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Category Archives: burden of proof injury cases

Being followed by a private eye because you were injured in an Ottawa accident? Ottawa accident and injury lawyer discusses your rights.

Is an insurer entitled to have you followed and under surveillance? Yes. Defendant insurance companies often order surveillance on plaintiffs. The goal is simple: the insurance company wishes to see what activities you can and cannot do in your day-to-day life. If private investigators conduct surveillance and see you limit your activities based on a debilitating injury, there is no cause for alarm. However, private investigators seeing you more flexible, or more active than you reported to your insurer, could lead to problems. Consider this hypothetical scenario: David was in a motor vehicle accident and suffered whiplash. He claims his neck, shoulders, and lower back were in constant pain. However, footage from a surveillance video shows him painting his garage door from top to bottom, carrying a 5-gallon …

Can the insurance company conduct surveillance of persons involved in personal injury claims? Yes, but there are limits. Ottawa accident and injury lawyer explains new case.

In a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case Iannarella v. Corbett, 2015 ONCA 110, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided useful guidance to injury lawyers on the issue of admissibility and use of surveillance evidence at trial. It is not an uncommon practice for insurance companies to seek the assistance of investigators to conduct surveillance of injured parties to determine whether their allegation of injury and disability are accurate. In this particular case, a person was injured in a car accident. Certain injuries and limitations were alleged. In advance of trial, the defendants retained a private investigator. That investigator obtained many hours of video surveillance of the injured plaintiff. However, the defendant failed to disclose to the plaintiff the existence of the surveillance footage. No particulars had been …