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Brought to you by Burton addresses this risk at the outset. He tells clients that a personal injury claim is a significant invasion of privacy, from the disclosure of medical records dating back three years before the accident to the opposing parties combing through Facebook posts. "They must assume and expect that every- thing they put out there will be available to the other side. Be ready to talk about it," he says. Burton advises clients to be more selec- tive about what they share on social media and to keep sensitive personal informa- tion off public platforms. He's seen far too many details posted on GoFundMe pages, for example, as well as people describing on family members' public Facebook walls how their injuries are – or are not – improving. He also stresses the importance of keeping contemporaneous, private notes about how they are genuinely feeling on any given day. "It's tricky because there's so much inter- play between social media, life, and liti- gation in these cases," Burton says. "From the outset, we provide our clients with a letter that gives them a real heads-up about social media safety and encourages them to be mindful." A holistic view What an accident does to a person is never merely physical. The law, practised well, should account for all of it. The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Saadati confirms a principle Burton believes every personal injury lawyer should bring to each file: a formal psychiatric or psychological diagnosis is not required to establish that a mental injury has occurred. "Don't overlook the fact that there's no immediate psychiatric diagnosis of a client and think that maybe there isn't a psycho- logical injury," he says, noting that lawyers should use every tool available. For example, a client injured in a motor vehicle accident who has access to acci- dent benefits should also use those funds for psychological therapy, social work, and family counselling. Burton has found that the benefits extend further than anyone expects: clients who had never sought counselling before discover resources and insights that reach well beyond their imme- diate recovery. "It's about rebuilding their lives – taking the individual as we find them and helping them as best we can," Burton says. "Get to know them, get to know the whole picture, and include it as part and parcel of their recovery and their case in every situation. Everybody has a mental health component." "Don't overlook the fact that there's no immediate psychiatric diagnosis of a client and think that maybe there isn't a psychological injury" Jonathan Burton, Gluckstein Lawyers Jonathan Burton joined Gluckstein Lawyers in 2005. He received his bachelor of laws from the University of Western Ontario in June 2006 and returned to the firm to complete his articles. Following his call to the Ontario bar in June 2007, he assumed his current position as a senior litigation lawyer. Burton restricts his practice to insurance litigation, including personal injury, disability matters, occupiers' liability, medical malpractice, and product liability. www.canadianlawyermag.com 11