A woman lost her $823,000 injury claim after lawyers found a photo of her winning a Christmas-tree-throwing competition

[ikerepc]

A woman in Ireland lost her $823,000 injury claim due to a photo of her throwing a Christmas tree.

Kamila Grabska, 36, won a 2018 tree-throwing contest after she told doctors of back and neck pains.

She'd been in a car accident in 2017 that she said left her unable to work for years.

A woman in Ireland who sued an insurance company for $823,000 had her injury claim tossed out after the court saw a photo of her taking part in a Christmas-tree-throwing competition.

Kamila Grabska, 36, sued RSA Insurance over what she said were back and neck pains from a car crash in 2017, the Irish Independent reported.

The accident rendered her unable to work for more than five years, she said.

Grabska also said she could not carry her children, finish basic chores, or lift a heavy bag and that, at times, she needed her medication to be brought to her in bed due to the pain, the outlet reported.

But a photo shown to the Irish High Court in Limerick featured Grabska chucking a Christmas tree in January 2018, the report said.

Grabska, a resident of the town of Ennis, was one of the people photographed tossing 5-foot spruce trees at the local tree-throwing competition, as seen in this BBC article. Contestants compete to see who can hurl a tree the farthest.

The Irish Independent reported that Grabska admitted to Judge Carmel Stewart that she won the competition.

A 2018 article from the outlet named her as the victor in the ladies' event. Grabska is featured in the article's lead image in a yellow jacket and work gloves and appears to be flinging a tree.

Just days before the competition, Grabska had informed doctors of constant pains in her spine, back, and neck, the Irish Independent reported.

"It is a very large, natural Christmas tree, and it is being thrown by her in a very agile movement," the outlet quoted Stewart, the presiding judge, as saying. "I'm afraid I cannot but conclude the claims were entirely exaggerated."

The court was also shown footage of Grabska playing with a dalmatian in a park for about 90 minutes, the Irish Independent reported.

The footage was taken in November 2023, The Telegraph reported.

Her hearing was dismissed on Thursday, court records show.

The law firm representing Grabska didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

 

[denise101]

@ikerepc I worked for a couple decades in personal injury law. We made it clear to clients that their claims would be under scrutiny at the most inopportune times. If you say your injury prevents you from doing something, the defense will do their best to prove otherwise. They are more motivated to win than you are.

 

[rubbles]

@denise101 IME “I have good days and bad days” was always the justification.

 

[1way7]

@rubbles My favorite are when the good days and the bad days are the SAME day!

10am pain management consult: 9/10 pain doc, I’m dying.

2pm PCP appt: why no doc, I feel perfectly fine. No complaints at all. Now how about that unrelated prescription refill?

 

[sam14]

@1way7 Well, what do you expect, I'm still high from the painkillers and now you've given me PCP?

 

[weepingsinner7]

@sam14 Crazier than a bag of angel dust!

 

[pilgrim7]

@denise101 Yeah but there's certain things people can and cannot do with or without pain meds. That's what pain meds are for so that you can do certain things and not feel pain. If she wasn't on any pain meds then I can understand the legality of the issue! If she was on pain meds, then she is able to do more things such as playing with the dalmatian or throwing a Christmas tree or whatever else because the pain meds take away most or some serious pain caused from a car accident which would be back and or neck pain. So if you've ever been in that situation and had to take pain meds you would understand but if you haven't been in that situation and haven't take pain meds to where it takes the pain away so that you are able to do certain things then you will never understand!! Yes pain meds don't solve the problem they just mask the problem even though the pain still there pain meds make you not feel them as much or at all.!!

 

[dynadin]

@ikerepc I used to work in loss prevention for a retailer and there were several times that we were asked to track customers by their loyalty cards, phone numbers, etc. Then we would gather as much video evidence as possible and send it to attorneys at Sedgwick or similar firms. It was mind numbing work but every once in a while we would find something like a customer carrying cases of beer on their shoulders days after their skip and fall claims.

Edit- slip and fall claims.

 

[taters1]

@dynadin Your retailer was sharing information to insurance companies? Wtf?

I am completely against insurance fraud but what?!

Can I call Walmart and ask for footage of any random person? How is this legal? (the point is not that it's me, the point is that companies shouldn't share information about their customers to other entities)

 

[abcdef]

@taters1 I assume they meant “trip and fall claims”, and I assume it was a claim against that store. I don’t know any management that would tell their employees to spend time doing something like that in any other case (other than a valid subpoena).

 

[taters1]

@abcdef Aaah that makes much more sense! I thought it was completely unrelated incidents

 

[dynadin]

@taters1 Slip or trip claims. We weren’t told why a person was chosen to be tracked. Maybe the settlement was large enough that it was worth it to assign someone to research. The company was also self insured so the information we provided wasn’t being sent to a carrier. Or maybe it was. I think Sedgwick was outside counsel because our ‘dossier’ was specifically delivered to an attorney. I’m only sharing this because I find it interesting to see all the different sides of the insurance industry especially when it comes to fraud.

 

[ljcsoghmomas]

@taters1 Also, I think you’re speaking on what WE would consider invasions of privacy here in the U.S.— doesn’t appear to be the same countries here posting.

 

[ps8v9]

@ljcsoghmomas As a former PI, no. If you are in a public place doing something, it’s public knowledge. In fact, even in your home, if you have your curtains or blinds open and people can see into your house, it can be used in court and/or against you in a claim.

If I had a buddy that had access to a loyalty points reward card inside of my subject’s favorite shopping place, they track it, get a pattern of regularity, or I could be there when they are there and video them carrying the stuff out. No need to mention the spying on loyalty cards in court. In fact, if I am out side and that buddy is inside, I would make sure he has Time Stamp photo app and have him take pictures and give them to me. In my jurisdiction, I can train an unlicensed person and utilize them as a tool under my license, if I am nearby.

In the end, there would be no need to mention anything about how the pattern was obtained, especially if I was clocking and following him. The only thing that matters is I have tangible proof that the injury is fabricated or malingered.

 

[danielfn]

@taters1 I'd imagine it's an SIU involved claim where they either are or work directly with law enforcement because red flags were raised for fraud. Whenever i suspected fraud.. I'd just fwd it to their team. Couple weeks later they either take it or send it back to me to adjust.

 

[araria]

@taters1 I'm sure Walmart would be very happy to sell whatever information you want for the right price

 

[joni95]

@araria Absolutely!

 

[ansley123]

@dynadin Any random customer or is it only when the customer is suing the company/involved you worked for??

 

[dynadin]

@ansley123 I doubt that people in the position I was in would have been pull from our regular responsibilities to follow random customers. We would be given a name, rewards number, or something similar. From that I could create XBR reports of any store they visited and record their movements from the moment they left the store and back to the time they entered. It was easier to go backwards. We were never told what type of injury the person had claimed. There were a few instances where it was apparent that the person was injured. Their gait was different. They requested help loading things into a car. One twenty something year old person started buying OTC pain medicine more frequently. Ointments like Ben-gay or heating pads. All of that information was compiled and sent to an attorney.

 

[mineben256]

@dynadin I skip and fall after a case of