A Nova Scotia woman is suing the company whose driver hit her with his dump truck. Since personal injury law isn’t typically something we cover on Geekosystem, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that she’s suing because she claims her injuries have prevented her from using Facebook.
Joanne Marlene Conrod’s car was hit when she claims that David Caverly, the driver of a dump truck owned by Allterrain Contracting, entered her lane. Besides claims that the injuries have left her unable to work, Conrod also says they keep her from being able to maintain a social media presence on Facebook.
To support her claim, the lawyers for Allterrain requested that Conrod turn over all her Facebook data, including any private posts, but the judge in the case, Justice Glen McDougall, has ruled that she doesn’t have to. Instead, he ordered that she turn over just her login information.
Justice McDougall wrote:
In view of social media’s widespread popularity, it is not surprising that the relevance of Facebook-related evidence to personal injury claims has risen in other jurisdictions. Over the last decade, social networking websites like Facebook have become a part of daily life for many people in Canada and around the world. We have reached a point in history where those of us without a Facebook profile seem to be in the minority.
The case hasn’t gone to trial yet, but if it does and Conrod’s awarded any kind of additional compensation for this, then expect it to become some kind of ridiculous precedent.
(via CBC, image my own)
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