HF and Admiral Insurance have saved over £600,000 through a finding of fundamental dishonesty.

Self-employed carpet fitter Gary Brearley, 58, made a claim following a road traffic accident on 21 September 2019. Brearley, who had sadly lost his right leg below the knee in an earlier road traffic accident in 2002, told medical experts that he had been working 40 hours per week prior to the 2019 accident and, due to the injuries sustained, was unable to continue working. He described being, prior to the accident, extremely fit, able to walk long distances and do motorcross.

However, since at least 2016, he had also been telling the DWP that he was unable to walk more than 10-20m even using his prosthesis and walking aids, had no grip strength, was in constant pain and required significant care from his wife.

Brearley’s claim was for c. £360,000 and he added that his two-storey home was no longer suitable and sought funding for a bungalow with a home gym.

Surveillance footage showed that Brearley was clearly able to work, walk without aids (save for his prosthesis) and was leading an entirely normal life.

His claim also included lost earnings of between £400-500 per week, based on a lucrative offer of work he claimed he had from Nu Look Flooring.

When Nu Look’s proprietor gave evidence he confirmed that he had simply intended to refer some work to Brearley and had no intention of employing him.

At trial, Brearley made unfounded and egregious allegations of dishonesty against the two medical experts instructed by Admiral and sought, in vain, to portray himself as being persecuted by all others involved in the case.

The genuine value of the claim was assessed at c. £38,000 but after a 4-day trial the claim was dismissed. HHJ Bird found the claimant to be fundamentally dishonest having lied about the Nu Look Flooring job offer, misled the DWP in 2016 regarding his capacities therefore receiving state benefits to which he was not entitled, and lied about his mobility.

Mr Brearley was found to be a ‘wholly unsatisfactory and unreliable witness’ who had ‘come to Court deliberately in order to deceive and to tell untruths’ and will be responsible for the costs of the action which will exceed £100,000.

Alex Wilkinson, Partner and Head of HF’s Large Loss Fraud Team, said “Mr Brearley wanted to lie and play the system. He had already misled DWP to secure benefits he wasn’t entitled to and had no problem in lying further in an attempt to inflate his claim against Admiral. This result sends a message to claimants who may be tempted to exaggerate their claims that it is simply not worth it.”

Stuart Cook, Head of Technical Claims at Admiral, said “While Mr Brearley suffered serious injuries in the road accident in 2019, he deliberately lied and misled the court regarding the true effect of those injuries. He submitted a high value claim that was dishonest and didn’t reflect the real impact of the accident on his life.

We’re pleased that HHJ Bird agreed with our submissions and found that the claim Mr Brearley presented was false and that he did so knowing full well that his actions were dishonest. The consequences for Mr Brearley are extremely serious, the start point being his claim for compensation has been dismissed in full.

Admiral remains fully committed to paying compensation to genuine claimants fairly and quickly. However, with the support and guidance of our trusted legal advisors, we will defend claims we believe to be dishonest and continue to take appropriate steps to eradicate fraudulent claims in all its forms.”

Fundamental Dishonesty