Most injured claimants are unaware of the possible consequences when Fundamental Dishonesty is alleged against them when they bring a personal injury claim. They should be, as the consequences may be catastrophic for them.
Fundamental Dishonesty, if proved in Court to the satisfaction of a Judge, occurs when the ‘Claimant’ (the person bringing the claim) is found to have been knowingly and deliberately untruthful about all or part of their claim for personal injury. This might include lying about the nature and extent of their injuries, their loss of earnings or another aspect of their case.
Staged Accidents
There have been reported cases of staged accidents and claims being dismissed when the allegedly injured person was found not to be in a car involved in a collision.
It appears that a minority of injured people think that any type of injury or loss can be easily exaggerated without detection, thereby winning a larger award of damages. Many have found that is not correct to their detriment.
It is very important when bringing a claim for Personal Injury that you are completely honest about your injuries, their seriousness, their effects upon you, and that any additional damages you are claiming for are genuine. Exaggeration should be avoided.
If a Claimant is found to have been Fundamentally Dishonest, it often means that their whole claim is struck out, and not just the element they were proved to have exaggerated.
An example of this was found in a recent case of London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games v Sinfield. The Claimant was injured whilst volunteering at the Olympic Games in 2012 and as part of a larger total, he claimed £14,000 in respect of gardening fees. He said that prior to his accident only he and his wife did the gardening at their home and that he had to pay people to do it after his accident. This turned out to be untrue and the Court found that the Claimant obviously knew that part of the claim was false. As a result, the Claimant’s whole claim was struck out.
Social Media
Social media can play a big part in catching people out. It is often the case that the Defendant’s insurers or solicitors may have their suspicions about a Claimant’s injuries and recovery progress, and therefore they may look at a Claimant’s social media accounts, or hire private detectives to investigate further. A prime example of this was when a Claimant posted pictures of her self-riding a mechanical bull and participating in a charity sky-dive when she was still (apparently) suffering from her injuries.
We have also recently abandoned a claim on behalf of a man who initially claimed that he had not worked since his injuries, yet had posted that he was working, running a business, displaying pictures of jobs he had completed and advertising for work on 4 different social media platforms. Private detectives for the Defendant’s insurers found it very easy to film him working after that.
If a Claimant is found to be Fundamentally Dishonest, it is often ordered that they have to pay the Defendant’s legal costs which frequently run into thousands of pounds as well as their own solicitors’ costs. In some cases, dishonest Claimants have faced criminal proceedings for contempt of court and jailed for their dishonesty.
We always advise clients that it is of the utmost importance for them to be honest and open when providing instructions regarding all aspects of their claims as well as the likely consequences if they are not.
Fortunately, the vast majority of personal injury claims (well over 90% according to published statistics) are run without any mention of Fundamental Dishonesty by insurers or opponents’ solicitors and we hope that the consequences faced will deter all would-be dishonest claimants in the future.
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