Driver's £22,000 compensation claim scuppered by holiday photos on zipwire and quad bike

A coach driver who tried to claim more than £22,000 for apparent whiplash and spinal injuries he suffered in a crash has had his case thrown out after pictures emerged of him swinging from a zipwire on holiday.

Ferenc Kirinovits, 45, also posted photographs of himself hanging upside down from a rope and riding a quad bike in Mexico. 

Mr Kirinovits had been driving a car on the A11 in Norfolk in August 2016 when it was hit from behind by another vehicle.

Insurer AXA UK, which represented the other driver, did not dispute liability but was suspicious of the severe injuries reported by Mr Kirinovits, of Lakenham in Norwich.

He alleged that whiplash injuries and prolapsed discs in his spine meant he had been unable to work for three months, was unable to start a new job, could not clean, garden or attend the gym and was unable to swim or play football.

Mr Kirinovits underwent an MRI scan in Budapest which recommended that he undergo surgery to his neck, which he did in 2019. 

But investigators working for the law firm Clyde & Co, on behalf of AXA UK, found that social media posts from Mr Kirinovits and his wife painted a very different picture.

Video footage and photographs showed Mr Kirinovits climbing ladders and ropes, riding a quad bike, using a zip wire, jumping off a cliff into a river and swimming.

In court he claimed that he had been told he might not be able to engage in sports after surgery so wanted to enjoy them one final time. 

At a hearing in Norwich County Court, District Judge Jacqueline Raggett accepted that while Mr Kirinovits could have been injured in the accident and had undergone surgery, he could not prove that his disc prolapse or resulting surgery were caused by the accident.

Judge Raggett threw out his claim describing it as "fundamentally dishonest."

Damian Rourke from Clyde & Co, said: “Trying to fake injuries over a prolonged period is much more difficult in today’s connected world.

"With so much social media, CCTV and the ability to easily take surveillance footage, our investigators have a rich seam of evidence to disprove fraudulently exaggerated accounts like that made by Mr Kirinovits. 

“It’s important to realise that, had he been successful, Mr Kirinovits' crime would not have been victimless.

"Honest motorists around the country would ultimately have paid the cost of his fraud in more expensive car insurance premiums.”  

AXA UK are now entitled to recover their legal costs, which are estimated to be around £12,000. 

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