£1.6m for injured executive who went skiing after crash
A MARKETING executive whose ‘positive and exciting’ Instagram posts led to claims she lied about being left disabled after a car crash has won a £1.67million payout.
An insurance company said Natasha Palmer’s posts showed her leading a highly active life, even taking part in a 10k run over an obstacle course.
But the 34-year-old has been awarded damages after insisting a brain injury she suffered in the crash wrecked her career – with a judge saying everyone exaggerates their life on social media.
She was injured after a drinkdriver smashed into the back of her Renault Clio at high speed on the M25 in 2014.
Formerly an avid skier and athlete, Miss Palmer told the court the accident meant she was unable to work due to severe migraines, poor memory and concentration, light sensitivity and anxiety. She described recurring dizziness to a doctor as making her ‘walk like she was drunk’. But after she sued the other driver, Seferif Mantas, his insurance company Liverpool Victoria (LV) accused Miss Palmer of ‘fundamental dishonesty’ and exaggerating her problems. Lawyers acting for the firm put ‘in excess of 700 pages of social media posts loaded by the claimant’ before the High Court.
They said the posts, which showed her enjoying holidays in India and skiing, attending music events and completing sporting challenges proved she had been lying about the effects of the crash.
Lawyers for LV accepted liability but said she was entitled to £5,407 rather than over £2million she had claimed. Barrister Charles Woodhouse said her posts showed she had taken part ‘in much more significant physical exercise than she admits in her witness statements or to any of the medical experts’.
He noted she had gone to India four months after the crash and taken a skiing holiday in the Rockies in February 2016.
But judge Anthony Metzer QC accepted the posts ‘did not present a complete picture, as she would tend to put a positive gloss on how she was doing as she wished to obtain more “likes” ’.
He said ‘social media tended to paint a glossy picture of the poster’s life’ as he awarded her £1,679,406 in damages. The court heard Miss Palmer also suffered injuries to her neck, chest, back and ribs and was left with a disjointed memory, while her car was a write-off. Mantas was later convicted of drink-driving.
Judge Metzer concluded that Miss Palmer, who has worked for London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub and the Hippodrome Casino, would have progressed in her career to become a chief marketing officer on a £75,000 salary had it not been for the accident. The payout included £1.2million for future loss of earnings.
property star Martin Roberts claims the house he’s renovating is occupied by ghosts.
‘One of my builders stayed overnight in one of the rooms — and left screaming,’ says the Homes Under The Hammer presenter.
‘I haven’t seen my ghosts, but I know they’re around. The house was built in 1650, so it has 400 years of history.’ Former I’m A Celebrity contestant Roberts adds of the Welsh farmhouse: ‘One of the ghosts is called Bill, and one of the investigators who came along said he could see him sitting in the front room with a shotgun. I think he’s protecting the house.’
I do hope Bill’s a fan of home makeovers.