Admiral wins whiplash case and sends out warning over dishonest claims

A claimant who brought a whiplash case against Admiral has been forced to pay back the costs of the trial after being found to have been fundamentally dishonest.

District Judge Dudley, at Southend County Court, found that there was no substance to the claimant’s story that Admiral’s customer had driven into the back of the claimant and caused him severe whiplash injuries.

Admiral’s customer maintained that there had been no contact between the two vehicles and the District Judge found in his favour, saying that he had no doubt that the claimant had been fundamentally dishonest.

The claimant lost the protection of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) and was ordered to pay the costs of the trial, which amounted to £6,000. He also had to pay an additional £1,000 to cover the costs of the application DJ Dudley required before he was prepared to make his ruling on dishonesty.

Admiral, which was represented by Horwich Farelly, told Litigation Futures that the claimant had put their customer through undue stress and inconvenience, making the insurer determined to prove that this was a case of fundamental dishonest.

“We hope it sends a warning that a dishonest individual could have a very significant cost liability should they pursue a case against us, as the judiciary are willing to make findings of fundamental dishonesty,” said Lorna Connelly, head of claims at Admiral.

“It will also hopefully make solicitors think twice before bringing these cases to court in the first place.”

Claims Media