Carol Venegas

Handling suspected fraudulent insurance injury claims in litigation up to Trial and providing strategy advice to insurers.  Worked closely with a telematics insurer following a 2014 secondment and progressed internally to lead contact for this Client assisting the Head of Fraud with reviewing the contract and SLA as well as attending Client relationship meetings. I provided regular training, legal clinics and support to the special investigation unit team since 2014, shaping how motor fraud cases were defended with a focus on defending business interests.

I have an excellent track record of successfully defending litigated motor insurance fraud cases.  I regularly discussed strategy in handling telematics fraud cases with senior management at the Insurer Client and also provided internal advice and guidance.  I have reached a level of experience in the field where I am able to think outside the box and work collaboratively with the Client with a focus on understanding and protecting their business interests, especially when using sensitive personal data.  One example of a case where I worked in an innovative and collaborative way with the Client is shown here:
https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/whiplash-fraudsters-caught-out-in-identity-parade/1425387.article  

The majority of my fraud work, even more so in the last few years, has been low velocity impact type claims.  These cases focus heavily on causation, as we are arguing that despite a breach of duty the incident was incapable of causing the loss and damage alleged.  The  medical evidence provided by the Claimant tends to be entirely subjective so it is necessary to forensically investigate the Claimant’s history, from an intelligence perspective but also predominantly from a medical perspective.  This involves a real focus on the medical records and requires meticulous attention to detail in order to assess whether it is possible that the accident could have caused injury.  Some of these cases also come hand in hand with exaggeration concerns, where again we rely heavily on medical records and sometimes our own medical evidence.  I have handled these types of cases for the last nine years therefore I have a substantial amount of experience in defending claims on the basis of causation issues, which are skills I can transfer and utilise when investigating clinical negligence claims.