I work in Liability insurance and this report just came through at work for one of our Insureds:
So using Facebook pictures (presumably) as evidence we saved ourselves AUD 228,000 on an estimated settlement! Just goes to show that Big Brother is watching everything these days!!This claim relates to injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on a service road within the confines of the Sunshine Plaza. The Insured is the owner and manager of the Plaza. Danny Reily (37yrs old) was riding his motorcycle along the service road when he was struck by a car driven by Ms Dick. Reily sustained multiple injuries incl dislocated hip, fractured pelvis, fractured ankle and mild brain injury. The Insured would be liable as the road was badly designed and allowed drivers to exit where they should not. Also, visibility at the intersection where the accident occurred was obscured by various objects. Ms Dick would also be liable under the Motor Accident Insurance Act for failing to pay adequate attention.
The matter was mediated late last month. We had agreed contribution with Ms Dick's insurers at 50/50. We had also obtained very good surveillance showing the claimant engaging in a number of activities he alleged he couldn't, including quad bike riding. Facebook surveillance provided further beneficial evidence. We took a hard line on contrib neg and were able to use the surveillance to good effect to obtain a settlement at $400,000 all in, which represents a 1/3 discount on our low range assessment.