David Ribchester from Tyne and Wear said wrist injuries from a workplace incident stopped him from carrying out basic tasks including opening jars and driving, claiming £923,000 from insurers. He was jailed for 12 months when he was secretly filmed by insurance investigators on a number of occasions between February 2008 and October 2009.
You can see the footage on YouTube here.
He was filmed at his local rugby club where he was seen to "grab the ball with both hands and go into a hard tackle" despite claiming he was unable to tie his shoelaces. The 31-year-old, who previously admitted fraud by false representation, was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London on Thursday.
In another case James Shikell submitted an inflated £1.35m claim for damages for injuries in a car crash. He was also sentenced to one year’s imprisonment after the courts found him guilty of contempt of court. The decision came after footage of him playing football revealed that he had exaggerated his symptoms. His father Robert Shikell also received a year's imprisonment for his role in supporting his son's claim while a third man, Simon Fennell was fined for providing a false statement in Mr Shikell's personal injury claim.
If only the industry can deal with minor whiplash claims -
there are new Ministry of Justice changes coming into force from the end
of the month to help reduce the value and fees on less serious injury claims.
We will blog about this in a few weeks’ time and add the
link to this article.