This case involves a patient named D. Ferenczy.  She sued her doctor for professional negligence in the diagnosis and the treatment of a cyst located on the inner part of her left wrist. The procedure was carried out on February 17, 1999. The plaintiff, D. Ferenczy, claimed that as a result of the failed procedure, she was unable to hold small items for a long period of time with her left hand. She further claimed that she was unable to work, and she subsequently claimed she suffered a loss of income.

The defendant, the doctor, disputed her claim. A private investigator was retained by the Canadian Medical Protective Association to dispute the credibility of the plaintiff's evidence. This association provides defense assistance to physicians who are being sued for medical malpractice claims. The private investigator conducted a surveillance on Ms. Ferenczy and collected an eight minute video surveillance footage of Ms. Ferenczy holding a coffee cup at a coffee shop without any visible signs of physical impairment. This investigation was carried out without Ms. Ferenczy's consent.

The Issue:

Whether or not the video tape could be admitted as evidence against Ms. Ferenczy as the Counsel for Ms. Denise Ferenczy argued that the taking of the video and its disclosure contravened the Personal Information and Protection of Electronics Act [PIPEDA], and therefore submitted the evidence rendered be inadmissible.

Court Ruling

The court ruled that the PIPEDA applies to personal information that is collected and disclosed for "commercial purposes", and that defending a liability claim is not considered a commercial activity but that the collection of the information is being used for the purposes of defending the doctor in a civil lawsuit. The court also ruled that the collection, use, and disclosure of the videotape would not contravene the PIPEDA on the basis that private investigators are acting as agents for their clients, and furthermore, Ms. Ferenczy implicitly consented to the collection of the videotape evidence when she filed action against the Defendant. Justice Dawson further ruled that the collection of the videotape is related to the investigation of a claim, and therefore ruled the videotape evidence tendered at trial be admissible.

Janie Duncan is a licensed private investigator and founder of Duncan Investigations in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She manages this licensed & bonded private investigation agency that has served clients throughout Canada.

    
Janie A. Duncan is Canada's most prominent investigator and  founder of Duncan Investigations Inc. (1989).    She is responsible for scheduling major corporate and insurance accounts.  
 
Ms. Duncan has accumulated thousands of hours of surveillance time, saving  major corporations millions of dollars.  She develops risks assessment plans for major corporations to target loss and conduct undercover buys.  She has assisted thousands of families in personal matters and she is the investigator that people rely on for confidential matters.  
 
Other achievements include investigating a music piracy operation which resulted in the largest seizure of counterfeit product in Canada by the RCMP. 
 
Her biggest accomplishment were helping James Driskell who  was wrongfully convicted of murder and as a result of her investigation and tenacity, he was released from prison in 2003.  Ms. Duncan was also at the forefront of the wrongful murder conviction investigation of Frank Ostrowski where she was the first to find the fresh evidence in support of his release from prison.
 
Ms. Duncan is currently a student at the University of Winnipeg and she is also embarking on a new career in Investigative Journalism.  Please visit her online newspaper at www.thebestcanadianinvestigator.com

By Janie A. Duncan, Duncan Investigations (Canada)

Duncan Investigations is Canada's leading investigation firm since 1989.  Areas of coverage include Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, PEI.
website: www.duncaninvestigations.com