header-logo header-logo

Fundamental dishonesty: secrets & lies

Dishonest exaggeration in clinical negligence claims: Mark Ashley, Stuart Wallace, Ruth Crackett take a closer look
  • 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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll