In personal injury cases, lawyers, paralegals, insurance companies and businesses know that when it comes to obtaining documents it can be crucial to a case or claim in determining what happened. There needs to be an examination of the MVAR (Motor Vehicle Accident Report), witness statements, accident reconstruction, photographs of the scene, and most importantly the police report and police officers notes. We work continuously with personal injury lawyers searching for a skiptracer as the police reports they have in possession are redacted. If they need to know who the at-fault party is the information is redacted, if they want to know names, plate numbers, date of birth, vehicle, etc. the information is redacted. In not having this information, it can be difficult for lawyers to fight your case in understanding what happened.
Why is the information redacted?
If in an accident or other reasons you can explain your privacy concerns and the lawyers can ensure the documents that mention your name are privileged. This causes a significant delay in courts in order to obtain the information that may be required.
Do redacted documents affect me?
Yes, it can. If you have been involved in an accident and you want to pursue legal action within the two years, you will need to provide the correct information to your legal team for them to defend you. Having information redacted poses as a barrier to lawyers.
Can skip tracers help?
In the definition of skiptracing, it explains: “skiptracing (also skip tracing, or debtor and fugitive recovery) is the process of locating a person’s whereabouts for any number of purposes. A skiptracer is someone who performs this task, which may be the person’s primary occupation.” When working with lawyers for personal injury cases, they may contact us asking us to locate the other individual in an accident. We may only have a name and no further information as it’s redacted. This poses as a challenge but as private investigators, it is what we do, and we do well. To locate the individual, we may perform several searches including social media searches (very common located this way), property searches, employment verification, etc.
Is skiptracing for everyone?
Anyone can benefit from skiptrace services; you may be searching for someone to serve legal documents to, looking to locate a former tenant, or possibly searching for a long lost, family member. No matter the reason skip searches can be a quick and cost-effective way to get the information you require.
Do we only do skip searches for lawyers in Ontario?
Not at all, in Ontario, we do naturally work mostly with lawyers within our province. However, we also assist in locates, background checks, pre-employment screening, and skip tracing for lawyers, and companies throughout Canada and the United States. If you are a lawyer from the U.S., we can assist in your skip tracing services if you’re looking for a skip trace investigator Canada.
For more information on our skip services, please contact an office closest to you. We have offices in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Scarborough, Barrie, North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Thunder Bay and Ottawa in Ontario. In all the locations we perform private investigative services including surveillance, skip tracing, background checks, labour dispute management, and private investigator training.
About the Author
Whitney Joy Smith
Founder of The Smith Investigation Agency in 2014, Whitney Joy Smith’s extensive background as a private investigator is matched only by her passion for the role. A graduate of several respected institutions, including Northwest Florida State College and George Brown College, her early years in life were spent between Canada and the United States. This education, along with her formative years as a private investigator in various agencies, informed much of her knowledge of private investigative laws, regulations, and operating standards in both countries.
The recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades, including the Consumers Choice Award, Best in Ottawa, and many others, Whitney takes pride in working closely with her ever-growing agency to raise the bar, maintain compliance, and meet the investigative needs of clients. Whitney is active in various membership and supporting roles, including the CPIRC, CBN, CAPI, Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and many others. Her experience-driven, thought-provoking articles have been featured in everything from Readers Digest to Business News Daily, and she strives to continually redefine standards for those in the private investigative and security fields. Learn more about Whitney and the team at The Smith Investigation Agency today.
