by Tejas Mehta
21 October 2010
A man who made a fraudulent compensation claim after a work accident has admitted his guilt to the High Court in London.
Taxi driver Michael Seabrook, 69, of Ilford, East London, was involved in an accident in April 2006 when an employee of Pool Motors collided with his vehicle.
Seabrook claimed that he was now unable to work and made a compensation claim for £50,000.
However, Pool Motors’ insurer Aviva conducted some private investigations into the matter when they suspected that the claimant had submitted a falsified claim. Covert filming revealed that Seabrook had in fact continued working after his accident.
Aviva’s initial offering of £17000 was retracted when they discovered this, but they then decided to take Seabrook to court for contempt of court.
While he admitted that it was right for Aviva to have brought the case, High Court judge Sir Anthony May, sitting with Mr Justice Wyn Williams, said it was "right and humane" that the court took Seabrook’s failing health into consideration. Having suffered a stroke and other medical complications in recent months, the court decided that it would be appropriate that he was spared jail.