NORTH Yorkshire County Council’s tough stance against fraudulent compensation claims has left one man picking up a bill for almost £10,000 to pay the authority’s court costs.
The claimant said he had been injured after falling because of missing cobbles on a footpath in Scarborough in April 2014. The county council initially admitted the claim and made an interim payment of £1,000. But it was found that photographs used to support the claim showed a defect that was not present at the time the man claimed to have tripped over it.
Under challenge from the county council, the claimant’s solicitors discontinued his claim. However, the authority applied to the court for a finding of dishonesty against the claimant to enable it to pursue its costs. This was successful, but no costs were paid.
This led to a committal to High Court, where less than an hour before the case was to be heard earlier this month the claimant offered to meet the county council’s full costs, a bill of £9,696. The council accepted this offer.
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