Personal injury news

Gang made false whiplash injury compensation claims

An ex-policeman who fell victim to a gang of car insurance fraudsters has spoken to reporters about the fake whiplash injury compensation claims made against him.

The criminal gang had been targeting innocent lorry drivers for nearly four years before being caught making false car accident compensation claims.

They are believed to have targeted lorries because the vehicles are slower at emergency braking and would cause more damage to one of the many cars used for faking road accidents.

Ex-policeman Michael, 54, of Luton, said he was targeted by a gang when he drove his van on the A6 in June.

He said, "A white car was in front followed by a black BMW. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"All of a sudden both cars slammed on the brakes. I skidded straight into the back of the BMW."

He said there were four Asian men in the BMW who all seemed fine and didn't appear to suffer any serious personal injuries in the car crash.

Believing that nobody had been hurt in the incident, Michael was shocked to hear from his insurance company that all four men were claiming whiplash injury compensation as a result of the car accident.

In the past several years, the gang is believed to have made £8million in personal injury compensation payouts for similar road accidents.

Alan Burley, head of the Burley Group, handles insurance for haulage firms and said, "This is costing hauliers an absolute fortune - its time to do something about it."