Woman who fell off pier lost £600,000 due to 'complete dishonesty'

A woman who fell from a pier has lost almost £600,000 in compensation after a judge ruled she was “completely dishonest”.

Kirsty Williams-Henry suffered multiple injuries after falling from Abravon Pier near Port Talbot on July 21, 2018.

She is suing British Port Holdings Ltd, the terminal’s owner, for damages.

The company argued that her claim should be dismissed because she was dishonest.

High Court judge Mr Justice Ritchie ruled on Wednesday that he would award Ms Williams-Henry £596,704 in damages.

But he dismissed her claims as a “constant liar”.

The judge said her “genuine” injuries included “moderately severe” brain damage from the fall.

“Dishonest and manipulative”

The judge added that Ms Williams-Henry, from Port Talbot, had been drinking when she went to the dock after reporting the sighting of bioluminescent plankton.

When she returned to the coast, she fell on four to five meters of rocks and sand.

Ms Williams-Henry denied ever lying about her injuries, telling a trial cardiff Over the last month, she’s experienced “good days and bad days” as a result.

In 2021, she took legal action against the owner of the pier, claiming damages in excess of £2.3 million.

The company said it believed she would only be awarded £370,000 but believed her claim should be dismissed because she had been dishonest about the extent of her injuries.

Judge Ritchie said “overall” he found Ms Williams-Henry to be “dishonest and manipulative”.

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In his 99-page ruling, he said she made “gross exaggerations and a number of lies” to the court and medical experts. He found she also lied on insurance and benefit forms, even though she worked for Admiral Insurance Company until last year.

He said: “I have concluded that the claimant and his mother were wholly dishonest in their description of the claimant’s symptoms and disability and attempted to mislead clinicians, forensic experts and the court about the claimant’s health, functioning and activities. Daily living and work abilities.

He added that some of her evidence was “the least impressive I have ever heard”.

“I know it seems like a lot of money to deprive a genuinely injured person of money, but… Parliament is trying to stamp out dishonesty which is crucial in personal injury claims and claimants have breached this law ,”He said.