A mother in Ireland had her $820,000 insurance claim dismissed by a court after a photo emerged of her winning a Christmas tree tossing contest, undermining her claims of debilitating pain from a car accident.
Kamila Grabska, 36, asserted that a car crash in 2017 had left her with severe and incapacitating pain, making it difficult for her to lift heavy items and even affecting her ability to engage in daily activities with her children.
She filed a lawsuit against RSA Insurance, seeking compensation for past and future loss of earnings, amounting to approximately $542,000 of her total claim.
However, her case was challenged when a photo published in a newspaper depicted her winning a Christmas tree throwing competition in January 2018, less than a year after her alleged accident.
The image showed Grabska energetically tossing a tree as part of the contest in Ennis, Ireland, which is based on an old lumberjack competition where participants throw a tree to see who can throw it the farthest. Another picture from the same day showed her smiling and holding a certificate declaring her the champion.
The emergence of these photos raised questions about the extent of Grabska’s alleged injuries and her ability to engage in physically demanding activities despite claiming to be in debilitating pain.
The court dismissed her insurance claim, citing the incongruity between her claims of injury and the evidence of her participation in the tree-throwing contest.
