In A & R v Aviva Insurance two Claimants advanced claims for personal injury and loss following a road traffic accident in 2017.
The First Claimant claimed that the vehicle that she had been driving, and in which the other Claimant was a passenger, was turning into a side road when the Defendant’s insured emerged from that side road and into the Claimants' correctly proceeding vehicle. Breach of duty was admitted. The Claimants contended that as a consequence they suffered multiple soft tissue injuries lasting many months.
The Court found that the accident was capable of causing injury and that indeed the Claimants may well have been injured. However, following cross examination, the Court was unable to determine what those injuries were and moreover found that the Claimants had dishonestly exaggerated the nature and extent of any injury suffered. The Claimants were found to be fundamentally dishonest and the Defendant was awarded enforceable costs on the indemnity basis.
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