A defence firm has helped to see off a record-breaking £4m case which was based on fabricated and exaggerated claims of life-changing injuries.
The personal injury claim was made to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau following a 2017 incident in which a motorcyclist fell after being forced to avoid an untraced car in his path.
The unnamed claimant received nearly £190,000 in interim payments before analysis of his social media activity posts, surveillance and expert evidence showed he was exaggerating the extent of his injuries.
The case is believed to mark the largest fundamental dishonesty claim rejected through the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement. Under the agreement, following investigation, the MIB will either make an award or if necessary issue a rejection. In this case, the claim was rejected in detail. The claimant had the opportunity to appeal but, having been presented with ‘substantial’ evidence, chose not to do so.
National firm Keoghs, instructed by the MIB, will now help to pursue recovery of damages.
The claimant, an HGV driver by trade, sustained several injuries from the incident, including a fractured pelvis and ribs, a displaced shoulder and a lumbar disc injury, requiring inpatient treatment.
He returned to restricted work after five and a half months, before undergoing spinal fusion surgery in June 2019 and claimed not to have worked since. A year after suffering the injuries, he claimed to be unable to ride a motorcycle and to still need help with domestic tasks.
But posts on his social media showed him wearing karting gear and later performing physically demanding tasks, including attaching tow ropes with his injured arm and lying beside vehicles to work on them. It was established from further social media posts that he had used his interim compensation payment to set up a vehicle recovery business.
In 2020, he reported PTSD symptoms and he later told his own experts he spent most days resting and could not walk more than 50 metres or go shopping.
The claimant based his case on a detailed list of past and future financial losses, confirmed by a statement of truth, for more than £3m plus compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA) and interest. His accommodation and care experts recommended an adapted bungalow costing £472,000 plus £148,000 in adaptations and daily care of three to four hours for life, based on his claimed function.
Surveillance commissioned by MIB between May and October 2024 uncovered evidence contradicting his assertions of disability, with footage showing him moving freely, driving for long periods, and singlehandedly pushing a customer’s car onto his recovery truck.
Paul Baxter, partner and deputy business unit director at Keoghs, said the outcome sends a powerful message that prolonged and calculated dishonesty will not be tolerated. ‘We are proud to have supported MIB in exposing sustained and deliberate misrepresentation, and in helping to protect both the public interest and the insurance industry’s levy.’
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