A construction worker who tried to defraud insurer Horizon ended up owing the company much more than what he hoped to receive after a court dismissed his insurance claim as fake.
Leszek Rogalinski, 57, has been ordered by a court to pay £7,744 in legal costs to Horizon for a bogus claim that he filed three years ago for his supposed car accident injury.
Rogalinski was involved in a minor car accident with a Horizon client in Southampton in 2013 and later submitted a personal injury claim to the insurer worth £2,400.
Based on testimonies, the Horizon policyholder did not fully apply the handbrake of her Ford Focus as she parked on Mayfield Road. The vehicle travelled around 10 metres and rolled into Rogalinski’s car.
Rogalinski claimed that he was sitting in his parked car during the incident, which he said caused him lower back pain for six months.
Specialist law firm Horwich Farrelly investigated Rogalinski’s claim and disproved his injury in court.
During a trial at the Southampton County Court on August 5, Rogalinski failed to provide consistent answers while the Horizon client was able to recall specific details of the incident.
A photo showing minor cosmetic damage to Rogalinski’s car was also presented and proved that such a small collision could have not caused injury to the construction worker.
In his ruling, deputy district judge Eric Baehr said Rogalinski had “twisted and turned in his evidence, because unlike [the defendant] his evidence did not have the solid foundation of being a truthful account.”
Baehr dismissed the fraudster’s claim and ruled it as being “fundamentally dishonest.”
“The claimant clearly thought he could take advantage of a minor collision following a small error on the part of the defendant,” said Ronan McCann, partner at Horwich Farrelly.
McCann said the case should serve as a warning to potential fraudsters.
“This is a clear case of a claimant trying their luck to get their hands on easy cash, believing it to be a victimless crime,” he said.
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