Head of Personal Injury, Andrew McLaughlin, has successfully defended the Ministry of Defence against a claim by a former soldier for approximately £750,000, arising out of a non-freezing cold injury (NFCI). Andrew was instructed by Ali Maghazachi from Keoghs. Liability was agreed at 75/25, but after a five-day trial—featuring vascular and employment experts on both sides—the court found that the claimant had been fundamentally dishonest in the presentation of his claim in all material respects.
The claimant alleged that the NFCI had left him with continuing disabling symptoms, resulting in medical discharge and a restricted ability to work. Although he did not plead a claim for care and assistance in his schedule of loss—limiting his claim to past and future loss of earnings and pension—his witness evidence laid the groundwork for such a claim.
HHJ Walden Smith found that he had intended to bring a care claim and lied in doing so, but ultimately refrained because surveillance footage was disclosed before the final schedule was due. The judge held that the claimant had sought to deceive medical experts during their examinations, and the surveillance footage demonstrated that his functional capacity was significantly better than he claimed. She further held that his account to the Medical Board exaggerated his symptoms and omitted a pre-existing cold-related condition, which, if disclosed at enlistment, would have led to his rejection from the Army.
Read full case summary here.
Download full judgment: Coker v Ministry of Defence
Andrew’s defendant-focused practice sees him being counsel of choice for the majority of national firms and their insurer clients especially in complex cases where fundamental dishonesty and fraud is alleged. His expert knowledge of counter-fraud litigation tactics is in high demand and Andrew is often asked to speak to claims handlers on how to spot the signs of fundamental dishonesty and claims inflation. Find out more here.