Compensation claim news
03/11/2011

Brighton pair sentenced over wife's mobility lies

A Brighton woman and her father have been given suspended prison sentences after making fraudulent compensation claims.

The pair lied about injuries suffered by a third family member, the woman's mother, who was involved in a bus crash in November 2005.

The High Court heard that she suffered serious head injuries in the road accident, but made a much fuller recovery than her family were prepared to admit.

Instead her husband and his daughter told medical experts she was "a grossly disabled wreck of a woman", in hopes it would land them road traffic accident compensation worth £1.5 million.

Private investigators exposed the statements as false after a 26-month surveillance programme showed the victim was physically fit and mobile.

Both father and daughter received suspended prison sentences after they were found guilty of contempt of court last Thursday.

Judges described their actions as ‘a serious contempt' and said their misleading statements could have added thousands of pounds onto the value of compensation claimed.