Playing rock guitar on stage, man who claimed £300k for thumb injury
A FORMER railway worker who claimed an accident at work left him with a crippling thumb injury was filmed playing guitar in a Guns ‘n’ Roses tribute band. Anthony Dermody, 28, regularly played bass in the ‘very energetic heavy metal band’ after claiming the injury had left him disabled, the High Court heard.
He dropped a £300,000 compensation claim after ‘realising he was under investigation’, William Featherby QC, for Network Rail, told the court.
Dermody now faces prison after a judge granted permission for proceedings to be brought for contempt of court.
His mother, Ann Marie, could also be locked up after Network Rail accused her of backing up her son’s claim in a sworn statement.
The court heard that Dermody’s right thumb was crushed in an accident at work in 2011. Network Rail admitted liability and Dermody instructed lawyers to claim £300,000 on the basis that his life had been badly affected by the injury.
Mr Featherby said Dermody told a doctor that he was ‘very seriously disabled’ but that his case was ‘blown apart’ when investigators revealed surveillance videos that showed him playing bass in Guns or Roses, a tribute band that has toured extensively.
The barrister added: ‘This is a claimant who said he suffered a very serious injury to his right thumb – which incidentally is his guitar-playing thumb.
‘For many years afterwards, and still, he plays bass guitar in a very energetic heavy metal band.’
Mr Featherby said Dermody had told a doctor he was ‘very seriously disabled’ and could not do any of the activities he enjoyed before the accident. ‘We say that is false, because he was playing guitar for this group,’ he added. The barrister said investigators had uncovered evidence that Dermody toured the UK and Europe with the group during the time he claimed to have been laid low by his injury.
‘We say that the claim was largely fraudulent,’ he said. ‘He was an active and busy member of a heavy metal rock group.’
Dermody and his mother, who share a home in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, did not attend the court hearing and were not represented, but Mr Featherby said they intended to defend themselves. ‘He now claims he has developed a new technique for playing the guitar which places no strain on his thumb,’ said the QC.
Turning to the role of the musician’s mother, Mr Featherby said: ‘His mother supported his case and put in a witness statement in his support. She is on Guns or Roses’ website as one of his biggest fans, so she knew all about his activities.’
Opening the way for Network Rail to seek jail terms for the pair, Mr Justice Edis said: ‘There is a strong prima facie case that Mr Dermody did consciously exaggerate his claim in order to increase the damages that he hoped to receive.
‘The evidence before the court is capable of showing that he was functioning relatively normally as the bass guitarist in a heavy metal rock group which travelled substantial distances to put on its performances.
‘That is inconsistent with his presentation of his case.
‘Fraud in personal injury litigation is a major impediment to the smooth running of the civil justice system, as well as being serious acquisitive crime.’
Turning to Mrs Dermody’s position, he said there was a ‘sufficiently strong prima facie case to show acquiescence in the falsehood’. The pair now face a full hearing and could face up to two years in prison if found in contempt of court.
‘Claim largely fraudulent’