Taxi driver claimant found to be "deliberately dishonest"

Whilst large scale fraud, or those involving organised criminal groups are more likely to grab media headlines, fraud teams across the insurance industry are also faced with the challenge of identifying opportunistic fraud on smaller value cases, where decision making can be dictated by economics.

In Hussain v Khenge and MIB, the claimant, a taxi driver, alleged he sustained a back injury lasting for 8 months in a low speed collision on a petrol forecourt. The defendant, Khenge was not cooperating with MIB and there were concerns about the veracity of the claim given the nature of the collision.

Despite there being passengers in the taxi at the time of the incident, only Hussain made a claim for injuries. Fortunately the claimant’s solicitors were able to send CCTV footage which showed a trivial accident with minor impact and that Khenge, the defendant was responsible. This video became a crucial piece of evidence for MIB’s defence at trial, particularly as MIB were not able to rely on testimony from the defendant.

During the trial, the claimant was inconsistent with his evidence, unable to clearly explain how his body moved in the impact sufficiently to cause injury and he had not been honest about pre-existing conditions. The judge was satisfied that the claimant was not injured and that “he has been deliberately dishonest”, resulting in all elements of the claim being dismissed including those associated to the damaged vehicle.

With the claim having failed, in the ordinary course of events, that would be the end of the matter with MIB being left to bear the legal costs incurred in defending the claim.  However with the support of DAC Beachcroft and counsel from Park Square Barristers, MIB were able to secure a finding of Fundamental Dishonesty. This finding meant that Hussain was subsequently ordered to pay £5,750 VAT in respect of costs to MIB.

This case is a good example of the challenges faced by MIB and insurers, particularly on low value claims. There was clear evidence confirming the collision occurred, that liability rested with the defendant and there was no reliable defendant testimony.

Prior to trial, the claimant had offered to settle the case for £3,500 and it would have not been unreasonable to have accepted that. However, this case demonstrates that MIB is willing to fight these type of cases and seek suitable punitive measures either through the civil or criminal courts.

Those willing to attempt to make fraudulent claims run the risk of incurring financial losses and in some cases, criminal sanctions. In 2016, MIB saved over £47million against confirmed and suspected fraud, benefiting the insurance industry and its customers.