Court dismisses injuries claim after staged crash Detective says ‘victims’ were cut out of cars but didn’t seem injured
Grief and anger at Grenfell fire memorial service
LONDON witnessed an outpouring of grief and anger yesterday as families and survivors mourned those killed in Grenfell Tower at a memorial service.
British Prime Minister Theresa May and senior members of the royal family joined hundreds of mourners at St Paul’s Cathedral, organised to mark six months since the devastating fire in west London.
Families clutched white roses and photographs of the 71 who died, including 18 children, and wept as pupils scattered green paper hearts in the cathedral in memory of the victims.
‘She cries every day, every second’
Dr Graham Tomlin, the Bishop of Kensington, referred to the fate of those in the council flats in one of the richest postcodes in the world, telling mourners that London had become too caught up in its prosperity to notice failings that led to the tragedy.
Kate Middleton appeared close to tears as she and Prince William met mourning relatives. Singers Adele and Marcus Mumford were also invited, along with Mr Mumford’s wife, actress Carey Mulligan.
Clarrie Mendy, whose cousin Mary Mendy died with her 24-year-old daughter Khadija Saye in the fire on June 14, and who helped to organise the memorial service, said: ‘I think this is what
The court heard that the roofs of the cars involved had to be cut off because the occupants refused to get out of them – but none of the alleged victims appeared to be injured.
Flavius Grancea, 22, sued his housemate Alexandra Badila and Axa Insurance DAC for injuries he claimed were suffered in a two-car collision on April 8, 2014.
Galway Civil Court heard Mr Badila bought a Citroën Saxo car for €500 and obtained insurance from Axa on March 27, 2014 – 12 days before the alleged accident occurred. Róisín McGuinness, the community needed, the bereaved families and the survivors. We just want to know we’re not alone.’
Survivor Fatima Jafari, 78, broke down as she met Prince Harry. Her husband Ali Yawar Jafari died after he was pulled from the burning building. He told her: ‘I am so incredibly sorry.’
Mrs Jafari’s daughter Maria, 38, said: ‘She cries every day, every second. It’s six months and still very hard for us.’ from Axa’s special investigations unit, told the hearing the frontseat passenger in an Audi A4, which the Saxo had purportedly rear-ended, was Wirginia Qutja, who had paid a €200 deposit for Mr Badila’s insurance.
Only two instalments were subsequently paid and the policy was cancelled by Axa on June 14, 2014, for non-payment.
She said Ms Qutja also made a claim against Badila’s insurance policy and Axa for personal injuries in relation to the collision.
However, she withdrew her claims when told by the insurance company that she was being joined to the proceedings before the court as a co-defendant.
Neither Mr Badila nor Ms Qutja were present in court.
With the help of a Romanian interpreter, Mr Grancea, of Ballybane, Galway, said he was a frontseat passenger in the Saxo being driven by Mr Badila. He said his pregnant wife and mother-in-law were in the back.
He claimed their car rear-ended the Audi, being driven by Alexsander Qutja, when it braked suddenly on the edge of Galway city.
The emergency services were called and three fire brigades and three or four ambulances arrived.
Barrister John O’Donnell, for Axa Insurance, put it to Mr Grancea that while gardaí found the Saxo was effectively written off, there was no corresponding damage to the Audi.
He said a collision couldn’t have occurred because the Saxo was found 15metres away from the Audi and up a hill.
Detective Bernard McLoughlin told the court he had never come across a crash scene like it.
‘Nothing added up,’ he said. ‘It made no sense. In my 12 years attending accident scenes, alarm bells started ringing with this one. The firemen had to cut the roofs off the cars to get the people out but it didn’t appear to me that anybody was injured.
‘Firemen were busy cutting people out of both cars because they had refused to get out of them.
‘Everybody got on to stretchers and got into ambulances and were brought to hospital.’
The detective added that he saw a claw hammer in the grass near the Audi, which the court heard had two smashed side windows. He noted no damage to the rear of the car, while the Saxo was badly damaged.
However, there was no debris on the road to indicate the point of the supposed impact. He added that no criminal proceedings had been brought as yet because the investigation was ongoing.
The court was told Mr Grancea got on a stretcher and spent a few hours in A&E before being told to go home and see his own GP. He said his wife had been kept in the hospital for a few days.
He denied a suggestion that she had not been in the Saxo car at all. She was not present in court.
His mother-in-law, Tita Samu, gave evidence that she suffered bruising from the seat belt and pain to her neck in the impact. She too got on a stretcher and was taken to hospital.
Mr O’Donnell put it to her that Axa was saying the so-called accident was a set-up but she denied knowing anything about that.
Judge John King said that looking at the photos of both cars, their location and the inconsistencies of Mr Grancea’s evidence, he could not find for the plaintiff and dismissed his damages claim. Axa was awarded costs.
Afterwards, Axa fraud investigation manager Colm Featherstone welcomed the result as a ‘vindication’ of the company’s stance to protect its honest policy-holders.
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‘Nothing added up. It made no sense’ ‘Everybody got into ambulances’