Industry news roundup: week ended 1 July 2013:
There are all too many people with legitimate injuries that deserve personal injury compensation – yet there are still those that try to game the system.
Luckily when it comes to those trying to pull the wool over on insurers it seems that these bastards are caught quite regularly. In fact, one such high-profile instance in the news this week was the exposure of 31 year old David Ribchester as a complete and utter fraud after his insurer secretly filmed him playing rugby – despite the fact that he was making injury claims for nearly £1 million in compensation due to wrist injuries he allegedly suffered back in 2006.
Ribchester swore up and down that he couldn’t conduct simple tasks such as hold his baby daughter, pick up and carry shopping bags, or even drive, but something smelled fishy to RSA Group and decided to clandestinely follow him about for a few days. Much to Ribchester’s chagrin, the insuerr caught him on camera engaging in activities such as playing the drums, driving, carrying shopping; the rugby playing was just icing on the duplicitous cake if you ask me.
Well Ribchester was rewarded for his blatant falsehoods by being awarded an eight month jails sentence and the only thing I can say is ‘good,’ considering how he tried to game the system like that. It just makes things that much harder for people who are legitimately injured and need of financial help!
However, this week saw another high-profile accident claim that turned out much better for the claimant, considering she made off with £14 million in damages. Unfortunately the injured party – a 17 year old girl who was left with life-changing injuries from a car crash at the age of nine and is confined to a wheelchair that she controls with her chin, needs the cash to provide for her medical needs for the rest of her life, which includes the need for a ventilator.
The terrible car accident that left her completely paralysed hasn’t slowed the girl down though, considering that she completed her AS levels. Not only that, she’s set her sights firmly on university with an eye to seek out languages as a career path.
Good on her, I say. She’s infinitely more deserving of that massive financial reward than that fraudster Ribchester; I wish that girl nothing but the absolute best of luck and success in all her endeavours.