The majority of individuals who pursue personal injury claims are entirely genuine and deserve to be compensated for their injuries and the impact they have had on their lives (see my colleague Melanie Rowe’s recent article about the myth of the so called ‘Compensation Culture’ on this point). However, there are still a handful of individuals who attempt to exaggerate the extent of their injuries in order to recover damages that they are not entitled to. I am therefore pleased to see that the Courts are continuing to tackle this issue by penalising individuals who attempt to make fraudulent claims.
In Atwal v Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Mr Atwal brought a claim against the Defendant following mistakes being made by them in relation to treatment that he had received for two finger fractures and a laceration to his lip. The Defendant admitted they had made mistakes but they could not agree on Mr Atwal’s interpretation of the extent of his injuries or the damaging effect those had had on his life. He was asking them to pay some £837,000.
The Defendant Trust therefore carried out surveillance, both videoing Mr Atwal and checking his social media posting. They were able to establish that he was in fact lying about the extent of his injuries and financial losses. Consequently Mr Atwal accepted an offer for £30,000 which had been made 4 years prior to him being caught with the proverbial pants on fire. So not only did Mr Atwal have to forego the remaining £807,000 of his “claim” but he was also ordered to pay the Defendant’s costs for that period which came to £35,000. So he received no compensation and was left owing the NHS Trust some £5000.
The case is a sombre reminder to those who think they can get away with making a fraudulent claim that the Courts are continuing to take this issue very seriously and that a fraudulent Claimant can wind up facing a hefty bill or a stint in prison. And rightly so.
If you have a genuine claim for medical negligence, please call or email me in confidence to discuss how we can help