Alan Farrell TD, and his "unusual" personal injury claim.

McMurphy

With car insurance costs spiralling, largely (imo) due to the ludicrous high amounts often paid out by judges, for what appear on the surface as soft claims, it was nice to see the judge call this one out for what it was.

The Public Accounts Committee member alleged he suffered neck and shoulder issues which affected his personal and professional life for up to 18 months following the accident in Drumcondra, Dublin, on April 9, 2015.

But the Irish Sun can reveal Judge Michael Coghlan has ruled the Fine Gael politician did not suffer a “significant injury” and only awarded him €2,500.

The judge said: “There is little or no notation to back up a claim of significant whiplash.”

Dublin Fingal Deputy Farrell brought a personal injuries claim against Hertz Rent A Car after a collision with one of their vehicles.

Giving evidence to Dublin District Court, the Fine Gael rep told how he was left in pain after being “shunted” as he sat in traffic in Drumcondra in his Audi A6.

The court was told how the driver behind him was at a standstill in traffic when a spider ran across her arm, causing her to panic and take her foot off the brake. Her vehicle then “rolled into” Farrell’s car.

Farrell said: “Within a few minutes of the incident I felt a very warm tingly sensation on my shoulders and neck.

“Over a series of days the pain and discomfort continued — developed, I should say — and continued thereafter.

“Initially I treated it with over-the-counter medicine and I went to my GP then sometime later.”

In his personal injury summons, Farrell said he experienced difficulty for six months following the accident, claimed he had to reduce his activities for up to 14 months after, and suffered occasional spasms up to 18 months on.

So he was "experiencing pain for six months after the incident" and had to "reduce his activities for 14 months" after the incident.....


Here is Alan pictured just 4 x months after his terrible incident that left him in pain for 6 months, and reduced his activities for 14 months.

The court heard the snap was taken during the period he had claimed the “pain” and “discomfort” was at its worst. Bolster said:
“In that photograph you are putting up posters of yourself in Skerries.” Farrell replied: “Correct.”

And this was the damage done to his car following the unusual incident.

The 40-year-old said he experienced stiffness and pain at work and also while flying during the course of his work.

And he claimed his recreational exercises, particularly running, were compromised for approximately six months.

Contesting the claim, Hertz said in court they were “at a loss to understand how a personal injury claim could arise”.

Next time your told by your insurance firm that your costs have risen, despite being claim and accident free, remember that its largely down to the scammers and the folk playing the system.

Not that I'm implying Alan was or is mind you


Full article here

jobless

a dishonest politician...im aghast!

GBX

Barely a mark on his car and he had neck/shoulder injuries! Get the f**k !!... fair play to the judge on this occasion!

McMurphy

jobless wrote: »

a dishonest politician...im aghast!

This part in particular stuck out like a sore neck.

But when quizzed in court about the snap, Farrell claimed the photo was “staged”.

Eve Bolster, barrister for Hertz, asked Farrell if he was expecting the court to accept that it was a staged photograph because “it doesn’t sit with your evidence so far”.

He said: “No, it is nothing to do with my evidence, I’m just telling you that that photograph is a staged photograph.”

This is a man who sits on the Public Accounts Committee.

BettePorter

Alan 'neymar' Farrell

jobless

Ten Pin wrote: »

What class of an idiot poses for a photo with a poster of themselves overhead.

the politcal class

Omackeral

Ten Pin wrote: »

What class of an idiot poses for a photo with a poster of themselves overhead.

Alan Farrell TD

McMurphy

Ten Pin wrote: »

What class of an idiot poses for a photo with a poster of themselves overhead.

The type of idiot who has a fairly high public profile who would post pictures of themselves indulging in activities they claimed they were unable to do on social media, while taking a personal injury claim to court.

jobless

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

The type of idiot who has a fairly high public profile who would post pictures of themselves indulging in activities they claimed they were unable to do on social media, while taking a personal injury claim to court.

and at the same time complaining about insurance price hikes...
https://twitter.com/namawinelake/status/1016613298668802048

andekwarhola

Maybe somebody in the industry can confirm but it seems like I'm reading about a lot more personal injury claims being more vigorously contested in court these days.

McMurphy

jobless wrote: »

and at the same time complaining about insurance price hikes...
https://twitter.com/namawinelake/status/1016613298668802048

Face palm.

Well played Alan.

ford2600

andekwarhola wrote: »

Maybe somebody in the industry can confirm but it seems like I'm reading about a lot more personal injury claims being more vigorously contested in court these days.

This case was an assessment as far as I know; Defendant was not contesting their driver was at fault just contesting that Plaintiff could not have been injured from such a minor impact.

Even from a Machiavellian point of view, how smart was it to proceed
*on €93k per year plus €30k in expenses and lodge a claim in district court (with max payout of 15k) as a sitting government td and probably in Junior Minister waiting room
*get aggressive with a young lady driver after an accident. If you want garda/judges to fcuk you over in a RTA; have the lady crying/upset when guards get to scene
*post on social media about insurance premiums and climb ladders while being so effected by accident

Award was 2.5k, but he wasn't allowed specials, which could have been close to 1k. He also probably had to pay for costs of this court procedure

https://www.thesun.ie/news/1703010/fine-gael-td-suing-car-hire-firm-for-up-to-e15000-over-crash-that-left-him-in-pain-for-14-months/

Do TD have to run stuff like this before their party before going ahead? FG are obsessed with PR, they can't be happy


https://mobile.twitter.com/AlanFarrell/status/1016264920588062721

ohnonotgmail

cruel_barber wrote: »

that pic of him up a ladder really tells us nothing , just because you sustain a painful injury doesnt mean you cease doing everything , he might have had to take painkillers for a prolonged period of time which impacted on the quality of his life , him being a TD doesnt change this

ireland does have a bogus claims culture but in truth the media narrative would have us believe that every personal injury claim is bogus , people often like to believe someone is faking an injury but they havent a rashers , they are not doctors and simply like to believe the worst

Is that you Alan?

McMurphy

ford2600 wrote: »

Do TD have to run stuff like this before their party before going ahead? FG are obsessed with PR, they can't be happy


https://mobile.twitter.com/AlanFarrell/status/1016264920588062721

Especially after Leo's campaign urging people to report fraud.

Replace the word welfare with insurance here, and it's the same thing.

Last April, during his campaign for Taoiseach and leadership of Fine Gael, then minister for social protection Mr Varadkar launched the “Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All” campaign which encouraged people to act as “whistleblowers” and report suspected welfare fraud.

McMurphy

cruel_barber wrote: »

that pic of him up a ladder really tells us nothing , just because you sustain a painful injury doesnt mean you cease doing everything , he might have had to take painkillers for a prolonged period of time which impacted on the quality of his life , him being a TD doesnt change this

ireland does have a bogus claims culture but in truth the media narrative would have us believe that every personal injury claim is bogus , people often like to believe someone is faking an injury but they havent a rashers , they are not doctors and simply like to believe the worst

The picture of his damaged car shows us how severe the impact was .

ohnonotgmail

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

The picture of his damaged car shows us how severe the impact was .

i still cant see what actual damage was caused. even the parking sensors look fine.

ford2600

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Is that you Alan?

How dare you. Mr Farrell is already on boards, having two accounts would be dishonest and against rules

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=170638

ohnonotgmail

ford2600 wrote: »

How dare you. Mr Farrell is already on boards, having two accounts would be dishonest and against rules

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=170638

LOL.

spurious

Who was the upstanding solicitor encouraged him to take this case?

McMurphy

cruel_barber wrote: »

i know someone who spent six years in a lot of pain , they never had a bruise or mark on them

the damage to the car doesnt tell us anything about his injury or how painful it was

The damming evidence seemed to be him smirking for the camera, up a ladder though.

Yer Da sells Avon

I don't particularly like Alan Farrell - even by Fine Gael standards, he's a dick. I also don't think I'd ever make a personal injury claim, unless the injury literally cost me money. However, I'm not inclined to disbelieve the injury itself. I was involved in a crash last year and my back has not been the same since. Sadly, there's nobody to sue, as it was just me, some ice and a stone wall. I can still do stuff, lift stuff, carry stuff, etc - it just hurts a lot afterwards. I could probably climb a ladder without too much difficulty, but that doesn't mean my back is fine. If I go on a flight, I have to dose myself up with strong painkillers beforehand because sitting or standing for long periods of time is the worst (walking is one of the few things that relieves the pain).

jprboy

Ten Pin wrote: »

Wonder if his neck still Hertz

Yes, be interesting to see if he can Budget without pain

ford2600

jprboy wrote: »

Yes, be interesting to see if he can Budget without pain

he's Thrifty enough

backspin.

I hope he doesn't seriously think anyone believes his BS about a tingling neck. What a chancer.

suicide_circus

and this is one of the reasons all our insurance is so high. We are a sleeveen Me Fein nation. Our elected officials are a mirror image of ourselves.

Hitman3000

Proving that this particular politician despite all evidence to the contrary has a 'soft' neck unlike the rest of his colleagues.

Hitman3000

Wonder will the usual FG defenders rock up? Wheeliebin?

seagull

jobless wrote: »

a dishonest politician...im aghast!

I don't know if John Grisham came up with this, or lifted it from somewhere else. I can't remember which of his books I read it in.

The definition of an honest politician - once he's bought, he stays bought.

So a car barely taps against him, and the person who was 'hit'', is suddenly in need of painkillers for a year and a half, is severely hampered at work and at home, but is yet able to do day-to-day physical activities without issues. Yet there is no damage to their car, and it's all so they can work the system to get a megabucks payout from a court?!


I'm sorry, but the only fraud I see here, is the OP describing that as Unusual. :pac:

Wheeliebin30

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Wonder will the usual FG defenders rock up? Wheeliebin?

No im just as outraged and in disbelief as you.

Absolutely disgusted and outraged.

Hitman3000

Wheeliebin30 wrote:

No im just as outraged and in disbelief as you.

Fair play.

James Brown

Oh dear Alan,

Minister Charlie Flanagan plans to blitz insurance fraud with new Garda unit to tackle conmen
Deputy Flanagan was speaking at Insurance Ireland’s fifth fraud conference in the National Convention Centre in Dublin as the country recovers from Hurricane Ophelia and braces itself for Storm Brian this weekend.

The damage from Ophelia is only now being assessed, but claims are set to run into hundreds of millions of euro.

The country’s misfortune could present rich pickings for potential fraudsters and Mr Flanagan is announcing the new initiative to tackle the conmen - with the aim of bringing down premiums for the rest of us.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/minister-charlie-flanagan-plans-blitz-11377574

Hitman3000

Matt Barrett wrote:

Oh dear Alan,

Ah sweet jaysus.......

Zebra3

Matt Barrett wrote: »

Oh dear Alan,

Relax, the law is only for the plebs.

McMurphy

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Is that you Alan?

Why did the cruel barbers posts get snipped?

Everyone of them on this thread it would seem.

Kivaro

Shyster.

That's the word that comes to mind.

kylith

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

i still cant see what actual damage was caused. even the parking sensors look fine.

I thought I spotted it, but it turned out to be a hair on the screen.

Capt'n Midnight

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

This is a man who sits on the Public Accounts Committee.

Liam Lawlor did too.

smurgen

Insurance fraud in my eyes.FG love a bit of white collar crime.

JustAThought

smurgen wrote: »

Insurance fraud in my eyes.FG love a bit of white collar crime.

Is this like the way Alan Farrell forgot to tell the committee that the wiman he was proposing handung over his counciller seat to was his wife - he was just using her maiden name.

Or when she was 6 months pregnant he decided the only person in Ireland suitable to be his secretary was her - and then employed someone else on the taxpayers bill while she went off on maternity pay?

Or how he has the hand out for his no questions asked taxpayer handout of 'unvouched expenses' which is equivalent to two years taxed salary for the working poor - no question of this being addressed by FG committees. Only another 2 1/2 k - was the close to.milluon we have paid him and his brother and family not enough Alan?

Did.his wife ever declare those little jobs she used do while she was unemployed

NIMAN

So how come he still got 2.5k?

McMurphy

NIMAN wrote: »

So how come he still got 2.5k?

Because no matter what, he wasn't to blame for the accident. He only exaggerated the extent of his injuries.

Fcuked up, I know - but that's why insurance companies charge what they charge.

ChikiChiki

Even the TDs are scamming the system. Christ almighty taxpayers and good law abiding citizens are being shafted afrom all angles, one being ridiculous nonsensical car insurance prices.

Farrell is a fcuking mornin. Ive noticed he is very confrontational on twitter when his bull**** has been called out in the past.

Johnny Dogs

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

This is a man who sits on the Public Accounts Committee.

That is precisely the sort of person politicians want on the PAC. They don't want somebody watching over them who refuses to milk the system. Anybody ever see John McGuinness's expenses?

PAC chief and his wife flew business class at €9200 cost to taxpayer.

'It was a different country then' - John McGuinness defends expenses

Dáil chief's son paid €30k but had no desk

And felicitously we have this:

McGuinness must clarify whether he signed off on son’s €71k expenses bill

Fine Gael TD for Dublin North, Alan Farrell, has called on Fianna Fáil TD and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, John McGuinness, to clarify whether he signed off on the €71,353 in overtime, mileage and subsistence claimed by his son, Cllr Andrew McGuinness, when he worked in his father’s Ministerial office at the Department of Enterprise from 2007 to 2009. This included €30,000 in overtime payments in 2008 alone, as reported in today’s Irish Independent.

“I am keen to know whether John McGuinness signed off on payments of €71,353 in expenses for his son, Andrew during a two year period when he was a Junior Minister at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation. Deputy McGuinness’ son was in receipt of these earnings at a time when 90,000 private sector workers were losing their job each year.

“I would also like to know how Andrew McGuinness worked enough hours to earn €30,000 in overtime payments in one year on his salary of €42,000. He has been given the opportunity to account for this and has failed to do so.

Solution: Here, Alan, just to shut you up we'll give you a position on PAC.

McMurphy

ford2600 wrote: »

Do TD have to run stuff like this before their party before going ahead? FG are obsessed with PR, they can't be happy


https://mobile.twitter.com/AlanFarrell/status/1016264920588062721

Some of them tweets are gold.

Alan Farrell tweet wrote:

Bumped into my nieces in between meetings at the Bundestag.

https://t.co/Q0340AKf48

Second reply in.

"bumped into"?
Hope they don't sue you for soft-tissue damage ��

https://t.co/7UECSvWx6t https://t.co/rykMpZ0QUZ

I think this might follow Alan's career around now for the foreseeable. The lure of easy money was just irresistible it would seem.

Also.

Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell blasts compo culture in schools… as he himself sues for €15,000 following car crash

McMurphy

Claims such as this case being discussed on news talk now.

Snow Garden

Somehow the people of Dublin Fingal gave this guy 6000+ votes. Hard to fathom.

Poor_old_gill

Snow Garden wrote: »

Somehow the people of Dublin Fingal gave this guy 6000+ votes. Hard to fathom.

People are stupid

jmreire

NIMAN wrote: »

So how come he still got 2.5k?

That was because once an award is made.....even a €10, then the legal costs are automatically covered too !!! And they would be a damn sight more than €2'500.
Now if the Judge had dismissed the claim...would be a different story. Just another sample of all that is rotten in the Country.

Zebra3

Snow Garden wrote: »

Somehow the people of Dublin Fingal gave this guy 6000+ votes. Hard to fathom.

And they point the finger at Lowry and Healy Rae supporters. :rolleyes:

Poor_old_gill

Zebra3 wrote: »

And they point the finger at Lowry and Healy Rae supporters. :rolleyes:

As a kerryman who went to college in Cork & the states and has now lived in Dub for nearly 10 years - it is safe to say that there are stupid people everywhere