A man who made a £50,000 claim for injury compensation was caught surfing down a flight of stairs, despite having said that he was unfit to work.
North Yorkshire resident Christopher Clinton made thousands from an insurance company after he was involved in a car accident on the A66 near Middlesbrough in 2016.
The 29-year-old asbestos remover said he’d suffered injuries to his lumbar spine, hips, and right shoulder, Teesside Live reports.
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He made a claim for loss of earnings back in 2017, claiming that the pain he suffered stopped him from performing climbing tasks and heavy lifting.
AXA UK reserved as much as £50,000 for his claim, as well as £40,000 for legal costs, but they decided to investigate on account of his age and the nature of the car accident.
When they did, they discovered that Clinton was pictured in social media posts rock climbing, skiing, swimming, and – perhaps most shockingly – surfing down a set of stairs on a construction site.
All of these incidents took place after the crash.
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Naturally, the company are pleased to have avoided paying the money out.
Damian Rourke, from law firm Clyde & Co, said: "Mr Clinton’s posts showed a very active individual, carrying out extreme and demanding physical activities shortly after the accident.
"These included activities like rock climbing and skiing that simply couldn’t be carried out or even contemplated by someone with the reported ongoing physical problems.
He added: "Insurance companies and the courts will not tolerate any attempts to exaggerate injuries in order to get money.
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"Mr Clinton certainly didn’t help himself by filling his social media with videos of sports and activities, none of which could have been done if his claims were true.
"Also, at a time when the pandemic has created a log jam throughout the legal system, his action was a complete waste of the court's time and delayed other more worthy cases."
Mr Clinton was shown the evidence against him and he ended his claim in October 2021.
Last month, at a hearing at Middlesbrough County Court, Deputy District Judge Crammond said Clinton had been ‘fundamentally dishonest’ and ordered him to pay £4,439 in costs.
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Tom Wilson, Head of Counter Fraud Operations at AXA UK, said: "The decision against Mr Clinton should serve as a warning to anyone who is considering making a fraudulent claim.
"This was a clear attempt by Mr Clinton to take full advantage of an incident through exaggerating his insurance claim.
"The visual evidence found on Mr Clinton’s social media after the event highlighted the extent of the deception."
Tom Wood