The largest fundamental dishonesty claim ever rejected under the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement 2017 has been secured after exposing a motorcyclist’s £4 million claim as fraudulent.
The case centred on a claimant who was injured in August after falling from his motorcycle on Crockford Road West in Grimstead while avoiding a Mercedes that had moved into his path. He sustained serious injuries, including a fractured pelvis and ribs, a displaced shoulder and a lumbar disc injury, and initially returned to restricted work after about five and a half months. However, the claim later escalated dramatically, with the claimant alleging long-term disability, psychiatric harm, extensive care needs and accommodation requirements that pushed the total value of the case to more than £3 million, excluding damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and interest.
According to Keoghs and MIB, the claimant repeatedly told medical experts that he remained severely limited in daily life, could not resume motorcycling, needed help with domestic tasks and was unable to work. Later reports also included claims of PTSD, the need for home adaptations and daily care, and an inability to walk more than 50 metres or go shopping. But MIB’s investigation, which included surveillance and social media analysis, found extensive evidence that contradicted those assertions.
The material gathered showed the claimant engaging in physically demanding activities, including working on vehicles, attaching tow ropes with his supposedly injured arm, driving for long periods and singlehandedly pushing a customer’s car onto a recovery truck. Investigators also found that he had set up a vehicle recovery business in June 2019, shortly after receiving an interim payment, and that social media images of sign-written vehicles linked to the business often coincided with further interim payments.
Keoghs said the claimant had fraudulently obtained nearly £190,000 in interim payments, which it is believed were used to fund that business. Because the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement requires MIB to approach claims in the same way as the courts, the case was assessed in line with Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which allows for the dismissal of dishonest personal injury claims in full where doing so would not cause substantial injustice. On that basis, the claim was rejected entirely and MIB is now seeking to recover all interim payments made to date.
Paul Baxter, partner and deputy business unit director at Keoghs, said the result sent a clear warning that “prolonged and calculated dishonesty will not be tolerated”. MIB shared the decision was a landmark outcome, showing its determination to challenge suspicious claims robustly, particularly where public funds and genuine claimants could be harmed by fraud.
