'Phantom' passenger faces up to two years in prison

A woman who claimed she was injured in a road traffic accident she was never involved in could face up to two years in prison after a judge found her claim to be fraudulent.

Nirmala Odedra had brought a personal injury claim, alleging she was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a collision with a John Lewis lorry on 28 November 2008.

But when Odedra and her witnesses failed to attend court for her trial at the Royal Courts and Justice (Queens Bench Division) on Wednesday, the judge concluded that she was never in the car and that her claim was fraudulent based on the evidence received.

Odedra claimed to have been the front seat passenger in a BMW when its bumper was clipped by the lorry, but at the time of the incident a man got out from that side of the car, according to the account from the John Lewis delivery man.

District Judge Plaskow, who decided to hear the matter in her absence, said: “To be quite frank, there is far too much of this about. I object to it judicially and I most certainly object to it as a person who pays insurance premiums for his road traffic cover, along with tens of millions of other honest people.”

A full hearing at the Royal Courts and Justice has been listed for a date between 9 April 2013 and 24 May 2013.

If John Lewis’ (represented by DWF) application is successful, Odedra may receive a prison sentence of up to two years.