Keoghs and MIB victory as largest fundamental dishonesty claim is rejected under Untraced Drivers’ Agreement

Keoghs has assisted Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) in uncovering the dishonest and fraudulent claims made by a motorcyclist who submitted a claim to the MIB totalling £4m.

The case marks the largest fundamental dishonesty claim rejected under the Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2017. Under this Agreement, MIB must adopt the same approach as the court when determining claims and as such, this claim was rejected in line with Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 which grants courts power to deal with dishonest personal injury claims including full dismissal of the claim and the loss of all damages. Through surveillance and social media analysis the MIB commissioned, it was concluded the claimant, an HGV driver – had been deceitful, fundamentally dishonest and fraudulently obtained nearly £190,000 in interim payments which it is believed he used to fund a vehicle recovery business. It was determined that rejecting the claim would not cause substantial injustice, enabling a complete repudiation under Section 57, leading to the claim being rejected in full. MIB, supported by Keoghs, is now seeking recovery of all interim payments to date.

The incident, which occurred on 17 August, saw the claimant fall from his motorcycle along the Crockford Road West in Grimstead, after being forced to avoid a Mercedes that intruded into his path. The claimant sustained several significant injuries from the fall, including a fractured pelvis and ribs, a displaced shoulder and a lumbar disc injury, requiring inpatient treatment. He returned to restricted work after five and a half months, before undergoing spinal fusion surgery in June 2019 and claimed not to have worked since.

A year to the date of his accident, the claimant told MIB’s orthopaedic expert he still needed help with domestic tasks and could not resume motorcycling because of his significant symptoms. Despite reporting ongoing disability, the claimant’s extensive social media activity contradicted his claimed limitations, including photos uploaded showing him wearing karting gear. In June 2019, he set up a vehicle recovery business which coincided with receiving an interim payment a month prior. His social media activity documented images of multiple sign-written vehicles linked to this business, often coinciding with further interim payments. The same social media accounts continued to show him performing physically demanding tasks, including attaching tow ropes with his injured arm and lying beside vehicles to work on them.

The claimant’s claim escalated when in June 2020 he reported PTSD symptoms and the need for home adaptations and aids, obtaining updated orthopaedic evidence in May 2021 where he reported continued severe domestic and mobility limitations and ongoing inability to work. A psychology assessment conducted in October 2022 accepted his account and concluded he likely met the criteria for PTSD – however his own experts in late 2022 and 2023 relied heavily on self-reported symptoms including claims he spent most days resting and couldn’t walk more than 50 metres or go shopping, while his social media activity during this same time heavily contradicted these claims. The claimant based his claim on a detailed list of past and future financial losses, confirmed by a Statement of Truth, totalling over £3m, plus compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA) and interest. His accommodation and care experts recommended an adapted bungalow costing £472,000 plus £148,000 in adaptations and daily care of 3-4 hours for life, based on his claimed function.

Further expert evidence in 2023 and 2024 repeated the claimant’s reports of extreme disability, including needing help with washing, dressing, getting out of bed, and being effectively housebound. A spinal expert for MIB questioned causation, noting he denied a history of back pain contrary to records showing symptomatic degenerative spondylolisthesis in 2011 (six years before the accident).

The surveillance, commissioned by MIB between May and October 2024, uncovered evidence contradicting the claimant’s assertions of disability and inability to work, discrediting the medical and psychiatric evidence submitted by the claimant. The footage showed him moving freely, driving for long periods, and single-handedly pushing a customer’s car onto his recovery truck. Days later, he submitted an updated witness statement reinforcing his alleged need for two hours of daily private care from an individual that he refused to properly identify - with the claimant explaining he lived only on benefits.

Commenting on the case, Paul Baxter, Partner and Deputy Business Unit Director at Keoghs said: “This outcome represents a significant victory and sends a powerful message that prolonged and calculated dishonesty will not be tolerated. Fraudulent claims divert finite public funds away from deserving claimants and undermine confidence in the system, and it is genuine claimants and the wider public who ultimately pay the price.

“We are proud to have supported MIB in exposing sustained and deliberate misrepresentation, and in helping to protect both the public interest and the insurance industry’s levy.”

John Reynolds (Controller Strategic Partnerships) & Sundeep Sindhu (Large Loss Specialist) at MIB said: “This is a landmark outcome and one of the most significant findings of fundamental dishonesty ever made under the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement. By uncovering and repudiating a £4 million fraudulent claim, we have ensured that the cost of deliberate deception does not fall on insurers or on the public, who ultimately fund the work we do through the levy.

“As a not-for-profit organisation, MIB exists to support genuine victims of uninsured and hit-and-run driving. This case demonstrates our determination to robustly investigate suspicious claims, no matter how complex or high value, and to take decisive action where fraud is proven. It sends a clear message that attempts to exploit the help we provide will be rigorously challenged and will not be tolerated.”