The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) has welcomed the withdrawal of a personal injury claim in the High Court as a “victory for putting suspicious claims to the test”.
The MIBI was defending a personal injury claim lodged by Mr. Constantin Iosca residing in Lusk, Co. Dublin who alleged he was involved in an accident with an unknown vehicle in June 2016. Mr. Iosca formally withdrew this claim after the MIBI was able to present the court with video evidence which contradicted Mr. Iosca’s claim that he required a wheelchair and crutches.
Costs were awarded to the MIBI.
The MIBI is a not for profit organisation that was established to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
During video footage presented to the court by the MIBI, Mr. Iosca is shown:
- Walking out to a car and preparing it for his upcoming journey into town.
- Removing crutches from plastic wrapping.
- Picking the wheelchair up and placing it in the boot of the car.
- Upon his arrival in Dublin city centre, getting into the wheelchair and then being wheeled to the building where his medical appointment is taking place.
- Using the crutches to climb the steps into the building.
- A short time after the medical appointment he is seen in another part of Dublin city centre walking unaided.
- After returning to his home, he lifts the wheelchair and crutches out of the car and brings them into the house.
Speaking following the conclusion of the case, MIBI Chief Executive, David Fitzgerald said, “This is a victory for putting suspicious claims to the test. Thanks to a comprehensive investigation, we were able to provide evidence which strongly rebutted the claim being made. We will now be referring the details of this case to the Gardaí.
“Suspicious claims simply won’t be accepted by the MIBI. We will put considerable resources into establishing if the evidence actually supports a claim we believe is questionable. We will look under every stone to establish the truth and if we do find any falsehoods we will bring those to the attention of the legal authorities. That means anyone who is making a false injury claim had better be prepared to live a life that backs that claim up 24/7.
“We will happily provide genuine claimants with the compensation they deserve. That is what the MIBI was set up to do. But if the claim does not live up to scrutiny then it should not be allowed to succeed and the MIBI is determined to defeat claims of this nature,” Mr. Fitzgerald concluded.
The claim was handled on the MIBI’s behalf by FBD, with Stephen MacKenzie & Co acting as solicitors for the MIBI. Investigative services were provided by Mulligan Accident Investigations, and G4S Investigations.