- An Irish woman has had her $823,000 injury claim dismissed over a photo of her throwing a Christmas tree.
- Camila Grabska, 36, won the 2018 tree throwing contest after complaining to doctors about back and neck pain.
- She was involved in a car accident in 2017, which left her unable to work for several years.
An Irish woman sued her insurance company for $823,000 in damages, but her injury claim was dismissed after a photo of her participating in a Christmas tree-throwing contest was released in court.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, Camilla Grabska, 36, sued RSA Insurance over back and neck pain caused by a car accident in 2017.
The accident left her unable to work for more than five years.
Ms. Grabska was also unable to carry her children, complete basic household chores or lift heavy bags, and sometimes had to have medication brought to her in bed because of the pain, the paper said. Reported.
However, a photo submitted to the Irish High Court in Limerick showed Grabska throwing a Christmas tree in January 2018.
As noted in this BBC article, Grabska, an Ennis resident, was one of the people photographed throwing a five-foot spruce tree at a local tree-throwing competition. Contestants compete to see who can throw the tree the farthest.
The Irish Independent reported that Mr Grabska admitted to Judge Carmel Stewart that he had won the competition.
A 2018 article in the same outlet named her as the winner of the women's event. The lead image for her article shows Grabska, wearing a yellow jacket and her work gloves, hurling a tree.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, Grabska told her doctor a few days before the competition that she was having ongoing pain in her spine, back and neck.
“It is a very large natural Christmas tree, and it is being thrown by her with a very agile movement,” the newspaper quoted Judge Stewart as saying. “Unfortunately, I have to conclude that the claims were completely exaggerated.”
The Irish Independent reported that footage of Grabska playing with a Dalmatian in a park for about 90 minutes was also shown to the court.
According to the Telegraph, the footage was shot in November 2023.
Her case was dismissed Thursday, according to court records.
The law firm representing Mr. Grabska did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
RSA Insurance's lawyer, Louise Smith of RDJ LLP, told BI that after becoming suspicious of Mr. Grabska's claims,pen source intelligence I got the report.
Smith said the report showed she had participated in a tree-throwing competition, including a quick Google search as well as photos of the event.
“Certainly, graphic photographs like those found in this case are rare,” she added. “However, RDJ's insurance fraud team always thoroughly investigates all claimants online prior to every incident, and at this stage we are not overly surprised by what we find online.”
Smith also said that while the court has not recommended that the case be referred to prosecutors, her team does not believe this is necessary for a police investigation.
February 27, 2024 — This article has been updated with a response from RSA Insurance attorney Louise Smith.
