SOLICITORS WHO HANDLE what eventually turn out to be set-up accidents may be contributing to fraudulent personal injury claims, a judge said today. 

In what is the strongest criticism yet by the judiciary of some members of the legal profession, Judge Jacqueline Linnane stated in the Circuit Civil Court that “perhaps some solicitors should be a bit more selective about who they take on.”

The judge dismissed five fraudulent damages claims for up to €300,000 by London members of the travelling community allegedly on a sight-seeing tour of Dublin.

The judge directed that all of the documented evidence brought together in five files by legal and investigative staff of RSA Insurance Ireland, who carried out a major investigation into the claims, be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judge Linnane also suggested that RSA Insurance should consider contacting the Incorporated Law Society.  She said none of these cases would proceed to court unless solicitors agreed to act in them and she felt that some committee within the Law Society might be concerned about it.

“Maybe fuller inquiries should be made by solicitors before they take on these cases but I will leave it to RSA whether they wish to instruct their legal representatives to bring it to the attention of the Law Society,” Judge Linnane told barrister Moira Flahive, counsel for the insurance firm.

‘Organised insurance fraud’

Joseph Stokes, a 22-year-old gardener; John O’Donnell (33) and Melissa McDonagh (26), all of 27 Lynton Close, London; John Christopher McDonagh, aged 26 of 5 Lynton Close and Bridget Mongan, aged 31, of 15 Waterford Way, Dollis Hill, London, had all claimed €60,000 each in relation to alleged whiplash injuries they claimed to have suffered in an accident in May 2015 near Sutton Road, Howth, Dublin.

Judge Linnane said P. Tiernan and Company, of 9 Crowe Street, Dundalk, Co Louth, solicitors for the five claimants, had not turned up in court for the application by RSA to have all of the cases dismissed but had only yesterday evening phoned a barrister to appear without explicit instructions or papers.

However, following the court hearing P Tiernan released a letter stating that in 2018, after receiving a letter from DAC Beachcroft, it had informed the plaintiffs it was unwilling to act on their behalf due to the allegations. It said it had informed DAC Beachcroft of this and that it expects a new firm of solicitors to come on record. The business said that it does not act in cases involving claims of a fraudulent nature.

Robert Marsland, Church View, Knockagorna, Omeath, Co Louth, owner and driver of the second car involved in the May 2015 accident was also named as a defendant in the five cases before the court but did not appear.

Ms Flahive said Mr Marsland was a named driver on a motor policy which expired just over two weeks after the Howth accident. Ownership of the car he was driving at the time had been transferred into his name only one day before the accident and indemnity by the insurance company had been declined.

The judge said that affidavits of Mr Culleton of DAC Beachcroft Solicitors, on behalf of RSA Insurance Ireland and outlining the fraud behind each of the five claims, made devastating reading.

Mr Culleton believed that a number of accidents associated with the claims before the court and the claims arising from them bore all of the hallmarks of a sustained pattern of organised insurance fraud.

Judge Linnane said that from the affidavit of Mr Culleton it was clear the accident and other accidents and people closely associated with the plaintiffs were part of a sustained pattern of organised insurance fraud.

She said Mr Culleton’s affidavit revealed that Mr Marsland had denied having been involved in any other accidents but this had turned out to be untrue as he had been involved in accidents in January 2015 and 19 July 2014.

‘Set-up claims’

Judge Linnane said fraud was a fact in the case and had not been denied. She said the five plaintiffs had stated they had been on a sight-seeing trip to Dublin. It was clear they had travelled from London to stage the accident in Dublin.

The judge said that media reports about set-up claims were sometimes followed by criticism in newspaper articles about solicitors contributing to this and perhaps some solicitors should be a bit more selective about who they take on, because maybe they were contributing to this sort of fraud.

Judge Linnane said some solicitors did not even say in correspondence that they had tried to contact their client without success or had been unable to get instructions from their clients.  She said the evidence of Mr Culleton in the case of Joseph Stokes had been mirrored in the other four cases which were identical.

Ms Flahive said there had been enormous costs involved in RSA’s investigation into the accident and the background relating to other people and other accidents and she applied for a costs order against all of the plaintiffs which was granted.

The judge dismissed all of the claims and directed that the papers in all of the cases be sent to the DPP. Ms Flahive said she had not received any instructions with regard to reporting the matter to the Law Society but would discuss it with the insurance company.

None of the claimants or Robert Marsland appeared in court.