- Considers the options available to a defendant when dishonesty is suspected and includes an infogram to help solicitors consider next steps.
Two recent successes by NHS Resolution highlight the increasing importance of undertaking investigations where there are genuine questions around exaggeration or fabrication. In the most recent case, Lesley Elder brought a clinical negligence claim against George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust. Liability was admitted. Ms Elder then sought to recover compensation from the NHS of more than £2.3m. She alleged that the negligence caused her to suffer from severe pain which significantly restricted her mobility and which caused her to require care and assistance.
Sadly, Ms Elder had not been honest. Surveillance evidence showed that she had significantly exaggerated her injuries, the judge noting that without this evidence ‘a terrible injustice would have been done to the National Health Service’. Contempt of Court proceedings were brought as a result of which Ms Elder was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment.
This
