Written by
Paul McClure
Criminal Defence Lawyer
The Name of the Offence
Make false statement to police, Obtaining a medical benefit to which one is not entitled (Transport Accident Commission)
Place of the event
Thomastown
The court attended
Broadmeadows
Facts of the Case
The accused was a 60 year old man who claimed that his neighbor had struck and injured his right knee whilst the neighbor was reversing his car out of the accused's driveway. The accused subsequently made a claim for medical benefits through the TAC. Further investigation by both the TAC and the police resulted in the laying of charges against the accused by both bodies, alleging that he had made a false statement to police in relation to the accident, and had obtained a medical benefit from the TAC to which he was not entitled.
Results Achieved
The accused pleaded not guilty and the matter went to a contested hearing. evidence of the only eyewitness for the witness, she accepted that her back was turned at the time that the car was reversing out of the driveway and that she did not see whether or not the car struck the accused.
Following the evidence given by the eyewitness, the police could not maintain their prosecution and withdrew the charge against the accused, as did the TAC.
