Bodybuilder caught out by Facebook

A bodybuilder who claimed that a surgeon's mistake left him too weak to lift anything heavier than an empty kettle has been jailed after Facebook posts showed him lifting massive weights and playing rugby.

Sean Murphy, 39, sued Wye Valley NHS Trust, alleging that an operation on his bicep following a rugby injury left him so disabled that he could no longer play the game, work, or dress himself. However, his claim unravelled after the NHS received a tip-off that he was lying. Photos and videos surfaced showing him back on the rugby pitch and lifting weights. One video posted online showed him lifting a three-stone kettlebell, while another showed him curling a barbell to the tune of Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon."

Murphy's £580,000 damages claim was dismissed in 2022, and he has now been jailed for eight months for contempt of court at the High Court in London. The married father also faces a bill of about £200,000, which includes the NHS's costs of the original claim and the contempt case, plus interest, as well as the £40,000 in interim damages he received before his lies were discovered.

Pointing out that Murphy's deceit came during the pandemic, Mr Justice Mould said, "A more egregious act of selfish and self-serving deceit is hard to contemplate."

The NHS admitted that Murphy was entitled to some damages but argued that his £580,000 claim was vastly inflated by "gross exaggeration" of his ongoing symptoms. Images showed him lifting "very heavy weights" and back on the rugby pitch for Ross-on-Wye's second team.

Local media even mentioned him in a team line-up, with one report suggesting that he and the rest of the front row "bullied their opposition numbers for the entire game."

Following a trial in 2022, Judge James Healy-Pratt dismissed Murphy's claim, determining it was actually worth about £5,000 and branding his £580,000 bid "fundamentally dishonest."Last week, the NHS Trust took the case back to court, with barrister Claire Toogood KC applying for Murphy's jailing for contempt of court due to false statements given to medical experts.

Mr Justice Mould stated that "the shortest period of imprisonment I am able to impose is eight months."

Broadgate Legal 

Compensation Solicitors