Driver loses £22,000 car crash whiplash payout claim after posting photos of himself ziplining, hanging upside down riding a quad bike and jumping off a cliff on Mexican holiday
- Ferenc Kirinovits claimed the crash left him unable to go to the gym or swim
- But his claim was thrown out after pictures showed him on all-action holiday
When Ferenc Kirinovits was involved in a minor car accident, he claimed the injuries had turned his world upside down.
But the acrobatic scene on a zip wire while he was locked in the middle of a £22,000 civil claim for injuries and lost income was not what the other driver’s insurers expected.
Kirinovits, 45, who was not to blame for the crash in Attleborough, Norfolk, in 2016, demanded the compensation for loss of income and injuries including whiplash and prolapsed discs in his spine.
Insurance firm Axa UK became suspicious about the severity of his injuries, which he insisted prevented him from going to the gym, playing football, swimming or cleaning his house, and appointed investigators to look into his claim.
A cursory look at his Facebook page revealed incriminating photos that showed him on an all-action holiday in Mexico with his wife – before he underwent surgery to correct his injuries.
Ferenc Kirinovits was involved in a minor car accident and lodged a £22,000 civil claim for injuries and lost income..but was caught out by these snaps on his social media
His Facebook page revealed incriminating photos that showed him on an all-action holiday in Mexico with his wife
As well as whizzing along a zip wire in various poses, he posted images showing himself scaling ladders and ropes in a treetop climbing activity park, clambering over netting on an obstacle course, riding a quad bike and jumping off a cliff.
His claim has now been thrown out by a judge at Norwich County Court, who said he had ‘exaggerated any injuries to the point of criminal dishonesty’.
It means he will not receive the five-figure sum he was demanding and Axa is entitled to claim back £12,000 in legal fees – meaning he could end up £34,000 out of pocket.
The firm’s commercial claims director, Chris Walsh, said yesterday: ‘Insurance fraud is a serious crime which has significant consequences for fraudsters but, sadly, also results in higher insurance premiums for honest customers as insurers are faced with increased costs.’
Damian Rourke, a partner at Clyde & Co which investigated the claim for the insurer, added: ‘Trying to fake injuries over a prolonged period is much more difficult in today’s connected world.
‘With so much social media, CCTV and the ability to easily take surveillance footage, our investigators have a rich seam of evidence to disprove fraudulently exaggerated accounts like that made by Mr Kirinovits.’
The coach driver was behind the wheel of a car on the A11 near Attleborough in Norfolk when it was hit from behind by another car in August 2016.
Axa didn’t dispute liability but was suspicious about the extent of the claimant’s injuries.
In a September 2017 examination, he explained how his mobility had been severely limited by the accident.
Kirinovits will not receive the five-figure sum he was demanding and Axa is entitled to claim back £12,000 in legal fees – meaning he could end up £34,000 out of pocket. Other images showed him enjoying a sightseeing trip to the Maya temple of Kukulcan, also known as El Castillo, at Chich’en Itza in Yucatan
He went on to have surgery in August 2019 by doctors who carried out a private spinal assessment and MRI scan in Budapest, Hungary.
But the photos he uploaded to Facebook were taken six months before the procedure.
Other images showed him enjoying a sightseeing trip to the Maya temple of Kukulcan, also known as El Castillo, at Chich’en Itza in Yucatan.
Kirinovits, of Lakenham, told the court that he feared he would be unable to take part in sports after his operation and wanted to experience them one more time.
But District Judge Jacqueline Raggett has now ruled[it was actually in February] that his claim was ‘fundamentally dishonest’.
She accepted he had been injured and undergone surgery but said he could not prove that his prolapsed discs or need for surgery were caused by the accident.
UK insurers rumbled 89,000 dishonest insurance claims valued at £1.1 billion in 2021, according to the latest figures. The industry estimates a similar amount of fraud goes undetected every year.
Kirinovits was unemployed at the time of the accident but claimed he was interviewed for a coach driver’s job before the accident and was subsequently offered the post.
He said he was he was due to start the month of the accident but had to postpone this two months until Oct 2016.
Kirinovits claimed he intended to work as a coach driver before eventually becoming a lorry driver but he had to put his plans on hold because the injuries from the accident made driving difficult and uncomfortable.
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