£647k NHS compo conman caught out on Go Ape trip

The man claimed that a delay in diagnosing a hand injury after he punched a wall had left him even unable to hold a large pan when cooking.

But he was caught quadbiking and taking on a Go Ape adventure course involving ropes, swings and ziplines.

The NHS has started contempt of court proceedings and he could end up in jail.

It was one of 84 compensation cases in the past five years in which bogus claimants have tried to swindle millions out of our health service. One woman sued for £5.7 million, claiming she couldn’t walk unaided.

She alleged a delay in diagnosing her cauda equina syndrome, where nerves in the lower back become severely compressed. Private detectives saw her using sticks to get to a physio appointment – but later the sticks were gone as she spent 45 minutes walking around a supermarket.

She had already blown a £70,000 advance for her claim when rumbled and had to sell a home to repay it. Compensation handler NHS Resolution forks out about £1bn a year on claims. It says it cannot state how much is spent on private detectives, as they are hired by legal firms used by the NHS.

NHS Resolution chief Helen

Vernon, said: “Our role is to ensure legitimate negligence claims are settled quickly and fairly. But fraud is an everpresent risk and we need to be vigilant.” TaxPayers’ Alliance chief John O’Connell said: “Taxpayers will welcome measures to cut down on compo fraud. But NHS bosses need to publish the legal bills to guarantee they are cost-effective.”

The NHS found patients had exaggerated their injuries in 84 out of 117 claims probed.