Woman loses 600k in compensation after being branded ‘dishonest’ by judge
A woman seeking damages after suffering multiple injuries due to a bad fall in Wales is about to lose out on almost £600,000 for being “thoroughly dishonest” in her process of asking for compensation.
The Queen’s Bench division’s Justice Ritchie dismissed the claim by Kirsty Williams-Henry, saying that she was a “regular liar”. He said he would have awarded her £596,704 in damages but not any longer.
Ms Williams-Henry said she had suffered a fall from the Aberavon Pier in Wales town Port Talbot on 21 July 2018. She then took legal action against the company owning the pier – Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd – in 2021 and claimed more than £2.3m in damages, with liability settled two-thirds in her favour, reported the Daily Record news website.
The Pier’s owning firm said it believed that Ms Williams-Henry was entitled to only around £370,000 as she had been dishonest about the extent of her injuries and the said impact on her daily life.
Justice Ritchie, in a 99-page ruling on Wednesday, said: "I have come to the conclusion that both the claimant and her mother have been thoroughly dishonest in their presentation of the claimant’s symptoms and disabilities and have sought to mislead clinicians, medicolegal experts and this court about the claimant’s health, functioning, activities of daily living and her work abilities."
He added: "Looking at the claimant’s statements which I have identified as lies... objectively, taking into account what a reasonable member of the public would consider to be honest, knowing all of the relevant facts, I have come to the conclusion that the claimant and her mother have been objectively dishonest."
The judge pointed out that the 33-year-old woman was drinking when she visited the pier with her family to see the bioluminescent plankton spotted in the sea.
But while returning to the shore, she suffered a fall between four and five metres onto rocks and sand that did not have any safety barriers along the pier.
The judge pointed out that Ms Williams-Henry suffered a "moderately severe" brain injury from the fall as well as skull and other bone fractures. Justice Ritchie added that the woman also suffered from depression, anxiety and mild post-traumatic stress disorder after spending eight days in intensive care.
She further claimed lack of proper rehabilitation after the incident, leading to more problems in her personal and professional life.
During the trial in Cardiff, the woman denied lying about her injuries and her mother also claimed that Ms William-Henry had “no life” due to her conditions, according to reports.
However, Justice Ritchie ruled that "overall" he found Ms Williams-Henry was "dishonest and manipulative".
He added that the woman lied in insurance and benefits forms, despite working for the insurance firm Admiral until last year. She has been found to have made "substantial exaggerations and some lies" to both the court and medical experts about her health difficulties and their effects, Justice Ritchie said.
Some of the evidence presented by her, the judge said, was "some of the least impressive that I have ever heard".
"I know it looks like a large sum of money to deprive a genuinely injured person of, but... parliament sought to stamp out dishonesty which is fundamental in personal injury claims and the claimant has breached this law,” the judge said.
"Finally, I take into account that the claimant was wholly unrepentant when she gave evidence and had sought, in parallel, to defraud the Department for Work and Pensions and Legal & General insurance about her disabilities."
