After suffering a serious motorcycle accident requiring 23 surgical procedures to aid his recovery, Matthew Shaw’s claim for £6.6m in compensation was fully dismissed by his Honour Judge Sephton KC on the grounds of fundamental dishonesty.
Despite the claim’s genuine valuation of £1.2m, Mr Shaw was said to be ‘unrepentant’ in his lying, after claiming in his statement of truth that he ‘could only walk up to 200 metres without using a stick.’
This claim was refuted by Defendant insurers, Hastings, who obtained surveillance footage of Mr Shaw walking 900 metres without a stick, shopping using a mountain bike, driving an SUV, and biking at a remote location.
Mr Shaw was given a chance by the Defendant’s solicitors, Keoghs, to reconsider or withdraw his application for interim payment of £1.5m in light of the footage – Mr Shaw did not comply.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Mr Shaw had been declared fit by his GP to participate in a tandem skydive, a BASE jump in Italy, and ascending Mount Snowdon on electric mountain bikes.
This is the largest claim to be dismissed for dishonesty both in terms of the £6.6m sought, and the court’s valuation of the claim standing at £1.2m
Judge Sephton stated that Mr Shaw had ‘gambled that his lies would not be found out, or that the court would excuse them,’ and that ‘Mr Shaw has only himself to blame.’
In a further judgment on ancillary issues, HHJ Sephton ordered Mr Shaw to repay interim payments amounting to £150,000.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
Associated photo designed by Freepik.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
