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Four men, who received tens of thousands of euros in compensation over the past 20 years, put together a “grand scheme” to falsely “pocket” a personal injury lawsuit, a judge said Thursday.
Dismissing each of their claims for up to € 60,000 in Tullamore Circuit Court and awarding legal costs against them, Judge Karen Fergus said the four men had “grossly exaggerated” their claims and knowingly misled the court about a car incident in Granard, Co Longford, in 2015.
Judge Fergus said she would have expected the men to know what is required when speaking with lawyers and doctors, given the number of previous compensation claims. None of his previous claims had been filed in court.
Bad beans
The judge said the men appeared to be “very unfortunate” given the number of incidents that had happened to them in recent years.
The court heard evidence that they had received tens of thousands of euros among themselves in out-of-court settlements for previous traffic accidents and matters such as the purchase of a can of beans in bad condition.
Brothers Brendan Leddy and James Leddy, of Granard, Co Longford, as well as cousins Edward Stokes and Michael Stokes Jr., of Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, had been passengers in a car driven by Brendan Leddy’s wife, Emma O’Keeffe, when it hit. a stone wall or a ditch in a lane in Granard on January 25, 2015.
False and misleading
The four men filed claims against Ms. O’Keeffe’s insurance company, which were fully defended. They gave different versions of how the accident happened.
Defense attorney Keith O’Grady requested that all of his claims be dismissed as false and misleading.
Judge Fergus said she did not believe the accident happened as alleged or that the men suffered the level of injuries claimed. “Despite their description of the impact when the car hit a wall, none of them had a scratch, cut, bruise or broken bone.”
Judge Fergus said she was “completely satisfied” that this was a “great plan put together” by the men with the aim of “pocketing compensation.
“All of their complaints were typical of alleged injuries in these types of cases that are almost impossible for doctors to dismiss.”
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