Keoghs, and LV= General Insurance (LV=) have saved over £135,000 at trial in a fraud case involving street racing where the claimant was found to have taken part in a joint criminal enterprise and deemed jointly responsible for dangerous driving.
The claimant was a passenger in the insured vehicle when the driver lost control, resulting in the car rolling and ending up on its roof, with the impact so severe that the engine was ejected into bushes nearby. The incident took place on a road which was part of an extended High Court injunction banning car-cruising and subject to police interest. Although the driver denied the claimant was even in his vehicle, the claimant, who was a motor mechanic by profession, alleged that he and the driver were testing the brakes on the insured vehicle, despite the test occurring late at night, on a public road at high speed and in a known street racing area.
Investigations by Keoghs and LV= quickly uncovered that the claimant already had a previous dangerous driving conviction back in 2017 under an alias after street racing on the exact same road. He had also been sentenced for breaching the resulting injunction order. Keoghs and LV= also discovered that the claimant had been involved in yet another accident in 2020 which was also connected to car cruising, again on the same road.
After the incident took place in September 2018, the claimant suffered various soft tissue injuries and a laceration to the left knee as well as alleging that he suffered psychological symptoms diagnosed as PTSD and generalised anxiety and depression requiring CBT. He claimed £2,520 for the cost of the CBT, along with care and assistance costing £3,696, and loss of earnings totalling £13,899. The claimant also tried to claim care was provided by his children, however his eldest child was found to be just six years’ old.
At trial, Her Honour Judge Truman dismissed the claim and ordered that the claimant pay LV=’s costs, with permission given to enforce the full costs order, and £25k due on account. Given the street racing was a joint criminal enterprise, the claimant was also jointly responsible in law for dangerous driving and the judge also found the claim to be fundamentally dishonest as the claimant had deliberately lied about the circumstances of the collision in an attempt to establish his story. In total Keoghs and LV= saved a total of £135,098.
Matthew Ruck, Partner, Keoghs said: “In this case neither party involved in the accident were credible, they had conflicting accounts and there were no witnesses. The investigative work was crucial and we were able to discover, evidence and prove at trial, despite a name change, that the claimant had a history not only of street racing but doing so on the exact same road in question Detailed cross examination at trial revealed the defects in both the claimant’s and the driver’s version of events resulting in a saving of over £130k which is a great result for all involved.”
Matt Crabtree, Head of Financial Crime Intelligence & Investigation Strategy at LV= General Insurance adds: “This is a fantastic result, and we’ve worked collaboratively with the team at Keoghs to achieve a great outcome against a claimant who was deliberately lying and trying to cheat the system. Cases such as this only serve to drive up costs for our genuine customers, which is why we’re committed to defending the claims in Court where needed and ensuring those behind the frauds suffer the consequences.”