Our client was involved in a motor vehicle collision where she sustained a traumatic brain injury and lost consciousness. Our firm made a request with the Ministry of the Solicitor General (“Ministry”) for access to 911 calls relating to this collision for a better understanding as to our client’s injuries and state of mind in the immediate aftermath.
The Ministry issued a decision denying access to the responsive audio pursuant to section 49(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act as a third-party witness made the call.
At mediation in the appeal process with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, our firm submitted that our client was only interested in the information provided by the 911 caller and not the caller’s identity or contact information. Our firm highlighted that because she suffered a head injury and a loss of consciousness, the 911 calls would only provide valuable insight as to her health condition in the immediate aftermath. The Ministry continued to deny access.
In its decision, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario ordered the Ministry to disclose the 911 calls to our client for the following reasons: First, both calls did not contain the callers’ names or contact information. Second, our client had no memory of the immediate aftermath of the accident due to a head injury sustained in the collision. Third, both recalls were with regard to our client’s collision.