COVID-19: Business Reopening

A Message To Our Clients.

July 6, 2020

We hope you are all staying safe and well. We look forward to resuming our business operations offering in-house discoveries starting July 6. Our offices will be operating with 50% fewer rooms, and due to the nature of mediations and breakout rooms, we regret we will be unable to accommodate mediations at this time and will update when we will be at full capacity.

The vast majority of our business tends to be personal injury. This means the witnesses are often meeting regularly with high risk medical staff. We strongly recommend you consider this risk when you decide to book an in-person discovery.

As we prepare for resuming operations, the health, safety, and wellbeing of our clients, reporter team, and staff is always our top priority. We have established our COVID-19 preparedness plan and management policies for procedural protocols, while accommodating our client needs for expedited access to justice. We are continually monitoring guidelines from the health authorities to adjust our plans, policies, and timelines accordingly.

To protect everyone, we recommend that clients and witnesses wear face masks. The reporter may ask for masks to be removed in the boardroom so that they can properly hear the speaker and read lips as necessary; therefore, witnesses and examining counsel may be asked to wear a face shield instead. PVR will have disposable face shields available for a small fee.

We will conduct daily health assessments on our team members to determine if they are “fit for duty”. For Clients/Visitors, we will require you perform a self-evaluation by asking the following questions:

• Have you had a cough?
• Have you had a fever?
• Have you been around anyone exhibiting these symptoms within the past 14 days?
• Are you living with anyone who is sick or quarantined?

If you or your client answer yes to any of the above questions, we ask that you conduct the examination via videoconference.

To further provide for social distancing and minimal contact, PVR will offer sealed snacks and bottled water only in each room.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to adapt to these changing times.

Hygiene & Sanitation

While we have always been dedicated to providing a clean and safe office environment, we will be enhancing both our sanitation procedures and their frequency. We are committed to the highest level of care and attention. This includes but is not limited to:

• Use of professional-grade disinfectant
• Increased cleaning of all common areas, service rooms, and high-touch surfaces several times daily
• Where required, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves, masks, face shields, and proper hygiene measures (proper hand washing and sanitizing)

Our Team

Our reporter professionals and staff are happy to service you from a safe distance. Our team has been properly trained on all safety and public health safety measures. This includes but is not limited to:

• All employees will answer screening questionnaires and will have their temperature taken first thing in the morning when they arrive.
• Any employees exhibiting symptoms will be sent home.
• All staff will be required to wear PPE when not at their own designated workstation area
• All workstations will meet the guideline of physical distancing (6 feet)
• All workstations and common areas will have hand sanitizer available
• All reporters are recommended to wear a mask and an optional face shield

Physical Distancing

Management of traffic flow and physical distancing measures are in place at our office, to ensure a fluid and safe experience for all clients and staff. This includes but is not limited to:

• Signage displayed throughout the office (reception / common areas / boardrooms) that will communicate policy and instruction
• Physical distancing (6 feet apart) will be adhered to
• Only lawyers and witnesses will be allowed to enter the premises; family and friends will stay outside. A maximum of six people (including the reporter) per room is permitted due to our boardroom sizes
• Communal coffee and snack stations will not be available. Bottled water will be in each room.
• Clients are asked to remain in their boardrooms and to exit when discovery is complete to avoid any further touchpoints with employees or possibly another client
• To protect everyone, we recommend that clients and witnesses wear masks. The reporter may ask for masks to be removed in the boardroom so that they can properly hear the speaker and read lips as necessary; therefore, witnesses and examining counsel may be asked to wear a face shield instead

Appointments

Now that examinations will be commencing July 6nd, we ask clients to reach out if they wish to change their videoconference bookings to in-person. Please note that as only 50% of our rooms will be available for now, we may be physically booked for in-house but still available for videoconferencing. All examinations will be based on a schedule and timeline that best adheres to public health guidelines, including social distancing measures. This includes but is not limited to:

• Staggered start times for discoveries
• Extended duration in between appointments to allow time for cleaning and disinfecting of the examination rooms
• Client requested to self-screen and take temperature prior to arriving at PVR
• Our booking system will track individuals attending at our offices each day. Kindly check in with reception upon arrival so we may ensure you are noted in our system
• We ask that only essential persons attend.

At Your Service, In New Ways

Your safety is always at the top of our minds and as such, we have put in place new technologies to better service our clients in a new way.

Our videoconference services will continue to be available for discoveries and mediations, with ongoing training/testing as needed for new clients or witnesses.

We are available by phone or email. Please reach out to us if you have any questions at reception@pvr.ca.

We will continue to update you as we navigate these challenging times. We appreciate your patience as we work hard to ensure access to justice safely.

Sincerely,

The PVR Team