Keoghs and MIB defeat £4m injury claim in major fraud ruling

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) and legal services provider Keoghs have successfully defeated a £4m personal injury claim after uncovering what they described as extensive and sustained dishonesty by a claimant.

The case is believed to be the largest claim rejected for fundamental dishonesty under the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement 2017, with the MIB now seeking to recover almost £190,000 in interim payments made during the course of the claim.

The claim arose from a motorcycle accident in 2017, in which the claimant suffered a number of serious injuries after taking evasive action to avoid another vehicle.

Over subsequent years, the claimant alleged significant ongoing physical and psychological impairments, including severe mobility restrictions, post-traumatic stress disorder and an inability to work.

The value of the claim eventually exceeded £4m once future care costs, accommodation requirements and loss of earnings were included.

However, investigations commissioned by the MIB, including surveillance and social media analysis, identified multiple discrepancies between the claimant’s reported limitations and his activities.

According to the MIB, evidence showed the claimant operating a vehicle recovery business, driving for extended periods and carrying out physically demanding work, as well as moving freely while simultaneously claiming to be largely housebound and reliant on daily care.

Fraud crackdown

The evidence prompted the MIB to reject the claim under Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which allows courts to dismiss personal injury claims where claimants are found to have been fundamentally dishonest.

Paul Baxter, partner and deputy business unit director at Keoghs, said: “This outcome represents a significant victory and sends a powerful message that prolonged and calculated dishonesty will not be tolerated.”

He added that dishonest claims diverted resources away from genuine claimants and increased costs for the wider public.

John Reynolds, controller of strategic partnerships, and Sundeep Sindhu, large loss specialist at the MIB, described the ruling as one of the “most significant findings of fundamental dishonesty ever made” under the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement.

They said the decision demonstrated the organisation’s commitment to investigating suspicious claims and protecting the levy-funded scheme for genuine victims of uninsured and hit-and-run drivers.