A woman lost her $823,000 injury claim after lawyers found a photo of her winning a Christmas tree-throwing competition
Kamila Grabska, 36, told doctors she suffered from constant back and neck pains due to a car accident, but won a tree-throwing contest days later.
Uwe Anspach/picture alliance via Getty Images
- A woman in Ireland lost her $823,000 injury claim due to a photo of her throwing a Christmas tree.
- Kamila Grabska, 36, won the 2018 tree-throwing contest after she told doctors of back and neck pains.
- She'd been in a car accident in 2017 that she said left her unable to work for years.
A woman in Ireland who sued an insurance company for $823,000 had her injury claim tossed out after the court saw a photo of her taking part in a Christmas tree-throwing competition.
Kamila Grabska, 36, sued RSA Insurance over what she said were back and neck pains from a car crash in 2017, The Irish Independent reported.
The accident rendered her unable to work for more than five years, she said.
Grabska also said she could not carry her children, finish basic chores, or lift a heavy bag and that, at times, she needed her medication to be brought to her in bed due to the pain, per the outlet.
However, a photo shown to the Irish High Court in Limerick featured Grabska chucking a Christmas tree in January 2018, the outlet reported.
Grabska, a resident of the town of Ennis, was one of the people photographed tossing 5-foot spruce trees at the local tree-throwing competition, as seen in this BBC article. Contestants compete to see who can hurl a tree the farthest.
The Irish Independent reported that Grabska admitted to Judge Carmel Stewart that she won the competition.
A 2018 article from the outlet named her as the victor in the ladies' event. Grabska is featured in the article's lead image, in a yellow jacket and work gloves, and appears to be flinging a tree.
Just days before the competition, Grabska had informed doctors of constant pains in her spine, back, and neck, per The Irish Independent.
"It is a very large, natural Christmas tree and it is being thrown by her in a very agile movement," said Stewart, the presiding judge, per the outlet. "I'm afraid I cannot but conclude the claims were entirely exaggerated."
The court was also shown footage of Grabska playing with a Dalmatian in a park for around 90 minutes, according to The Irish Independent.
The footage was taken in November 2023, The Telegraph reported.
Her hearing was dismissed on Thursday, court records show.
The law firm representing Grabska did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
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