Dartford man sentenced to prison for false £600k workplace injury claim

Keoghs, along with QBE Business Insurance, have successfully pursued 20 counts of contempt against a claimant. Mr Mark Hilton falsely claimed damages of £600k following a workplace accident.  

Because of the seriousness of his deceit, including a forged birth certificate, the court sentenced the claimant to 15 months in prison. The reduction to 10 months occurred because of the claimant’s early admission during the contempt hearing on Friday, 17 November.

The claimant, Mark Hilton of Dartford, Kent sought damages for significant soft tissue and psychological injuries. He also attempted to claim for a loss of earnings and care costs, totalling £600,000.  

After a fuel hose fell from some height at a construction business in summer 2015, he claimed for multiple injuries. However, inconsistencies emerged around the circumstances of the accident, the types of injuries and his medical history. 

Mr Hilton alleged that he could barely walk and was confined to a wheelchair, essentially being housebound. However, investigations exposed his lies, with surveillance catching him driving to the shops, walking without a stick, and even leaning into the open bonnet of his car to work on the engine. 

The claimant said that the accident had triggered psychological issues. However, medical records revealed those matters dated further back than the incident; with a bout of depression occurring following his daughter’s birth.  

When confronted with this, Mr Hilton doubled down on his story. He suggested that there was another person at his GP practice with the same name and their records must have been mixed up. 

To attempt to prove that the dates were incorrect, he forged his daughter’s birth certificate and served it with a witness statement. 

Exposed fabrications led to the amendment of the defence to dishonesty.

Mr Hilton then seemingly abandoned his case, defaulting on a number of directions, which resulted in the claim being struck out. 

Given that his claim didn’t reach trial, there was no finding of fundamental dishonesty. However, the court applied the disqualification of Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS), and it ordered the claimant to pay costs of £10,000. This decision was based on the determination that the claimant’s conduct was likely to obstruct the just disposal of proceedings.

Considering the layers of fraud in the case, QBE, which insured the construction business, and its lawyers Keoghs then applied for permission to bring committal proceedings for 21 counts of contempt of court against Mr Hilton. This included making false statements and interfering with the administration of justice. The court granted permission to proceed on 20 counts, with Mr Hilton admitting to the contempts. 

At the hearing, the judge described the level of dishonesty as egregious. The value of the dishonesty was an aggravating factor and that this was a most calculated, if inept, attempt to defraud the insurers in this case. Mr Hilton was sentenced to a 10-month custodial sentence. 

Following the sentencing, Damian Ward, head of counter-fraud at Keoghs said: “I am delighted that we have been able to work closely with QBE on this important landmark case.  It underlines the ongoing commitment that our market-leading team has to work across the insurance industry, to stamp out fraud and bring those responsible to account.” 

Charlotte Gray, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) claims manager at QBE, said: “The level of deception was exceptional. Instead of admitting to exaggerating his injuries and misrepresenting the circumstances, the claimant kept coming up with new lies to cover up his previous lies. It totally snowballed. It is a relief that the court called it out.”

Image: Keoghs head of counter-fraud, Damian Ward.

Emma Cockings Emma is a content editor for Claims Media. Emma is a experienced writer with a background in client-centric personal injury for a major firm. She has attended and reported on multiple brokerage events throughout her career.