Doctors report surge in fraudulent injury claims

Published on Thursday 6 August 2009 20:55

THE number of people faking injury to claim compensation is on the rise, a survey of GPs shows.

The most common way of trying it on is to claim a whiplash injury from a car accident, the survey found.

Nearly all GPs said they had seen a patient they thought was exaggerating an injury to get compensation and 65 per cent had seen an increase in fakers over the past ten years.

A quarter of the doctors polled said there had been a surge in people fraudulently claiming injuries since the recession began.

The survey, for insurance firm LV, said the UK reported far more whiplash injuries than other European countries. The company said such claims accounted for 20 per cent of drivers' premiums. LV car insurance head of claims Martin Milliner said: "

Anyone trying to get money for an injury that doesn't exist is not only breaking the law but also wasting valuable NHS time and resources."