering awards in Nova Scotia, says a prominent trial lawyer in Ontario who opposes the insurance industry’s position in the review of its cap on awards for minor auto accident injuries.     Richard Halpern, of Thomson Rogers in Toronto, says claims that imposing tort limits was needed to combat escalating bodily injury claims, premium instability and diminished profits are not justified.     His work as the only lawyer on Ontario’s Reform Implementation Steering Committee on implementing the changes recommended by the province’s Financial Services Commission plus his work with other insurance reform groups gives him a perspective that’s unique.     “The justification used by the insurance industry for imposing limits on the rights of innocent accident victims (tort rights) has been based on allegations of escalating costs for bodily injury claims, premium instability and diminished profitability for insurers.     “With the benefit of the experience in other jurisdictions, where the same claims are made by insurers, and with the benefit of a retrospective look at economic data, it is clear that the November 2003 tort restrictions for Nova Scotia were neither needed nor justified.”     More in our March 1, 2010 edition        Thompson’s World Insurance News P.O. Box 1027,  Waterloo, Ontario,  Canada  N2J 4S1 Tel: 519-579-2500 Fax: 519-745-7321 mpub@sympatico.ca THOMPSON’S WORLD INSURANCE NEWS , Canada’s only independent weekly for p&c insurance professionals, has been the industry’s most trusted news source since 1988.