A woman who fell off a pier has lost out on almost £600,000 in compensation after a judge ruled she had been “thoroughly dishonest”.
Kirsty Williams-Henry sustained multiple injuries after falling from Aberavon Pier, near Port Talbot, on 21 July 2018.
She sued Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd, the pier’s owner, for damages.
The company argued that her claim should be dismissed as she had been dishonest.
A High Court judge, Mr Justice Ritchie, issued a ruling on Wednesday that he would have awarded Ms Williams-Henry £596,704 in damages.
But he dismissed her claim as she was a “regular liar”.
The judge said her “genuine” injuries included a “moderately severe” brain injury from her fall.
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‘Dishonest and manipulative’
Ms Williams-Henry, from Port Talbot, had been drinking when she visited the pier after reports bioluminescent plankton had been spotted, the judge added.
She fell between four and five metres on to rocks and sand as she returned towards the shore.
Ms Williams-Henry denied she ever lied about her injuries and told a trial in Cardiff last month that she had “good days and bad days” as a result.
She took legal action against the pier owners in 2021, claiming more than £2.3m in damages.
The firm said it believed she was only entitled to £370,000, but argued her claim should be dismissed as she had been dishonest about the extent of her injuries.
Mr Justice Ritchie said that “overall” he found Ms Williams-Henry was “dishonest and manipulative”.
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In his 99-page ruling, he said she had made “substantial exaggerations and some lies” to both the court and medical experts. He found that she had also lied in insurance and benefits forms, despite working for the insurance firm Admiral until last year.
He said: “I have come to the conclusion that both the claimant and her mother have been thoroughly dishonest in their presentation of the claimant’s symptoms and disabilities and have sought to mislead clinicians, medicolegal experts and this court about the claimant’s health, functioning, activities of daily living and her work abilities.
He added that some of her evidence was “some of the least impressive that I have ever heard”.
“I know it looks like a large sum of money to deprive a genuinely injured person of, but… parliament sought to stamp out dishonesty which is fundamental in personal injury claims and the claimant has breached this law,” he said.
