Woman who suffered head trauma after fall lost $750,000 in compensation after judge calls her ‘dishonest’

• A woman who suffered a brain injury after falling from a pier has lost $750,000 in compensation.

• The judge said she had been “totally dishonest” and dismissed her complaint.

• Insurance fraud costs businesses, insurers and consumers billions each year.

A woman who suffered head trauma after falling from a seaside jetty has lost $750,000 in compensation after being found to be “totally dishonest” in her claim, a judge has ruled.

Kirsty Williams-Henry, 33, suffered multiple injuries after falling from Aberavon Pier in the UK in 2018 while going to observe bioluminescent plankton spotted in the sea.

Returning to shore, she fell between 12 and 15 feet onto the rocks and sand below – there were no safety barriers along the pier.

She sued the pier’s owner, Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd, for damages. She was seeking more than £2.5 million ($3.11 million), the judge said.

The company responded by saying it believed Williams-Henry was entitled to around £370,000 ($460,000), but that the claim should be rejected because the claimant had been dishonest about the extent of her injuries and how they affected his daily life.

Justice Ritchie of the Queen’s Bench Division, in a decision released Wednesday, agreed: “I have come to the conclusion that the plaintiff and her mother were entirely dishonest in their presentation of symptoms and disabilities of the plaintiff and sought to mislead clinicians, doctors and physicians. experts and this court on the Claimant’s health, functioning, activities of daily living and work abilities.”

In the United States, an estimated $308.6 billion is lost to fraudulent insurance claims each year, according to Forbes. Health insurance fraud (including Medicaid and Medicare insurance fraud) is the most common type, estimated at $105 billion annually.

During the 11-day British trial in Cardiff last month, Williams-Henry said she had not received adequate rehabilitation since the incident and had had “good and “bad days” due to his injuries, which caused him difficulty at home and work.

She denied lying about her injuries, with her mother, Christel Williams, saying her daughter had “no life” due to her condition.

Judge Ritchie said he would have awarded Ms Williams-Henry £596,704 ($743,000) in damages for her “genuine” injuries, but he rejected her claim because she was a “regular liar”.

Judge Ritchie concluded that Williams-Henry suffered a “moderately serious” brain injury from the fall as well as fractures to his skull and other bones and that he suffered from depression, anxiety and a mild disorder. of post-traumatic stress after spending eight days in intensive care. care.

But Ritchie said that “overall” he considered Williams-Henry to be “dishonest and manipulative” so he could dismiss the case.

“I know this seems like a lot of money to deprive a genuinely injured person of, but Parliament sought to eliminate dishonesty, which is fundamental to personal injury claims, and the claimant has broken that law.” , did he declare.

Read the original article on Business Insider