Christopher Boxall secures finding of fundamental dishonesty on behalf of Leeds City Council in discontinued EL/PL claim
Park Square BarristersBell v Leeds City Council, Leeds County Court, 8th March 2023
The Claimant alleged that he had suffered a significant knee injury after falling due to a defective manhole cover in Leeds City Centre.
A claim was issued on 10th June 2021 and whilst breach of duty was admitted, Leeds City Council held a number of concerns regarding the veracity of the claim presented.
The ‘silver bullet’ in the Defendant’s case was found in the Claimant’s medical records which indicated that the Claimant had telephoned the NHS111 service just one week prior to the alleged index accident complaining of an excruciating knee injury having fallen down the stairs. The Claimant had specifically denied the existence of any pre-existing knee injuries at his medico-legal examination and maintained this denial in his witness statement.
The Claimant discontinued his claim a matter of weeks before trial. However, Leeds City Council successfully applied for the matter to proceed to trial in any event, to determine the issue of fundamental dishonesty.
Chris was instructed to advise and appear on behalf of Leeds City Council at trial on 8th March 2023 (where the Claimant attended and gave evidence). At the time of trial, a recording of the NHS111 call had been obtained and the Claimant was forced to concede that he was the caller.
District Judge Dawson determined that the claim was fundamentally dishonest for the purposes of CPR 44.16(1). The Claimant was ordered to pay the Defendant’s legal costs in the sum of £10,750.
Chris was instructed by Jamie Comer on behalf of Leeds City Council.
Local press coverage of the case can be found here:
Chris Boxall is a member of the casualty fraud and costs teams at Park Square Barristers. He is routinely instructed to act for Defendants in RTA and EL/PL cases where fraud or dishonesty is suspected or explicitly alleged.
If you would like to book Chris, please contact one of his clerks:
Senior Clerk – Andy Reeves on 0113 213 5252
Talia Webster on 0113 202 8609