I had two operations and metalwork put into my leg. Naturally I couldn’t work as a plumber as it is a pretty physical job and requires bending and kneeling etc. Liability was admitted pretty quickly, and my solicitor got some interim payments so I could pay the mortgage etc. Everything was heading in the right direction, and we were due to go to trial in three months to let a Judge decide how much I should get.
However, my solicitor has just sacked me as a client for being “fundamentally dishonest” (a quote from his letter) after the other side sent him a video of me fighting in an amateur boxing match (my club had live streamed the event and then put the video up on YouTube). The defendants had also employed an undercover investigator who followed me for a couple of days working at various house and sites etc. The other side has also made an application to “strike out” my entire claim. If I had known about the videos earlier, I would have given a different statement – I wouldn’t have said I hadn’t returned to work and my leg was still causing problems etc. In short, I knew I had to play up a bit to make sure I got as much as possible, as they always try and knock you down.
I feel I have been stitched up by the van driver’s solicitor and my own solicitor as I was injured, and liability was admitted. I don’t see why my solicitor should get paid by the defendants and I get sod all. Therefore, I’m planning to go to court on my own as the Judge will have to give me something. Do you agree?
Answer
No. I do not agree. Firstly, there is no “conspiracy” against you. There is simply a man who decided to “play up a bit” – lie, to try and get more money. You are an author of your own misfortune. So it is crystal clear, compensation is meant to do that. Compensate. It is not a lottery win. Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 deals with cases of “fundamental dishonesty:’ This means that if you go to trial and the Judge finds you have been lying about part of your claim, they can dismiss the whole of your claim, even if some of it is true.
The Judge can also order you pay the other side’s costs, and you could even end up in prison. You need legal advice ASAP to try and extract yourself from this position. You do not want to end up at trial on your own and you need to accept that you are unlikely getting any compensation from this. Lastly, your solicitor will not be getting paid by the defendants. Instead, you will likely need to pay your solicitors bill personally, and if you do not, I suspect they will sue you.
Andrew Prendergast
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – June 2025
I often enjoyed speaking to yourselves at the various shows you attend and been assured that your blogs all relate to real cases but c’mon.
Is there really someone of such jaw dropping, monumental idiocy that believes that they can outright lie (to a court for jings sake) to gain money by deception but think it’s all some vast conspiracy when it goes spectacularly and predictably belly up.
I can only conclude that if their biking skills match their judgement in other matters the “absolute imbecile” done everyone a favour by putting them off road