Insurance body claim 'victory' against 'suspicious claims' after video prompts man to withdraw court action

A man has withdrawn a High Court action in which he claimed his bicycle was struck by a car which could not be traced.

Constantin Iosca (40), Scholar's Walk, Lusk, Co Dublin, sued the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) which compensates victims of uninsured and untraceddrivers.

On Friday, after the court was shown video footage of Mr Iosca shot by a security firm on behalf of the MIBI, Mr Justice Kevin Cross adjourned the case until Tuesday and said the parties might discuss the matter.

Today, counsel for Mr Iosca told the court his client was withdrawing the case.

Counsel for the MIBI said his side were looking for their costs against Mr Iosca.

Mr Justice Cross noted the case had been withdrawn and he awarded costs to the MIBI against Mr Iosca.

Last week, Mr Iosca told the court he suffered serious back pain and considerable disruption to his life as a result of the being hit by a car while cycling at or near Skerries Road in Lusk on June 1 2016. The car was never traced, the court heard.

He said he was brought by ambulance to Beaumont A & E where he was kept overnight for observation and discharged the following day on crutches.

In the video shown to court he was shown walking his dog and walking near his home in November 2018.

In another video taken in January 2019, he was being pushed in a wheelchair to an office in Dublin city centre and using two crutches to mount some steps into the office with assistance from others.

Later, that day he is shown in another part of the city walking with two others without crutches and also driving his car home.

The MIBI denied his claim and welcomed its withdrawal as a “victory for putting suspicious claims to the test”.

"Thanks to a comprehensive investigation, we were able to provide evidence which strongly rebutted the claim being made. We will now be referring the details of this case to the Gardaí," MIBI Chief Executive, David Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Suspicious claims simply won’t be accepted by the MIBI. We will put considerable resources into establishing if the evidence actually supports a claim we believe is questionable.

"We will look under every stone to establish the truth and if we do find any falsehoods we will bring those to the attention of the legal authorities. That means anyone who is making a false injury claim had better be prepared to live a life that backs that claim up 24/7.

"We will happily provide genuine claimants with the compensation they deserve. That is what the MIBI was set up to do. But if the claim does not live up to scrutiny then it should not be allowed to succeed and the MIBI is determined to defeat claims of this nature."