The claimant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and alleged the car accident caused physical and psychological injury, including nervous shock. The claimant emigrated to Canada 10 years before the application and had come with a history of  experiencing beatings, tortures and slavery.

The defendant sought a court order for his file from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in order to ascertain the claimant’s pre-accident psychological state. However, 1,650 pages of medical records relating to that issue had already been disclosed by the claimant before the application.

In refusing the application the court was clear in pointing out:

[10]  The defendant has not provided an affidavit from a medical expert indicating that further information is necessary.  Given what I set out above and what the plaintiff has acknowledged, it is doubtful that any further evidence as to the plaintiff’s pre-accident psychological state would be of assistance.  The immigration file would shed marginal, if any light on this case.  It would be a disproportionate invasion of privacy to order it to be produced.(Kim v. Samuel,2018 BCSC 1483)

Read more about  disclosure of medical records in a personal injury case.

Posted by Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.- Protecting ICBC injury claimants since 1995.