Insurance Fraud
Adam is also a personal injury fraud specialist, and he regularly represents defendants at fundamental dishonesty and fraud trials, across the EL/PL/RTA spectrum, including LVI collisions. He also advises and tests witnesses in conference, advises on overall prospects of success, and assists with the pleading of fraud. He has experience with re-opening settlements on the basis of the tort of deceit. He also has experience in acting on enforcement proceedings arising out of fraud matters. He regularly lectures on fundamental dishonesty. His approach to insurance fraud cases has been informed by his extensive experience of prosecuting corruption, fraud, and ethics cases in international sports arbitration.
Selected Cases
- Adam acted for the defendant as sole counsel in achieving a fundamental dishonesty finding and strike out against a claimant who had fallen off a scaffold, where liability had been admitted, and where the claim against the defendant was pleaded at c.£450,000 when Adam was instructed. Adam achieved an initial adjournment of the trial in order for the defendant to rely on Facebook evidence and later cross-examined the claimant for a full day at trial, as to his Facebook, GP, DWP and HMRC records. At the two-day trial Adam negotiated quantum down from £450,000 to £100,000, subject to fundamental dishonesty, which was then found against the claimant. The trial raised issues of hidden employment, holidays, social activities, and unsupportable care/accommodation claims.
- Adam was instructed as junior counsel for the defence in a £2million product liability claim with a personal injury element. The claim involved a fall from a horse by a doctor while wearing an inflatable vest. Adam had primary responsibility for the personal injury element (with leading counsel dealing with the product liability element). He settled a 20-page counter-schedule, which pleaded fundamental dishonesty on the basis of exaggerated quantum. He met with the four medical experts to finalise their reports and explore the fraud case through their opinions of examining the claimant.
- Adam achieved a fundamental dishonesty finding at trial arising out of a ‘mystery spring roll’ where the judge found that the spring roll did not have metal shavings in it, subsequent to Adam’s cross-examination of the claimant.
- Adam acted in enforcement proceedings arising out of a Tomlin Order at a fundamental dishonesty trial, including as to enforcement of the settlement terms and resisting an application for payments by instalment
- Adam advised on surveillance evidence from a neighbour of the claimant as to the claimant’s non-injured gardening, contrary to the claimant’s medical presentation to expert. He drafted the fundamental dishonesty defence and he then advised as to reopening the previous settlement of the related passenger claim of the spouse on the basis of tort of deceit, as the spouse was also seen gardening without injury, contrary to the expert medical report. He then drafted proceedings in the tort of deceit to reopen the settlement.
- Achieving a QOCS exception when the claimant failed to turn up for trial with no explanation, as reported on Lawtel (Brahilika v Allianz).
- Achieving a strike out and future wasted costs hearing in front of a Birmingham Circuit Judge, where a potentially fraudulent claimant failed to serve properly translated witness evidence. It was being alleged by the Defendant that the injuries pleaded could not have been caused by the accident (LVI).
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Qualifications
- Hardwicke, Droop and Shelford Scholarships, Lincoln’s Inn
- Margaret Branthwaite CPE Prize
- BPTC, University of Law, Birmingham
- GDL, University of Birmingham
- BA Hons (First Class), Worcester College, University of Oxford
Memberships
- Lincoln’s Inn
- Ordre des Avocats Vaudois (Vaudois Bar Association, invited member)
- Federation Suisse des Avocats (Swiss Bar Association)
- Association Suisse de Droit du Sport (Swiss Sports Law Association)
