There’s a litigation update about a privacy breach case previously noted on this site.
TORONTO, July 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Between January 1, 2017 and December 13, 2018, Dr. Martin Jugenburg (the self-styled “Dr. 6ix”) operated surveillance video cameras throughout his clinic, the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute, located in the toney Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The cameras were placed not only in public areas, but within consultation and examination rooms, and in the operating room. The Information and Privacy Commissioner found in a September 2019 report that the clinic’s operation of the video surveillance system breached the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004.
On November 28, 2019, the law firms of Howie, Sacks & Henry, Waddell Phillips and Beyond Law launched a proposed class action against Dr. Jugenburg and his professional corporation, alleging that patient privacy had been breached. The privacy breach is alleged to have occurred by Dr. Jugenburg surreptitiously taking video of his patients without their consent through the network of surveillance cameras, including during their private doctor-patient consultations while patients were nude or semi-nude, and during surgeries. The action claims compensation for Dr. Jugenburg’s patients for alleged breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, breach of trust, intrusion upon seclusion and invasion of privacy, among other liabilities. None of these allegations have yet been proven in court.
The action has now been certified to proceed as a class action in respect of the claims arising from the non-consensual use of surveillance cameras. A court-approved notice of the class action will delivered to all patients who attended Dr. Jugenburg’s clinic for any surgical or non-surgical consultations, treatments, procedures, or follow-up appointments between January 1, 2017 and December 13, 2018.
More information about the class action and how it may affect you if you were a patient at the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute between January 1, 2017 and December 13, 2018 is available on the law firms’ websites.
The full press release with those details can be found here.