Posting About Your Car Accident on Facebook? Better Think Twice!

I came across an interesting case the other day which should worry anyone who is interested in privacy rights.

Leduc v. Roman is a case out of Ontario. The plaintiff, Leduc filed a claim for compensation for injuries he claim to have suffered in a car accident.

The defendant, Roman, made an application to court for an order to produce the contents of Leduc’s Facebook page! Leduc claimed that, because he only allowed access to his Facebook page to his Facebook “friends”, the contents of his Facebook site were private and confidential.

Roman lost the initial motion to force production of Leduc’s Facebook site. However, Roman appealed and Justice Brown of Ontario’s Superior Court issued a decision ordering the plaintiff to produce the entire contents of his Facebook site.

Justice Brown reasoned that:

“…to permit a party claiming very substantial damages for loss of enjoyment of life to hide behind self set privacy controls on a website, the primary purpose of which is to enable people to share information about how they lead their social lives, risks depriving the opposite party of access to material that may be relevant to ensuring a fair trial.”

Given the massive popularity of Facebook I am sure that many of my clients have Facebook pages. I am even aware of a couple of my clients who have posted details of their accidents or injuries on their Facebook websites. The clear message from this decision is that plaintiffs who post details of their private lives on a public website risk having all of that information used against them some day in court.

If you are looking for a Nova Scotia personal injury lawyer you can contact me to get a free copy of my book, The Consumer’s Guide to Car Accident Claims in Nova Scotia. I have been representing people who have suffered serious injuries for more than 18 years. For more information you can contact me through this blog or by calling toll free at 1-877-423-2050.